My new house ....
Thu, 19 Aug 2010 39 Comments 
... if the building and pest inspection comes back OK and nothing nasty happens because it hasn't gone unconditional yet. Did I just write that? Am I jinxing myself by even revealing all this? No. I have a really good feeling about this one. The house was built in 1860 ... it says so in leadlight over the front door :) The front railings are not original, probably late Victorian so eventually we'll change them to something closer to the original and of course we'll have to paint some of it. Definitely not the brick. Brick is so rare in old homes in this part of the world.
The kitchen is in a separate brick wing. Common in those days because of the open fires used in cooking. The picture below is of part of the small attached stables. Hard to tell now but more obvious when you're inside. There's even a small fireplace where that the farrier used to shoe the horses. That's the chimney stack. Look at the huge Norfolk pines next door.
Looking down the cedar staircase from the second floor. Below is a shot of the wide cedar planks used for floor boards. You can just see the tip of my shoe. So many of my photos are slightly out of focus but I was just point and shooting as well as measuring, measuring, measuring. I was going to photoshop the pics but then I thought hang it. You get the idea :)
The main living room. It's actually a large room (by my standards) and this is just the fireplace end. Once again more cedar. Hate the terracotta tile floors but I can live with those for quite some time. Painting and a new bathroom (of the horrors of the original!) come first. Don't you just love the wallpaper and border trend of the 70s and 80s? NOT. The blurry photo below is of one of the colonial cedar shield door built in cabinets either side of the fireplace.
Look at those original cedar doors! The ones upstairs have been painted burgundy! Talk about "red" timber. What were they thinking? The ones on the bottom floor are all original thank god. The view is across the entry towards the dining room. Past the dining room is a breezeway and then the separate kitchen wing. Speaking of the kitchen ....
So much potential! I'll do minor changes to begin with. Maybe new timber counter tops and lots of painting, remove some things and throw in some open shelves but nothing too major. We'll live with this for a year and then refurb. Other things to do first!
That's the tour. I have lots more photos but they can wait till other posts. There is a lot of work to do but I am so excited. Just have to wait till it goes unconditional and hopefully in about 70 days it will be all ours!
Reader Comments (39)
wonderful news... it's charming and with so much potential!
congrats!!!
oh my gosh it's amazing! congratulations!
Good luck... my wife and I also have been looking (and are still looking) and we had to literally walk away from our dream home because it had structural issues with the sandstone foundation. To this day (3 months on) I still wish that problem wasn't there...
so i know how you feel. good luck with this one!!!
You seem to have been looking for so long - I hope this one is 'the' one. It looks wonderful - full of potential, as you say. I'm just thinking of selling up and moving within Sydney after 10 years in the same house (a record). It would mean renting for a while and I think I must be mad, but anyway...
Holy **** Jo!!! It is just devine....I can't believe How good. The Kitchen...the stairs...the brick.... the doors....oh please don't let anything happen....surely this one is the one you were meant to have!!
It is gorgeous and has so much potential. Wishing you all the best of luck- hope you get it and work your magic on it!
Wow, such character to this old beauty! 150 years young. Good luck Jo, I hope this one works out for you.
great- congratulations! the house has so much potential and I can imaging how it will look after renovation! I love these old houses, our house was built in 1890 and it has this special charme and it could tell you stories! good luck and have fun with it!
Have my fingers crossed for you. It's a lovely home. And I mean that. So much history in those walls. And it will obviously be loved and looked after by you both!
Its so awesome!
Can i ask you how much you paid for the House?
I`m looking for something similar.
Best Wishes from Germany
Martin
Congratulations on scoring such a gem. I'm sure everyone will be hanging out waiting to see the wonders that a bit of love will bring to it.
Yay! It looks great Jo! Hope you seal the deal !
Donna ( in Melbourne )
Wow, that's such an unusual house for Brisbane. Great find and CONGRATS!
What a gorgeous character filled home with such potential! Hope all goes to plan for you.
Thanks everyone! Fingers crossed it all goes well. Hi Donna (ex of Bris Vegas now of fabulous Melbourne)! And Anita and Katherine when it's all settled then it's coffee and cake at my place while we sort out what goes where and curse at how much stuff I've bought from Katherine.
wow! this place is amazing! congratulations! there is so much potential here, i know you will do a fabulous job! i love the history behind the house. can't wait to see what you do to it. :)
I am SO STOKED you finally found something. This place has SOOO much potential and SOOOO much work for you to do, which is kind of daunting to me but I know that only makes you more excited about it. This whole place will have your stamp on it. :-)
So beautiful! You'll be able to do so much with it!
It will be so fun to watch it transform...what a gem! Well done.
The bones and niches of this house are spectacular, my head is just spinning with ideas, wonder, and excitement thinking of all the great things you can do to it! Congrats, it is beautiful and I cannot wait to read all of the refurb posts, so keep us updated! :]
Wow, amazing house, amazing location. I have no doubt you'll turn it into an absolute gem. Crossing my fingers for you!
It's just lovely. Best of luck!
So much potential is absolutely right!! That kitchen is awesome!
What an awesome house! Congratulations!
Fingers (and toes) crossed. Everything will be OK. The house is absolutely divine!