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House Nerd

Peeking into People's Places

  • VISIT THE OLD BLOG
  • Home Envy
  • Before & After
  • Our House
  • DIY
  • Nerd Life
  • Happier Home
  • Home Projects
  • Archives
  • Contact
    • Sponsorships
  • About Me
  • In The Media
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  • Advice

    How to Stencil Paint an Old Concrete or Tiled Floor

    February 25, 2021February 25, 2021

    Sometimes I think of a renovating or DIY project and then I become weirdly obsessed with the idea until I get to carry it out. And something I’ve always wanted to try is stencil painting an old concrete or tile floor. I always thought that stenciling looked like fun. (My idea of fun might be

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  • Before & After

    Making Over my Mum’s Guest Room (my old teen bedroom!)

    September 19, 2020September 19, 2020

    For much of my adult life, I’ve had the same recurring dream; I’m in a big house and I discover a secret passage or a secret room. It’s always quite thrilling and I always wake up feeling vaguely disappointed that there is absolutely no chance that my 1970s brick 3 x 2 in Perth suburbia

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  • Before & After

    Our Tiny Ensuite Bathroom Renovation – Seven Years Later

    June 5, 2020June 5, 2020

    It’s been a while between posts, online friends. Time feels like it has flown past lately. When we all had to stay at home, the mornings and evenings felt a little slower, but the days still rushed past – and are still rushing past. I wonder if that’s normal for everyone who has kids? With

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  • Happier Home

    How to Work From Home With Little Kids

    April 2, 2020June 5, 2020

    Wow – how things have changed lately. Without going on too much about all the negative things about COVID-19 – I know we all know it by now! – what it means for a lot of people is that we are working from home… and many of us with children home too. For me, having

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  • Home Projects

    Our Cubbyhouse Makeover

    February 7, 2020February 22, 2020

    Pass me that mother of the year baton, guys. I don’t get to have it too often, but I totally deserve to hold it for a good minute or two. I won a cubbyhouse! I won it late last year through an Instagram competition held by a local Perth cubbyhouse company called Kidzshack. To enter,

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  • Happier Home

    A House Decorated by Marketplace – and Tips for Thrifting

    January 23, 2020February 7, 2020

    Of all the bad things to come out of Facebook – the creepy harvesting of our online data, a rise in loneliness, infidelities kindled from long-lost acquaintances, the erosion of individual self-worth through unfavourable comparison, to name just a few – there are also a lot of good things. For example, I re-met my now-husband

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  • Happier Home

    Make Your Home Beautiful with Bambury (and WIN a $500 Gift Voucher!)

    December 15, 2019February 7, 2020

    If you are after one of the quickest, most affordable and also easiest ways to freshen up a bedroom or living space, I always think new cushions are a fail-proof way to go. Nothing brightens and lifts a space quite as easily! Add in a fresh new plant and you’ve treated your room or outdoor

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  • Our House

    My Husband’s Big Deck: Our Backyard Before & After

    November 15, 2019February 7, 2020

    Well, that got your attention, didn’t it? Blame my shrunken, shriveled brain, but somehow I have totally neglected to share a big part of our home renovation here on the blog – our new patio and deck, which is about thirty times nicer than what what our once-daggy 70s house had there before. (Those before

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  • Happier Home

    Bedtonic – A Local Linen Business I Really Love (and a Giveaway!)

    October 16, 2019February 7, 2020

    I always admire it when people don’t merely just dream or talk about doing things, but they actually go out and give them a red-hot go. It makes sense that I frequently admire small business owners, professionals and creatives, and one of my favourite local businesses is also run by one of the nicest women.

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  • Home Projects

    Spray Painting Our Old Colorbond Sheds

    October 8, 2019February 17, 2021

    Recently I tackled a DIY project at our place that had been on my to-do list for a LONG time – spray painting our old Colorbond sheds black. Woohoo! I know they are just sheds, but they look SO much better now that it legitimately thrills me. I had it in my head for months

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  • Happier Home

    Spring Cleaning Tips with Max Kater – and WIN an Epic Murchison-Hume Prize Pack!

