Pinch me. I’m dreaming. What I wouldn’t give to have a butler’s kitchen or a mudroom except I’d use it like here for flower arranging. A little decadent to devote a small space to one of life’s little pleasures? No. Life is too short. Embrace the lovely. Shortlisted in the Kitchen Design category in the Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards 2015, the Turramurra Residence by my new crush Design Bubble.

Love the dark grey wall with the marble shelf. Love the penny rounds in the bathroom. Love the waterfall edge to the stone bench in the kitchen. Love the clean contemporary lines of this apartment renovation in Bellevue Hill, Sydney by TomMarkHenry. A modern, minimal interpretation to play off the art deco lines of the original apartment.

This is my living room. Not my everyday living room but my cleaned within an inch of its life, styled and primped and preened, take a photo and feel smug, blog living room. My everyday living room is untidy and dusty. Not all the time … just a lot of the time. I’m not lazy. I’m just busy and something has to give and it’s usually the house cleaning. When Helpling emailed recently it couldn’t have come at a better time. My house was a mess and I was feeling the stress.

Helpling is a handy online platform allowing customers to book a local cleaner to come and clean their home. It is also a portal for cleaners can easily manage their bookings. Win win both sides. Helpling recently launched in Canada (Hear that Kim? Need help with the cat fur balls?) but is also here in Australia. Yay!

Someone to do the dusting, wiping down, vacuuming and mopping. Oh and cleaning the mirrors and emptying the garbage. Sounds like heaven doesn’t it! In the kitchen your Helpling will clean all countertops and backsplashes, oven front, hotplates and rangehood (if accessible), dust and clean exterior of kitchen appliances and even take care of the kitchen sink. They’ll dust the furniture and electrical appliances in the other rooms and make the beds. Best of all they’ll make your bathroom sparkle – shower tiles and screens, bath, sink, vanity and my least favourite job, the toilet. All of this in their standard cleaning package! There are even additional services you can book like cleaning the oven, inside the cupboards and the fridge.

It takes three steps to get a Helpling. Enter your location. Make an appointment. Pay securely online. The best step is number four – enjoy your clean home. All from $25 an hour. After the service is complete, customers are instantly able to save, rate and re-book their cleaners, adding another layer of convenience to the service. Helpling interviews and tests all cleaners and requires a criminal record check before listing partners on the platform.

Thanks for making this post possible Helpling. Life is so much easier with a little help.

Yes please! I’m sure I wouldn’t get out until I was wrinkled up like a prune. By Sydney firm Design Bubble.

Modern takes on traditional in this Port Melbourne renovation by Austin Design Associates. No that’s not right. There’s no “taking on”, no confrontation, no design conflict with this new addition. Older houses often do not conform to our modern way of living so additions or extensions to the older building give a chance to create something stylishly contemporary. Warm wood tones work well with copper and leather accents to balance a sleek black and white modern space.