Spooky – what lurks beneath.

We have a dungeon.

Well, not really a dungeon, but it looks dungeon-like and that must count for something. It is actually the brick cavity underneath the front external stairs. I know - not exactly à la Fritzl, sorry to disappoint.

Jason dubbed it the “naughty” dungeon which amuses the boys greatly. Those kids have such rampant imaginations – I’ve been told that there is a pair of eyes which stare out from the bricks.

the naughty dungeon

Under the Sow’s Ear is kind of spooky. Somehow knowing that the last owner of the house was a Funeral Director plays a big part to this vibe. And of course, Boo Radley’s house next door which is abandoned and boarded up doesn’t help (it gives me the creeps, especially when the crows circle Boo’s house).

laundry

My laundry is down under here. We have a spare room, toilet and Jason’s car is parked there too. There is also a heap of rubbish to clear from when we moved and the kitchen renovation.

garage doors

The Sow’s Ear has great potential to be raised and built in underneath, but as I mentioned in a previous post it will fill with water during a rain storm. For now, we have sufficient space upstairs for our young family of five. Perhaps when the boys are older, we can re-visit this proposition.

Cupboard happiness

It's amazing what a difference three extra shelves can make to your life.

Jason finished the inside of the linen/broom cupboard - I can now store my bedsheets/bedspreads, the boys can easily help themselves to a towel and the loo paper has finally found a home conveniently located near the bathroom.

To top if off, there is now free shelf space in our own built-in cupboard for our clothes.

Cheers to shelves and less clutter!

Master bedroom

I like our bedroom. This is a good thing, since I like sleep. I’m even inclined to hide myself away (when no one is looking) to have a nana nap, although that doesn’t happen often enough for my liking.

It’s a strange room; quite enormous for a room in a house of this vintage. And the reason: the addition of a faux bay window. We believe this romantic gesture was added during the "Great Refurbishment" in the 50/60s.

Cosy nook

The faux bay window floors are a darker narrower hard wood which run against the flow of the original pine boards. It was probably carpeted in its heyday, so matching the boards would never have been a consideration.

See the difference in floorboards

The walls under the bay window are fibro. When we change the windows, Jason will most probably replace it with VJs.

The windows were also replaced with single pane glass casements similar to the windows in the sunroom. We will try to recycle some of the old kitchen windows here, so at least they are the same profile to the rest of the house. The only problem is we will have a mixture of green and amber glass. Not sure what we will do about this...perhaps we will just get windows custom built?

This is also the only room to have curtains. They have remained only to give us privacy. I’m not a big fan of curtains, although I do appreciate them in other homes. Not sure what we will do...so any suggestions are welcomed...

The master bedroom has large built-in cupboards in the same louver-style of the boys’ bedrooms. We also have air-conditioning. Yay! We can fit a queen bed, two 1960s Rosando bed-side cabinets, an old 1930s English oak dresser and still have plenty of room to move.

They must have got a bulk discount for these doors because they are in every bedroom!

With a bit of paint, some furniture rearrangement and some discrete changes here and there, I think this room will be just fine.

The beadspread is a vintage hand-stitched tifaifai made in Tahiti

Side stairs and stump tour

For something a little different, I thought I'd take you on an outdoor tour of the Sow's Ear.

This old mango tree stump and ghastly set of stairs have been earmarked for total annihilation.

Mango tree stump, side stairs and broken path.

Stairway from hell.

Soon after we moved to the Sow's Ear in May, we obtained a quote to have the entire sunroom and side stairs repaired and rebuilt. It was the second thing on our list after the kitchen was completed, but then Jason's car was stolen at Bunnings. When he bought his new car this project went on hiatus. We are now focused on doing small DIY projects for the next little while.

Jason's comtemplating fixing the sunroom himself (re-fitting different windows, removing that lovely substance called asbestos and recladding the internal walls with VJs) but  he will definitely outsource the stairs to a builder. It's just a matter of time and money.

As you can see, the old tree’s root system has wrecked the cement path which is now a mosaic of its former self. The stump will eventually be removed or at least ground down when we re-do the path near the stairs. For now, the kids use it as their theatrical stage.

We have a drainage problem under the house too. In a downpour, water gets in under the house and was probably the main reason the house was never built in underneath. There are about three dirty great big drains under there so it should never get too dire, but it will always be damp during a downpour.

You gotta love these old houses! Hope you enjoyed this outdoor tour.

Doors wide shut

Bow in the double lattice deck doors. Notice the overlap at the top when it is closed!

There has been a noticeable drop or bow in quite a few doors in the Sow’s Ear - the front door, the back deck lattice door and also the French doors leading out to the deck. They are not staying shut. Poor Jason is at his wits end, re-adjusting locks so that the doors stay shut. Is there anything more exasperating than a door that doesn’t catch when closed?

Brisbane weather is bone dry at the moment and I guess the wood in the house is shrinking making the doors drop. Who knows?

Even some of the newly painted VJs are splitting ever so slightly. (It’s true what they say about Queenslanders – as soon as you have finished painting the last room in the house, it’s time to start all over again!)

Perhaps a good old downpour is what we need to swell all that wood. And then we probably won’t be able to get the doors open...