Hi there! I'm 28 and live in Sydney, Australia.

I've always been an avid home decorator, and have made attractive curtains for a long list of ugly, uninspiring rental properties where I've lived.

Hubby and I started our first 'proper' renovation last year. We live in a 43m2 (450 square foot) apartment in a gorgeous old Victorian mansion that's been carved into six apartments.

When we moved in, there was peeling paint all over the building and a fire order on the whole complex -- the Council said the building was uninhabitable without a massive fire alarm system. We fixed both in 2006. The new paint job looks gorgeous and really brings out the best in the building. The fire alarm system, on the other hand, is rather ugly, but it does let us know which of the neighbours have burnt their dinner so I guess it's good...

Our plans for 2007 include putting a garden in again (it was all pulled out to install a damp extraction system a couple of years ago), cleaning the filthy concrete driveway and giving the inside of our apartment an overhaul. We want to knock out a wall, move a door, move the toilet, move the kitchen, add built-ins, move the hot water heater... we'll see how much the Council lets us do, and whether we can afford it all!

Apart from all that (and reading a lotta posts on here), I run a blog called The Bargain Queen. And then I wonder why I'm so busy...