    October 6, 2019December 15, 2019

    If you’re like most people, the very mention of the words “spring cleaning” makes you want to dive under the covers and hope for six more weeks of winter. Decluttering, doing a deep clean of your whole house, knocking off all those cobwebs to get your outdoor area ready for the warmer weather… we all

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  • Home Projects

    How to Make An Amazing Succulent Bowl

    September 15, 2019October 3, 2019

    If you have ever admired a pretty succulent bowl but thought they looked too tricky to make one at home (or that you’d kill it anyway) I have good news! Succulent bowls are super-easy to put together; and even if you’re a total black thumb with plants, you can keep one alive and thriving, I

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  • Happier Home

    Why Hobbies Are Important (Especially for Parents)

    September 9, 2019October 3, 2019

    Lately there’s a saying that’s been doing the rounds on social media – that to help maintain overall health and wellbeing, you need not just one, but precisely three hobbies. One to keep you fit, one that exercises your creativity, one to make you money. It’s a very neat and clever little idea, and I

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  • Before & After

    Our Cladding Makeover Reveal

    June 21, 2019August 21, 2019

    Don’t fall off your chair. Today I finally have a reveal for you! Our before and after of our Scyon Walls elevation makeover, where we overclad the exterior of our double brick 1970s house. Yep, it’s been a while. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome! Basically we decided to overclad our

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  • Before & After

    Penshurst – A Sea Captain’s Mansion Saved from Ruin

    May 22, 2019October 16, 2019

    I have a soft spot for Penshurst, the historic house I’m going to share with you today – which was actually one of my very first home tours – in fact I visited it before I’d even clicked ‘publish’ on my first blog post! (Original post here). When I was a teenager, after school my

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  • Stoneville-solar-passive-house-Perth-building-design

    Home Envy

    A Solar Passive ‘Shed-House’ in the Country

    May 7, 2019August 9, 2019

    Rolling country views, a pony, dogs, a beautiful solar passive new build, a lovely family and two pet sheep who are convinced they are people – this wonderful home visit was one of my favourites and I’m so pleased to share it here today with these gorgeous photos by Heather. Nestled in the Perth hills

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  • best-books-about-houses

    Nerd Life

    14 Great Books About Houses: My Reviews

    April 14, 2019April 15, 2019

    If I was down to my last $20, I’d probably buy a coffee and a book… maybe a novel about a house. Me at bookstore *Spies book with pretty old mansion on cover* TAKE MY MONEY I am very partial to a story where an amazing house is almost a character. And I’m a total

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  • Our House

    From Bugcatchers to Bluetooth LEDs: Our Lighting Makeover

    March 31, 2019April 14, 2019

    “I just want lights on a dimmer,” I used to say to my husband every time the topic of new lights came up. I remember when I was growing up and my friend’s house had their lounge room lights on a dimmer and I thought mood lighting was just the most incredible fancy thing I’d

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  • Home Renovations

    Le Fanu, Perth’s Most Expensive Renovation, is Now For Sale

    March 14, 2019March 16, 2019

    Le Fanu, Perth’s most expensive home renovation, is up for sale. If you could do with a luxury beach home and have a spare $17 million, this heritage-listed house could be yours! Some of you guys may remember the story I wrote a few years ago on this house. Right by the beach in Cottesloe

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  • Happier Home

    What I’d Buy on Facebook Marketplace Today (If I Wasn’t Broke)

    February 2, 2019December 16, 2019

    I was a teenager the first time someone told me I had an addictive personality, and I didn’t know what it meant. “Oh!” I said brightly. “Meaning people find me addictive?” I was picturing myself as this alluring, magnetic creature. “NO,” they shot back rudely. “It just means that you get addicted to things very

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  • Home Envy

    The Hilton Fibro Cottage Renovation

    January 3, 2019January 7, 2019

    I love this house. This is the former home of our friends Tim and Caity Phillips, it’s a cool renovation and a house that I like because it suits its owners down to a tee. You guys may already know Tim’s name from some of my earlier posts; he and his TJP Carpentry team put

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  • Our House

    Nearly Finished! Our House’s Cladding Makeover (and How Much it Cost)

    September 17, 2018February 18, 2021

    Little Nerd is at his Oma’s house, Mr Nerd is at work, the dog and the baby are down and I’ve had two coffees by 9am. What better time to snatch some blogging time at my desk and hastily share some progress photos of our Scyon Walls cladding makeover. (If you haven’t seen our before

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  • Nerd Life

    Miss Nerd’s Birth Story: A Short Labour, but an Epic Novel

    August 31, 2018August 31, 2018

    I haven’t blogged in a little while… and if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen why! We recently welcomed our sweet little baby girl Miss Nerd to the family. She is a sweetheart; a smiley, cuddly little koala. She has been warmly welcomed to our family, especially by Little Nerd,

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  • Our House

    Our Living Room Makeover Series: The Before Pictures

    June 27, 2018April 5, 2019

    Even though our living room is one of the two rooms in our home where we spend the most time, after years of living here, I still never felt like we had fully finished it or properly styled it. A little embarrassing – most people seem to do the living room first, don’t they? I

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  • Nerd Life

    My ‘Babymoon’ at Townhouse Margaret River – and My Must-Do Things Down South

    June 22, 2018March 14, 2019

    After we found out we were having another baby, I started a little bit of a mental baby bucket list. Just some fun things I wanted to do before baby number 2 arrived; things I knew would not necessarily be impossible to do with a newborn in our midst again, just trickier. I was so

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  • Happier Home

    How a Freezer Club Can Make You More Organised (and a Giveaway!)

