About Me


The Beach House Deck with furniture I found and made over with white paint.

Hi I'm Carolyn and I blog from Sydney Australia's Northern Beaches.

My back drop is the beautiful  Australian coast and a cute little post war Beach House, that we have brought back from the brink of oblivion over the last 8 years.

I am married to Mr Beach House.  My two kids, 10 and 5, are known on my blog Desire Empire, as the Beach House Brats.  Funny how it goes, but I was a fabulous mother until I had kids.
Like most households raising small children, it can be chaotic at times, but I love nothing more that to swan around making my home look good on a budget. 





We have slowly brought the cottage back to life, but it is still a work in progress.  I recently made over my daughter's bedroom.  You can read about that here.



The kitchen, and living room are finished.




My dad's old vintage surfboard
Although we live only an hours drive from the heart of the city,  the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the pace of life here on Sydney's Beaches is very relaxed and we often say we live in paradise.  Mr Beach House is a well known local boat builder and sailor, so we spend a lot of time on the water.

My Back Deck

I love to recycle and repurpose vintage pieces and recreate them with beachy style.


This ladder gets used alot in my decorating
I am often known to make over my mantel again and again.


The mantel often accommodates my latest crafting project.


Or seasonal fare
Christmas Mantel

Spring Mantel

I love to craft and create


Beach party shoes


Lotus Napkins



Lately I find myself baking and cooking up a storm as an expression of my creativity.

I have recently lost 17 kg after having a skiing holiday, where my much older husband was doing two runs to my one.  Ironically I am the skier in the family.  It made me realise if I didn't do something about the baby weight I had failed to lose, I would be staring down the barrel of all sorts of health problems in the future.  So I started eating a Mediterranean style diet, with loads of fish, fruit and vegetables and whole grains and it hasn't been that difficult to drop the weight.  I also gave up alcohol and cakes initially, but I am finding the last 5kg difficult to lose though having reintroduced those things infrequently..

Moroccan Eggplant Salad

I also cook lots of light Asian food

Easy Prawn Wontons
But I don't miss out on anything really.  This luxurious chocolate mousse was made with avocados, bananas, maple syrup and cacao powder and was so delicious and easy to throw together.

Healthy Vegan Chocolate Mousse
I cooked this fabulous Chinese Pepper Steak at the Sydney Good Food and Wine Show to win my heat of a cooking competition I entered.  I didn't win the final, but learned heaps about myself and how to improve my cooking by entering.

Chinese Pepper Steak
On the blog I also feature lots of the beautiful homes for sale in the area.  This is a real sea change area and living here is a little like being on a permanent holiday, so lots of my readers are interested the houses around here.





I also write lots of stories on our fabulous surroundings up here on the beaches of Sydney.  I give lots of tips on where to stay and shop and fun things to do up here in paradise.

One of my favourite local vintage stores

My Beach



Sailing on Pittwater our local harbour

Some recent roadside finds
I am totally into vintage and I love to do the odd bit of 'junk' shopping on the side of the road.  Here is my latest haul.

We do alot of entertaining at the beach house, particularly in Summer and I love to lay a beautiful table for guests.  It usually has a beach feel.  I love nothing more than opening up the house in the warmer months.  We are very lucky with the climate in Sydney and can eat out doors for about 9 months of the year.



My Coastal Christmas Table

And finally, I adore Christmas crafting and baking.  For me it's the best time of the year on my blog.

No Bake Christmas Candy Tree

Nordic patchwork ornament

Reindeer Cookies

Although my background is in law, teaching and business, in 2011 I started my own property styling business and thanks to the great support of some local real estate agents, I have had plenty of work helping to style their clients' homes. I work to help vendors with a view to making the most of what they already have, to achieve the best outcome possible in the sale of their home. 

So thanks for stopping by. If you are new here take a look around by clicking the shots in my side bar and don't forget to follow me on Face Book and Twitter.  Pinterest, instagram and Google Plus.  Let me take you on a journey of this beautiful ‘lifestyle’ area I am delighted to call home.


Advertising with Desire Empire

I am very interested in working with brands with a view to growing our businesses together.


Thanks for your interest in advertising with Desire Empire.  I would be delighted to promote your business, blog, etsy store or up coming event on this blog.

The power of 'Mummy Blogging', the new chatting class, is beginning to resonate with mainstream industry and is becoming another effective advertising tool for any firm wanting an online presence.  This is a fabulous opportunity for your business to gain access to a rapidly expanding niche market in a cost effective way.  Along with the development of the Desire Empire brand, I have developed a market of international followers, which is growing daily, waiting to know all about your business. Advertising with Desire Empire is an affordable and simple way to gain exposure for your products and services globally, with just one click from here to your website.

Desire Empire posts 3-4 times per week, with a variety of content including, coastal lifestyle and design ideas, recipes, travel, life and home tips,crafting and motherhood stories.

The readership of Desire Empire comes primarily from America, Australia, Canada, Britain, SE Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  Thus giving participating sponsors an immediate international presence.


For up to date statistics on visits to Desire Empire please contact me desireempire@iprimus.com.au

Desire Empire will also feature sponsors from time to time on Face Book and Twitter.  As a sponsor of Desire Empire you will have access to the best real estate on this blog, at or near the top of my side bar.  Logos will be rotated regularly.



Advertsing Rates

Small banner 
$40/month or $110 per quarter, including a link to your website

medium banner 
$70/month or $180 per,quarter including a link to your website


Upon joining Desire Empire as a sponsor,  your business will be the subject of an introductory post featuring your products and services.   Thereafter, you will have the opportunity to submit occasional guest posts.   

There will also be opportunities for giveaway events and product reviews, promoting your products and services on this blog.  Please contact me for up to date sponsored post rates.  This charge accounts for the time taken in writing posts and dealing with the administrative tasks associated with promoting your products and services.

Thank you again for your interest in advertising with the ever growing blogging community.  A niche market any business should be part of.


Please Note: Design, artwork and sizing of banners/logos is the responsibility of sponsors and must not breach copyright legislation.
Desire Empire can also asist in the construction of a banner if required.


If you would like to contact me you can mail me here desireempire@iprimus.com.au Please add my Google profile to your circles!
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