Outside the Box

This stylish way to hide the wheelie bins is functional, works well, isn’t too difficult to build and is designed to last.

It’s super heavy though, so if you follow my step-by-step instructions to DIY, be sure to build on site.

EXCITING UPDATE

The @bunnings Instagram post about this project resulted in over 10.5k likes and was one of their most-watched Reels of the year!

Green-thumb renovating

Reclaim, reuse, recycle… Build sustainably… Make it while you spend it… 

These are the messages of my feature about deconstructing rather than simply demolishing a kitchen. Take it apart in layers and follow my guide to using the demo tools efficiently.

Sparkling for summer

If your outdoor furniture has developed mouldy patches, here’s a fix that will revive and restore it with minimum effort. 

The trick is to choose smart cleaning and sealing products especially for exterior use.

Demystifying tiling

Mosaics are fairly simple to lay and the end result is very forgiving – perfect for aspiring DIYers.

All you need is my six-step guide to get started on a small area such as a kitchen or laundry splash back.

Warming the bench

Renovating the kitchen has been my most rewarding DIY project yet, and installing the benches with an easy woodworking technique was surprisingly fun. 

I wrote it up as a how-to project for Bunnings Magazine.

Cinematic sequence

There are so many good reasons to mount the TV. 

Here’s how to DIY with a store-bought bracket that won’t break the bank or fall off the wall!

Head of the board

Take a $40 hollow-core door, add a drop sheet and lots of staples to make a lovely linen-look upholstered bedhead.

Oh, and you’ll need to remember how to use an iron!

MAKE YOUR OWN TERRAZZO

It’s pink, pretty simple and lots of fun! 

What’s not to love about whipping up a mixture that looks like nougat and dries into on-trend furniture? All you have to do is use my magic formula… 

HOME HEADQUARTERS

The spare-room office just got clever and classy with DIY…

• DESK made from pre-cut melamine and a built-in flat-pack drawer. You’ll need a drill and an iron.

• CABINET for filing that doubles as a side table and extra work space – made from a simple Clever Cube.

• ORGANISER for keeping stuff tidy, made from off-the-shelf trays with a mid-century design twist.

As featured in this work-from-home special.

COSY ON THE COVER

This is a great example of successful collaborations… 

I needed help building an outdoor fire pit with seating – from working with Adbri Masonry to figure out how best to ‘hack’ their lovely retaining wall blocks, to calculating quantities of pebbles with Tuscan Path and sourcing fluffy rugs for the styling. 

The end result looked so good, it ended up on the cover of April Bunnings Magazine.

ON THE TOOLS

This is a cross-halving joint. And that is my hand using a chisel to make it. While it’s not a difficult woodworking technique, it is tricky to capture when you’re the project maker and the photographer.

Showing how to build a bench in the March Bunnings Magazine.

A SQUARE DEAL

Tiled furniture is so hot right now and I especially love mosaic-clad cubes. 

But there are two DIY mistakes with tiling that often happen – leaving the grout unsealed and not finishing the edges to prevent chipping. Here’s how to do it properly.

JUST CHILLIN’

It was a swelteringly hot summer day when I installed a misting system to cool down an outdoor living area. And before you ask… Yes, it works! 

It’s worth purchasing a kit that includes a tap timer so you can set and forget. All you need is a hammer and a ladder to install. See how to DIY in the February 2022 Bunnings Magazine.

RESIZING FLAT-PACK UNITS

Whether you’re installing a new wardrobe or adapting an existing one, you’ll need my DIY guide to resizing flat-pack units to fit a non-standard space. 

The trick to making them narrower or shorter is to work with the manufactured edges and markings. As featured in Bunnings Magazine.

BEST-CHANCE GARDENING

The proof this raised veggie bed with DIY wicking system actually works is that the plants have survived the summer. It acts like a giant self-watering pot and doesn't require much attention, which is my kind of gardening.

See how to set one up from page 69 in the January 2022 Bunnings Magazine.

