Building With BuildHer

Elise Weavers is back for renovation number three: a single fronted Melbourne terrace on 370 square metres, nearly done and already home. In this episode, Elise and Rebeka unpack the three levers Elise pulls to control cost on every project: the size of the build, the materials she chooses, and the labour that puts it all together.
They dig into why every square metre you add costs you, how eight floor plans became one, and how tall raked ceilings and compression and release make a modest footprint feel generous. Elise shares why she clads with James Hardie Stria (fire rating, a slim profile on the boundary, and her builder partner Sam can install it himself), how she squeezed a dining table, bedside tables and a coffee table out of one slab of kitchen stone, and why a polytech kitchen was the smart trade off. Plus the labour decisions that save thousands: prefab trusses and wall frames, choosing methods that suit your team, and knowing whether your builder is a site manager or a builder carpenter.
If you are renovating in a rising cost market, this one is a masterclass in spending where it counts.
Connect with BuildHer Collective at https://buildhercollective.com.au or on Instagram @buildhercollective
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Most of us think a feasibility is a spreadsheet. It isn't. It's a decision-making tool, and the thinking behind the numbers is what tells you what to put in them.

In this solo episode Rebeka takes you behind the scenes as she helps her two boys, Liam and Ben, assess a live site for their first project: where the value is hidden, what to look for, and how to decide if a deal is a go, a no-go, a rework, or a find-out-more.

She gets into why a stuck, uncertain market can be one of the best times to buy, why both Claude and ChatGPT said no to this site and why you can't let a robot make the call, the difference between feeling risk and calculating it, and a real deal at deal level: the $800k buy, the $1.6m to $1.8m end, a $150k to $350k profit range, and the one tree that could decide the whole thing.

The question she comes back to every time: if this was your money, would you still do the deal?

Want the feasibility spreadsheet? Comment FEASO on Instagram or DM us feaso and we'll send it over.
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We'd all like to believe we make property decisions with a calculator. The truth is messier. Doubt, second-guessing, and a market that never sits still all get a vote.

In this episode Rebeka sits down with Louise Woodcroft to talk about what it actually takes to make the hard calls in property and renovation: when to trust the numbers, when to back yourself through the doubt, and how to keep moving when everything feels uncertain.

In this conversation they get into emotion vs logic and spotting which one is really driving your next decision, working through the doubt and second-guessing that show up in every renovation, why a solid feasibility study is your steadiest friend when your nerves aren't, cosmetic flips and where the real value sits in a traditional renovation, moving fast and staying competitive when you're buying in a softer market, and the real power of having the right support around you when the journey gets hard.

Whether you're weighing up your first project or your fifth, this one's a reminder that the numbers and your nerve both matter, and you can learn to back both.
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Everyone's either terrified of AI or shouting that you're behind. This episode is neither. Rebeka sits down with Rhiannon Lee - founder of Oleander and Finch and one of the design industry's clearest voices on AI - for the most honest conversation we've had about using these tools without losing yourself in them.
If you've ever opened ChatGPT to save half an hour and lost half a day, this one's for you.
In this episode:
Why nobody is the expert - and why that's good news, not bad
ChatGPT goes wide, Claude goes deep: how Rhiannon actually uses each one
The real reason some people get magic out of AI and others get bland mush (hint: it's your foundations, not your tool)
Where AI quietly becomes dangerous - the confident subdivision advice that could cost hundreds of thousands
Why a hallucination isn't a lie, it's a plausible answer that isn't real
Staying the creative director: the part of your work that never gets outsourced
The automation trap, and why two good posts beat twenty bland ones
Keeping your business off the tool - own your foundations in a platform that's yours
A line worth sitting with: "You're the creative director. Creativity sits under your role and it doesn't get outsourced." - Rhiannon Lee
Rough timestamps:
00:00 - Nobody's the expert: cutting the AI noise
03:44 - The tools Rhiannon actually uses (and how)
12:00 - Where AI gives dangerous answers
15:35 - Image generation: concept, not detail
21:27 - The pendulum swinging back to human voices
33:10 - You're the conductor, not the cast
43:36 - Keep it off the tool: own your foundations
53:00 - Where to find Rhiannon
About our guest: Rhiannon Lee is the founder and designer behind Oleander and Finch, and a sought-after mentor helping creatives build the systems behind their businesses. Her program Studio Build runs over six weeks, with the next round starting 7 July.
Instagram: @oleander_and_finch
Website: oleanderandfinch.com
Ready to back yourself? If this episode lit something up, come and see how BuildHer Collective helps women build, renovate and develop with confidence. Explore DevelopHer at buildhercollective.com.au.
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We spend so much time obsessing over layouts, floorplans, stone selections and budgets… but what if the thing that actually stops people in their tracks is something far less obvious?
In this episode of Building With BuildHer, Rebeka sits down with Cat Brown from Arch Melbourne to unpack the power of styling, colour and thoughtful finishes - and why creating emotional connection can help propel sales results.
Known for Arch Melbourne’s distinctive styling approach (think layered textures, statement furniture, unexpected colour moments and homes that feel anything but cookie-cutter), Cat shares why styling goes far beyond making things “look pretty”. It is about shaping perception, creating mood and helping buyers picture a better version of life within a home.
Rebeka and Cat dive into why developers often overcapitalise in some areas (hello built-in joinery everywhere) while overlooking the details that create real impact, how thoughtful styling can soften newer builds and make them feel warm and lived-in, and why neutral does not always need to mean safe—or worse… grey.
They also unpack why furniture planning should happen earlier than most people think, how styling influences photography and buyer engagement, why “scroll-stopping” moments matter in a world where buyers first meet your property online, and the role colour, texture and art play in making homes memorable.
Whether you renovate, build or develop property for profit, this episode is a reminder that beautiful homes are not built through finishes alone - they are built through feeling.
And buyers remember how a home made them feel.
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