Crafter and designer Jenna Picken and husband John enjoy a rich and colourful life in their rented three-bedroom house in Warners Bay.
They also share the space with Huxley, the cocker spaniel.
The house suits them well, and Picken reckons it's at least 50 years old. The house didn't have a lot character on its own, but once the pair settled in and set up three years ago, they brought it to life.
The extra bedrooms serve as their workspaces.
"I've got an office and he's got an office. The contrast is hilarious. His is so business, plain, organised, monochromatic, perfect. Mine is a bit ridiculous," she says.
Picken's office does steal the show, although she will use John's office and computer for some of her projects.
She's a quite a busy bee. When she's not working as a graphic designer, she's working on her digital media degree or making a range of colourful creations: festival/drag/upcycled/handmade one-of-a-kind pieces she sells on her new Etsy store.
She was working in hospitality five years ago and burnt out. She needed more time to nourish her creative side.
"Now I feel like all the hours I was doing back then, I've replaced all that with creative work," she says.
Her Etsy store is called Pippin's Revival, a play on her father-in-law's one-time misunderstanding of her surname.
She liked his interpretation, finding it cute and whimsical.
She took it and ran with it as the brand for all her creations.
In her office she has everything from a guitar to a sewing machine.
She has every colour, sparkle, texture and tinsel, which she puts to good use.
She recently made a dress out of tinsel for a hens party.
She loves making crowns, and you might spot "beast-mode sunglasses" she made for an Elton John concert. Everyone loved them, so she put them in her shop and had some buys. She reckons you just put your art out there and see what happens.
"It's a manifestation of my own creative world. I wasn't getting out there, and then I started a graphic design business, three years ago. That helped me build confidence and just grow up a bit. This is the second phase, make another business that's really out there," she says.
She loves working with recycled items and second-hand things. She's always finding creative, different solutions.
"All my furniture is second-hand. I'm really a fan of not just rushing out and going to Kmart. I don't like to buy just generic furniture," she says.
Their living area and has art, plants and knick-knacks everywhere. She's proudly not a minimalist.
"I never wanted to cover my home with photos of myself. We want to celebrate our finest moments, but want to fill the home with art that I found," she says.
This includes street art, Asian-influenced art like dragons and cranes, elaborate items suchh as an old beautiful bible she found in London for 10 pounds. Everything has a story and she loves utilising what she has.
"I've got mad little collections everywhere, like a cross from Spain," she says. "I have the weirdest way of sourcing stuff. My dad's really crafty. He's a carpenter, so I think I picked up a lot of that from him. My mum's quite a good seamstress. Those two things have made me very crafty."
When the pair aren't working, they love their relaxing life by Lake Macquarie.
"It is very sweet and quaint here," Picken says. "Everyone says 'hi'. The lake is just a beautiful gem."
They used to live in St Kilda in Melbourne and worked near The Esplanade.
"The difference between that esplanade and this one is just a different world. You wouldn't walk around in Warners Bay with a cigarette in your hand, it's very clean cut."
They have an idyllic life by the lake with a pad full of treasures.
The pair and their pooch have shown how to take a house and make it into a home.