KITCHEN LIGHTING STUFF-UP

I love how this classic Louis Poulsen PH5 shade is designed to emit downward and lateral light. It’s the perfect choice for our kitchen.

And it’s the opposite to my pet lighting peeve, which happens when a pendant hangs too high over a kitchen island and appears disengaged from the rest of the decor while throwing the circle of illumination too wide. 

I had a chat with writer Kylie Jackes about this and other tips for creating a DIY kitchen on a budget, from page 64 in this issue of Bunnings magazine.

RA-RA RENDERING!

When the editor of Bunnings Magazine said ‘How about a concrete bench?’, I whipped up this seat from besser blocks. And the fun I had?

1 Rendering is like making mud pies.

2 Expanding foam looks cool in time-lapse videos.

3 There’s an adhesive that sticks concrete together (a delightful discovery!).

Get some for yourself via the October issue.

WHY IS TICKING OFF THAT DIY LIST SO DAMN DIFFICULT? 

Time for the truth! 

How many DIY projects have you not finished? Because they weren’t going to plan, the weather changed, you needed more paint, it was just too complicated…

I’m an expert at this, which is why I’m qualified to chat with writer Kylie Jackes about how to get over it. Follow these great get-it-done tips.

HANG IT UP FOR SUMMER

Take one super-sized hammock, fold it up, stick it down, add some dowel and… Da da! You have a sexy swing chair and no need to share.

It starred on the cover of the October 2021 issue of Bunnings Magazine. 

LEARNING SOMETHING NEW

Did you know that those cool metal landscaping cages filled with rocks are called gabions?

Admittedly, I looked it up when editing this sturdy backyard project for the September 2021 Bunnings Magazine.

I WON A COMPETITION!

This picture of my DIY banquette and lovely new ‘Place of Saltwater’ rug received the most votes in a social media competition run by Emro Designs for a chance to win another rug.

Love this space and that every item in my dining room has a story, from the handcrafted dining table and painted pot, to the wall sculptures and even the light fitting.

HOW MUCH FUN ARE GIANT CHALKBOARDS?

Huge beauties (and a cute small one) ready to ship to The Grove Academy which specialises in early childcare and obviously requires chalkboards! 

At 1800mm high, the house shapes are bigger than most kids, ensuring there’s room for everyone’s art. And I love how they’ve been popping up in their socials for the past couple of years since I’ve been building them.

CLEVER FLAT-PACK HACK

Take one Kaboodle Kitchens single-drawer base cabinet and clad it in hevea finger-jointed panels. Add tapered furniture feet and a leather pull, then paint it in stunning Taubmans Dark Green Velvet… 

And feature as a DIY bedside table in the July 2021 issue of Bunnings Magazine.

HANDCRAFTING FOR ZERO WASTE

I designed this cute soap holder to use up dowel offcuts from another project and was chuffed to see it feature in a story about working with leftover materials for DIY on Apartment Therapy.

To make one yourself, just follow my simple instructions to drill, glue, sand and seal for a lovely moisture-proofed finish.

DESIGNER bathroom cabinet for less than $250

Bunnings Magazine loved the idea of taking a regular shaving cabinet from standard to stunning so much that it was featured on the cover!

This fairly simple project really is designer style on a budget and adds much-needed warmth to a bathroom. See how I did it in the May/June 2021 issue.

Running out of ideas to display plants? 

This midcentury-style planter is one of my favourite projects yet! 

I was excited to see it featured with so many other fabulous concepts in 16 DIY Plant Stand Ideas to Proudly Display Your Favourite Houseplants on MyDomaine.com. 

If I can build this deck, SO can you!

When you see how this outdoor room began, it’s clear that building the deck was the right move. Bunnings Magazine agreed it was such a big transformation that my story features over seven pages – and on the cover!

I chose the Good Times modular decking system to totally DIY as the materials aren’t too heavy. If you’re a fan of that lovely beachy grey, check out my tips on how to give treated pine decking a designer finish.

Who's on your dream team?

