I visited a very retro house for sale the other day which I just have to share with you. It's located on Brisbane's southside and was almost a perfect time capsule of the late 1970s. Think
Saturday Night Fever and
Charlie's Angels era and you get the picture. Yeah, baby!
The house was architect-designed (not sure who, as the agent didn't know) in 1977 and is essentially a tribute to split-level design and knotty pine walls. Although I love a panelled wall, the amount of pine cladding challenged even my sympathetic leanings...But you have to admire the owners for keeping the home intact for so long and were never tempted by that Tuscan decor period that Brisbane flirted with during the 90s!
The four-bedroom house is in very good maintained condition in a nice area and if you live and breathe retro, it would be the house for you. I know our furniture would be right at home here.
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| knotty pine panelled walls in dining/living room |
The galley kitchen was also very interesting as it had a massive walk-in pantry (with bat wing saloon doors) for all kitchen storage needs (it's out of shot in the image below). There was absolutely no cabinetry or drawers in the actual kitchen - very streamlined indeed. I kept on trying to open the non-existent drawers. I think I would want at least one drawer for the wooden spoons.
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knotty pine kitchen
Image from here |
There was a lot to like about this retro house and here is the floor plan to give you more of an idea of what living in 1977 looked like in Brisbane.
So, do you think you could live in a house like this? And if you owned this retro house would you paint those knotty pine walls or celebrate all that knotty pine goodness?
The kitchen is very pretty, and I'd love to have a walk-in pantry that large...but I wonder what their thinking was when deciding not to have any drawers in the kitchen. I'd constantly grieve about all that lost storage space.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the no kitchen drawer thing either. I'd be constantly frustrated! The pantry was massive though. xx
Deleteoh id have to have therapy over that kitchen....but the split level and the vaulted ceilings....oh and that wall hanging is fab!....was there a sauna?. I grew up with knotted pine everywhere....even our loo ceiling was knotted pine...always felt like peeing in a coffin....not that id know? I now have a love/hate thing going on with it....pine not coffins......please tell me the bathroom tiles where mission brown with orange highlights?? Al x
ReplyDeleteHa ha! No sauna, but there'd be room for one near the pool if you wanted. There was pine in the main bathroom, but the tiles weren't brown... The house had fab bones. xx
DeleteI think I'd have to paint it and put lotsa cupboards under those benches! Nice lot of space though and I like the high ceilings.
ReplyDeleteYes, knotty pine is something I like in smaller doses too. The ceilings were huge! xx
DeleteI reckon this could be the perfect abode for Mr and Mrs MMMC and their Solid Gold Dancers...
ReplyDelete(no kitchen drawers might be a bit of an issue for them though)
p.s. I like the pine - all of it.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD!! THIS IS MY DREAM HOUSE. I FEEL SICK!! There's cork. There's wood. There's brown everywhere. I'm willing to live on the dark side!!
ReplyDeleteAnd it's in "feral" street. Doesn't get much better than that!
ReplyDeleteI did think of you MMMC and the Solid Gold Dancers. It was so brown and it had a fabulous family feel. The street name just seals it! xx
DeleteTold ya!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know me so well. I wouldn't paint a smudge of it.xo
DeleteOh dear, Its amazing to see a place so stuck in a time warp & to,at the same time respect the purity of this decor. I absolutely hate the pine so it would sacrilege for me to live there as I'd want to paint it all or better still gut it & start again. Sacrilege!!
ReplyDeleteWendy, it would be sacrilege for me to own that house too. I'd want to change a lot of it too. It's a great home though. I hope someone who loves knotty pine buys it! xx
DeleteHa ha! Almost a fortune teller, Kylie! I'm so glad you embrace knotty pine. I'd have to paint out a couple of walls myself... Ha! xx
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me (in a good way) of some high school friends houses.... good memories!! I'd have to ease off on the pine lovin' just a wee bit, but do love the ceilings and the rice paper lamp shade..., it had to have that!! Fab floor plan too!
ReplyDeleteIt must be pronounced 'Fe'-roll' by the locals, one would presume??
Love your take on the pronounciation. I'd say the people on the street would call it that. Much nicer than feral. xx
DeleteI LOVE IT!!! Imagine filling it with some great clean lined mcm furniture pieces, more rice lamps and greenery... The white ceiling lightens it up a great deal. You gotta love people who stay so true to the bones of a house, it would be a shame if it gets painted after almost 40 years of glorious pine!
ReplyDeleteYes, the decor is the key to making this home a success in its current state. I could see it working with expressionist art pieces too. And I agree plants would work so well here! xx
DeleteWow. I adore it. Those ceilings! That wall hanging! So pretty!.............but there is no way I could wake up to all that pine everyday, or that kitchen. So odd. I really hope it goes to someone who appreciates it as is.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way Phoebe. I like keeping the integrity of a home intact but in my hands this home is doomed for 'DIY'...!
DeleteI detest knotty pine BUT in a house like that, it's perfect. I'll have to do a blog post one day about a home out near Warwick that my great-great-great grandparents built which has had the cedar ripped out and replaced with ... you guessed it, knotted pine!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Yes, I'd love to read about the Warwick place...oh, can't believe the cedar was ripped out! xx
DeleteAll those knotty pine lovers out there are gonna hate me, but this is almost the same as our place - just add black slate floors, an exposed (super dark brown) brick wall or seven, and pine galore! Painting the timber white may be sacrilege, but it's the only thing that saved my sanity - the gloom and doom was just unbearable. I also painted the timber kitchen white and the difference to the feel of the place, not to mention my enjoyment of it, is immeasurable. Dark and dungeony is just not my style, and out of sync with sunny Brisvegas. Just my two bob's worth of course, and we still have some pine, brick and slate untouched....for now anyway :) x
ReplyDeleteNever fear Kerry, the knotty pine lovers are a minority it seems. It is a whole lot of pine to have to live with particularly if your decor style is not sympathetic with it. I can totally understand someone painting over it - and it would still look great. Your home is lovely and it's important that you make it a place you love. xx
DeleteHuge potential - next project ? (Think of Jason's paint brush ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo, 'knot' this time. And I'd feel terrible to paint over it...eventhough I may want to white-wash a few of those walls. xx
DeleteHmm, knotty for me (ha), I'd be painting all that pine white in a heartbeat...
ReplyDeleteI think it is knotty for most people! xx
Deletewow, that is so tough. I have the same dilemma at my place - but it's jarrah, not knotty pine. Love it heaps, but now and then i'm so tempted to paint it white. such a hard decision!!
ReplyDeletelove this house anita, reminds me of my best firneds house from when I was 8yrs old or so. I was dead set jealous, thought her house was awesome!
You'd keep the jarrah, surely Jules? But it is a hard one because, a complete timber finish can be quite over-powering...but I guess pays to live in it for a while and see if you feel the same way about it. xx
DeleteOops lost my comment. A portion of the ceiling in my house is identical to this one (including the down lights!). I bet it was the same designer, because we too have cork board in our kitchen/dining area! This house was probably built in that era. We're in Fig Tree Pocket.
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