    May 31, 2018July 22, 2019

    My freezer club started with a jar of homemade tomato sauce left on my doorstep. A friend of mine had messaged the girls group chat and said she’d just made a huge vat of veggie-filled passata but had way too much – would anyone else like some? Four of us said yes please. I added

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  • Nerd Life

    Shooting a Video in our Home for Karndean Designflooring

    May 26, 2018May 26, 2018

    A little while ago we had a promo video shot in our home for Karndean Designflooring, the company we got our awesome vinyl floors from. If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my post from the day; a little clip of the boys filming Little Nerd playing while Nala harassed them. (Sorry

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  • Perth-Builder-Oswald-Homes-custom-home-building-Oak-Park-house-nerd-multi-generational (12)

    Home Envy

    A Stunning Nedlands Home Designed for Three Generations

    April 18, 2018April 18, 2018

    With increasing urban sprawl and an ageing elderly population, there is one kind of home we’re now seeing more of – the multi-generational home. And I have to say they rarely get lovelier than this. This gorgeous home is a new one I recently had the pleasure of visiting. This house is named the Oak

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  • Nerd Life

    How to Get Through a Crappy Pregnancy

    April 6, 2018July 7, 2019

    If you come here just for the home-y stuff, this post is probably not going to be your cup of tea, sorry. If you are here because you are pregnant and hating it, read on! I’d like to preface this post by first saying I’m not a horrible or ungrateful person… honestly. I know some

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  • Home Envy

    From 70s Brick Box to Timeless Beach House

    March 31, 2018August 5, 2019

    I love Perth. But in my humble opinion, the rugged NSW coast has to be one of the most beautiful and special parts of Australia. A few years ago my sister-in-law relocated from Sydney to live in a beach house in a small town a couple of hours south of the city (just near Berry,

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  • Home Renovations

    Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Progress!

    February 8, 2018February 8, 2018

    Well this has been one very exciting and very busy fortnight! January 15th finally came round – the date the guys from TJP Carpentry were scheduled to start on our Scyon Walls mixed material makeover, and they’ve almost finished! We’ve still got to finish the painting, tidying up and a little replanting of the gardens

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  • Home Projects

    A Tiny Bedroom Reveal: Little Nerd’s Nursery

    January 28, 2018January 31, 2018

    So, most bloggers probably share their baby’s nursery when they’re still pregnant, or maybe in the months after the newborn has arrived. Most probably don’t share it when their little person is two and a half years old… and they’re uh, pregnant again. Clearly I am not most bloggers! But better late than never, right?

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  • Nerd Life

    So Guess What…

    January 25, 2018January 28, 2018

    So guess what guys, we have some news… I am pregnant! We are expecting our second baby in early July 2018 – I am 17 weeks along. We just found out what we are having – a baby girl this time! I hope she likes Enid Blyton and drawing house plans and Tomb Raider and

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  • House-Nerd-laundry-makeover-renovation-70s-house

    Before & After

    Our Laundry Renovation (and my Tradie Recommendations)

    December 29, 2017December 31, 2017

    Today I’m finally sharing our laundry renovation on here! I absolutely love our laundry makeover. If you were to ask me which renovation project in our house has given me the most satisfaction, I have to say I think it would be this room. And I don’t even LIKE doing laundry. This is my favourite

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  • Nerd Life

    Renovating our House: What I’ve Learned and My Advice for Renovators

    November 20, 2017January 28, 2018

    “If we ever renovate again, I would…” “Our next house, we should do this…” These are words Mr Nerd and I have uttered to each other many a time as we’ve been ankle-deep in renovation rubble here. I am still FAR from a renovating pro, but we’ve learned a lot of things through trial and

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  • Advice

    How to Choose the Right White Paint for Your Home

    November 3, 2017November 3, 2017

    One of the most common problems I think people have when renovating and decorating their homes is choosing the right white paint. We love our white walls in Australia, and for good reason – white walls are versatile, they feel fresh, light and airy, they work with all kinds of décor and they can make

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  • Home Envy

    A Light and Bright Home Renovation in North Fremantle

    October 13, 2017May 4, 2018

    When I am scrolling through Instagram, the photos always guaranteed to stop me in my tracks are ones of renovating. Maybe it’s because I have always been obsessed with a good before and after story – all the bits, from the demo to the drywall to the decking being laid out – but there is