Renovating doesn’t have to include stuff-ups and budget blow-outs if you know what you’re doing – or employ someone who does. While you’ve probably researched a builder, what about the trades you didn’t even know you needed? 

I share my tips on setting up a reno dream team with Inside Out magazine.

weekend DIY IN 3 Easy Steps

What's on the top of your DIY to-do list?

I’m guessing you might need to spruce up your courtyard pavers, revive old furniture or make a chalkboard, so I had a chat with realestate.com.au to show how it's done. 

What's your perfect DIY gift?

What's the best present you've ever received? More importantly, what's on your wish list?

When the fabulously curated online shop MrGift.com.au asked me for my favourite, can you guess what I said?

EVER SEEN A MAKEOVER LIKE THIS?

How would you spruce up a faux Victorian door flanked by etched sidelights and fronted with a banging brown aluminium screen? 

‘Smash it out!’ I say. So I did, replacing it with midcentury Palm Springs-style that totally packs a colour punch. Homes to Love thought it was a winner too!

My 3-step secret to winning diy

In every Aussie garage is a piece of furniture that needs a little DIY with a designer eye to make it useful and beautiful again.

One way to find these pieces is to get onto Gumtree. Then follow my tried-and-true 3-step formula to makeover success that I share on a video with realestate.com.au.

Aussie life at little red industries hq

Want to see an inspiring clip that makes you proud to be an Aussie? 

As a furniture maker, I was filmed in the workshop of Little Red Industries HQ for a TV commercial for TAL Life Insurance and their This Australian Life campaign. 

I confess to slicing through a full sheet of plywood over the four-hour shoot. All I had to do was repeat the same move over and over, making about 28 cuts with my Festool track saw.

Blink and you’ll miss me on TV, so it was lucky I popped up around Sydney on a couple of billboards!

time to hit the road

When Better Homes & Gardens magazine asked me if I’d like to trial the Rust-O-Leum flooring system for their special Bunnings pages, I responded with a loud ‘Yes please!’

It’s the perfect solution to making the barn-like double-garage at the Little Red Industries workshop cleaner, brighter and more practical. 

Tv reno shows vs real life renos

Ever wondered if all those renovating shows on TV have an impact on the way Australians nest? I have!

As a professional renovator and DIY specialist, I explained to The Sydney Morning Herald why Aussies are more house-proud than ever, and why home improvement as an industry will never die. 

most valuable chair ever

Can you imagine that a rickety old yellow chair found on Gumtree can be worth $4000? Well I own it! I got to share my secrets to making the most of Australia’s fast-growing second-hand economy with Channel 7’s Today Tonight.

The story also featured in the Money section of News.com.au, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun.

How little red industries began

Find out a more about how I became a furniture designer and maker in an interview with Jetstar magazine.

I left my career as a magazine editor to pursue a belief that there’s an unloved piece of furniture in every Aussie garage that just needs a little TLC to make it relevant again.

It started me on the road to DIY success.

UPCYCLE LIKE A boss lady

Bet you’ve never seen a large steel drum converted into a cool midcentury style writing desk!

Read how it was done on homes.nine.com.au and check out the cutest-ever 15-second DIY video that I wrote and styled.

Fashionable furniture

Little Red Industries builds custom props or hires out furniture for photography and especially loves a fashion shoot, daahhhhhlings.

Absorb online fashion magazine needed a retro stool to take centre stage and make their models look good. Thanks Nicola Burford Makeup Artist for a fabulous paint job!

how to diy around the home

Gardening Australia magazine needed some nicely-shot how-to DIY projects to spruce up their practical pages for a relaunch in 2014.

So I tapped into my former media skills to design, build, style and write up some classy content.

ROd, you're in my heart

While refurbishing these little vintage brass numbers, I discovered that they’re called Chiavari chairs.

Not only are they coveted for weddings, they’re desired by rock stars! It was quite by accident that I spotted them in a music clip with rocker Rod Stewart.

You’re In My Heart also rings true for football fans (that’s soccer fans!).