Tuesday 21 May 2013

Visiting a Queenslander up for sale

The other day I inspected a house for sale with a friend who is searching for new digs. When she told me which house she was visiting, I instantly invited myself along for the ride...house voyeurism is what I do best.


It is an interwar Queenslander but I'm uncertain of the date it was built. I'd guess 1930? It is a beautiful old home which needs a lot of love. Probably more love (and money) than my friend can give at this stage. The home is being marketed to developers because it is situated in the middle of a rather large block of land.

The real estate agent said the house could potentially be moved to the front of the block and two new homes could be built out the back...It would be heart-breaking to see such a thing happen (this is why I will never be rich - too sentimental).

The front verandah has been enclosed and the entry has moved to the side of the home. It looks like it was originally a two-bedroom home with a sleep out, from what I could gather.

The home must have been quite grand in its day because of the rather fine detailing.


In the main bedroom there is a bay window with exquisite lead light. Seriously beautiful. The room also has an amazing elaborate ceiling that is breathtaking.


The dining room and lounge room are quite formal and are separated by timber French doors. These rooms have coffered ceilings and horsehair plaster walls beneath the wallpaper. It is just lovely to see such original detailing quite untouched.


I took a photograph of the bathroom because it was rather pink and its walls were adorned by floral pink wallpaper.  The ceiling was wallpapered too. ( I secretly didn't mind the 1950'ish black and pink tiling...I need more pink in my life)

I didn't mind the art deco style tiling on the bathroom floor...

I love visiting other homes which are still relatively original. This poor old home is very tired though. Let's hope someone will bring it back to its former glory.

14 comments:

  1. how gorgeous!! If only your friend could buy it. I feel so sad about homes like these, I feel as though by the time I can buy a house there will be nothing left thanks to the developers!

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  2. Old and tired- sounds right up my alley! The pink bathroom is delicious! I would have to stamp my princess foot and demand that it stay. Could you imagine a schmicko modern one. Just wrong! How many bedrooms I wonder to myself foolishly???

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  3. I quite like the pink and black bathroom too! ...keep up with the house tours! x

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  4. Seriously nice, and seriously sad if it is taken by developers. Love the pink/black, my Mother's original 40's kitchen was pink, with glitter Laminex :-)

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  5. Wow-love that bedroom, and the ceilings! Just beautiful details! Thanks for the peek!

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  6. I'm so like you, Brismod. I could never buy a house on a big block of land and move the original house forward or to one side to allow for another to be built. There's a grand old home in Kidston St Ascot that has just had that done to it. Awful! The crazy thing is they've moved the house to the left now pushing it right up close to a block of units so they can create a 405m2 block beside it. Yours at a steal for $700 - $800K! It's already under contract too. I'm also a lover of the pink & black tiles or better still, the green & black tiles in the bathroom. Too retro to rip out I say.

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  7. Oh, this house looks a lot like mine. Mine has the most remarkable ceilings - every room is different. Sadly, there are so many cracks in them I don't quite know what to do. I grew up in a house with a pink tiled bathroom and I adored it as much as my poor mum abhored it!

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  8. I hope somebody has the money to do it up lovingly too!

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  10. I LOVE that bathroom, a travesty to pull it out.

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  11. It always amazes me to see a house survive relative intact for decades upon decades. That one could be so beautiful!

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  12. Oh, how wonderful.... I really hope it will be restored to it's former glory, including the bathroom!! Reminds me so much of my grandmothers pink and black bathroom in the house she had from that very same period! Thanks for giving us a tour:-)

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  13. Queenslander homes are so beautiful. The high ceiling with it's detail in the main bedroom is gorgeous. I hope someone with cash to spare can give it the attention it deserves. x

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  14. That bathroom floor is great. It can't be original, or??
    No doubt "Gatsby" fever will bring deco right back in the mainstream.

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