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  • staple-design-rachael-pearse-house-nerd-shaker-kitchen-renovation-subiaco-green-kitchen-reno-traditional-herringbone-parquetry-floors-custom-made-cabinetry-perth

    Before & After

    Before and After: A Beautiful Traditional Kitchen Renovation

    September 23, 2017September 25, 2017

    Aside from our own renovations, I haven’t often featured room makeovers on House Nerd – I’ve always gone the whole hog and done a whole house. Even though putting together full home tours – like this one – take me ages, I haven’t often done ‘room renovations’, such as a kitchen or bathroom only, because

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  • Our House

    Making Over Our House’s Elevation: The Design

    September 13, 2017October 6, 2017

    So I’m excited to share that we are about to start our Scyon Walls™ elevation makeover! Not long ago I shared in this post that we were going to be making over our house’s elevation with a modern mixed materials look in collaboration with Scyon. We also had a designer on board to help us

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  • Before & After

    Saved From Knockdown: A 1970s Family House Reno

    February 17, 2017April 8, 2020

    When Penny and Mat bought a dark, dated and daggy 1970s home in City Beach, they thought it might be a knockdown job – and their friends presumed they would bulldoze it and build anew, too. But when Penny and Mat decided that instead they were going to renovate and extend to make it a

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  • Happier Home

    How to Minimise External Noise Coming Into Your Home

    December 16, 2016February 23, 2020

    Hi House Nerd, I live in an old home in Fremantle that I am renovating and would love some tips on how to reduce road noise in my house. Being close to the street and constructed of weatherboard I hear every car that passes and it is getting quite frustrating especially when trying to sleep.

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  • Home Renovations

    How We Turned Our 70s Bar into a Walk-In Pantry

    May 26, 2015February 14, 2020

    So I have exciting news – our new walk-in pantry/scullery renovation is finished! I think this may actually be my favourite renovated room in the house now (although I think I say that about every room once we finish it, even the toilet). But I AM in love with our new pantry. I first learned about

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  • Happier Home

    A Mother of Three’s Completely Edible Suburban Garden

    March 8, 2015February 25, 2020

    Can you be self-sufficient from the average-sized suburban garden? I don’t know, but the owner of this one is definitely trying – and she has such an awesome garden that I think half of you will be itching to plant sweet potatoes or peaches this weekend. I was introduced to home owner Kate Reading by

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  • DIY

    How to Paint Tiles: Our Budget Kitchen Makeover

    April 30, 2014February 22, 2020

    If you are looking for an inexpensive, easy way to update your kitchen or bathroom, tile paint could be the way to go. Today I’m going to share how we used it to give our dated, 1970s tile a mini-makeover for less than $100. Yesterday I showed you guys the before photos of our kitchen when we

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  • Furniture

    A Roadside Find: Thonet Chair Makeover

    January 13, 2014February 25, 2020

    Don’t you just love an exciting email out the blue? When a design-savvy House Nerd reader dropped me an email a little while ago to tell me that it was verge collection time in East Fremantle, I was out the door and driving thataway before you could say let’s-drag-home-some-more-junk (thank you, Deb!) Hey, I can

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  • DIY

    Our Budget Sunroom Makeover – & How to Spray Paint Aluminium Windows

    February 13, 2013February 13, 2020

    If you grew up in our sun-bleached country, like me, you will be familiar with one of the great Australian home features – the ubiquitous sunroom, or sleepout. When I was a kid so many of my friends’ houses had a sleepout – and so many still do. Commonly tacked onto the back of 60s

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    housenerd

    Of all the cool people in Perth I've met in real l Of all the cool people in Perth I've met in real life through Instagram, @kawa_heart_studio and @8footwalls have to be two of the coolest (and nicest). Dee is a stylist,  creative and 'crazy market lady' who lets out their amazing old studio for photo shoots; her hubby Desmond is an artist and muralist under his business 8 Foot Walls. This is one of his prints which is hanging proudly in our entry now, making me happy every time I come home 🌅 This one is called Ocean Dust of Yesteryear - I'll link to their online paintings and print store in my Stories so you can see the others, they are ALL magical 🌴 Swipe for a look back in time at our entry... who would have thought that 70s arch we joyfully knocked out is back in fashion now 😆 It's funny seeing how your personal style has evolved... I no longer keep a giant cooking pot by the front door for one.
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#housenerd #housenerdhome #print #gifted #8footwalls #perthart #supportlocal #perthartists #coastalinteriors #coastalstyle #perthbusiness #tropicalvibes #supportsmallbusiness #70shome #renoblog #renovationideas #arches
    Before and After 🏡 In lockdown last week we man Before and After 🏡 In lockdown last week we managed to tick off a DIY that had been on our to-do list for YEARS and finally painted our ugly old concrete driveway! It cost just over $400 and even though it will never look as clean as a brand new driveway it still makes me SO happy now 🤓 Little Nerd made me the sign 🤔 (Which I thought was thoughtful and fitting as painting in summer sucks? Good band name too). Thank you @jarrahjungle for the concrete painting inspo! 🖤 I've shared a blog post with all the details and links on House Nerd now!
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#beforeandafter #housenerd #housenerdhome #paintingprojects #DIY #lockdown #perthhomes #70shouse #lockdownprojects #gardenideas #blackhouse #drivewaymakeover #australianhomes #drivewaypainting #DIYhome #budgetmakeover #oldhouselove #renovationideas #renoblog #houseblog #painting #driveway #70shousereno
    They are being cute right now, but I'm still count They are being cute right now, but I'm still counting down the sleeps till school starts and there are now four 😆 Swipe to see our 70s bar from when we moved in - with all the dark brown laminate and hand-me-down furniture we had then! 😅 We walled the bar in and knocked through a wall to make it a walk-in pantry from the kitchen - hubby's idea (he has one of those every now and then 😜💡) 
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#housenerd #70shome #70shousereno #homebar #70shouse #retro #oldhouse #homesblog #renovationblog #renoblog #homesblogger #howwedwell #schoolholidays #perthhomes #whitewalls #showmeyourstyled #kidslivehere #DIYhome
    Can you believe this is someone's backyard... and Can you believe this is someone's backyard... and you can go buy plants there? 😄🌵🌿🪴🥰 This is a plant paradise at a home in Leeming. It's one of my recommendations when friends ask me where I go for easily accessible plants for gifts (or self-gifts 😁🎁) @novosnursery is run by a lovely family who have turned their backyard into a plant shop for anyone to pop in and browse. They have cute plants for all price points, and pots and hangers too. Also, I've found out that the cafe by the IGA across the road has great coffee - a pretty good 'me time' activity if you want to sip and stroll through succulents. They're open most weekends (at 46 Farrington Road) but they're not open every day during the week, so best to message first or look up their Facebook page for times. Not sponsored, just addicted 🌱🤩
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#perthplants #indoorplants #homenursery #perthnursery #indoorplant #succulentsperth #plantlovers #perthblog #perthgifts #housenerd #smallbusiness #shoplocal #greenlove #indoorgreen #succulents #homesblog #plants #plantsplantsplants #perthstores #homegarden #perthgardens #plantsmakepeoplehappy #urbanjungle #houseplants #crazyplantlady
    We finally saved up to fit out our old walk-in rob We finally saved up to fit out our old walk-in robe! 🤩 I have been dying to do this in our attempts to make the most of our available storage spaces. 11 years spent living with the old set-up so I REALLY appreciate the new... swipe to see the before 😅🙈 And then swipe to see the EXTRA-before from when we bought this house - the robe had yellow glass 70s windows, brown floral wallpaper and aromatic original shagpile carpet. After looking at a few companies I got the robe done by the wonderful @innerspacewardrobes (and I got THEIR contact details from a lovely fellow renovator Insta-friend, @twokidsatradieandme! ✨👋🏽) Innerspace are a great family-run local business and I really liked that Steve was happy to spend time on our quote measure to make sure it was perfect. Absolutely stoked with it💃🏽
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#adulting #housenerd #innerspacewardrobes #walkinrobe #robeideas #closetideas #wardrobeideas #WAblog #homeblog #renovationblog  #reno #retrofit #70shouse #customrobe #perthwardrobes #perthcupboards #wardrobedesign  #renovationideas #storagesolutions #storage #perthhome #perthtradies #australianmade #wardrobegoals #organised #custommade #australianbusiness
    Nala turns 11 this month. 11! 😭 Which also mean Nala turns 11 this month. 11! 😭 Which also means we have been in this house 11 years. I genuinely thought back then that I'd probably renovate and decorate the whole 1970s thing in about two-three years (on my freelance writer's budget by the way 😂) and move into another. By the way Nala takes a soy flat white, no sugar. 
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#coffeetime #morningslikethese #summerholidays #mydog #70shousereno #perthhouse #perthblogger #homesblog #homegarden #housenerd #housenerdhome #homestolove #perthgarden #gardenideas #agapanthus #patiodecor #deckideas #pacificteak #perthdecking #bw #70shouse #70shouserenovation #exteriordesign
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