The Perfect Queenslander...Part III

Morning all,
Those of you who've been visiting my blog for some time might remember my posts here and here, on some fantastic examples of traditional Queenslanders, meticulously renovated and restored by a very talented Brisbane couple. Well, they've just finished their latest project, and I thought I'd share it with you. This home is quite different to their previous renovations, but you can see the same attention to detail, and a definite focus on combining the best of a bygone era with all the essentials for modern living.

all images courtesy Space Property Agents via realestate.com.au

So, what do you think - how does this stack up to their previous projects?

I have my own personal fave, but I'd love to know what you think!

Enjoy your weekend everyone, 

Beach house makeover

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the makeover taking place at my lovely friend Suzi's house. Well, the house is being painted throughout at the moment, so while that's happening, I thought I'd show you some of the things we'll be using in her design scheme. Oh, and this is the kinda ok view from her back deck:

sweet Maggie May soaking up the sun

we both absolutely LOVE this room, which is our starting point

Here are a few of the pieces (or similar) that we plan on using.

...and we have something very special in store for some of these beauties:

So, what do you think? It does help when you live in a gorgeous location like Suzi does, but really, I think this style works well anywhere. I'll keep you posted on the progress, once the painters are finished.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Apartment Therapy Feature

So...remember I mentioned that I had a little secret? Well, last week I received an email from Apartment Therapy, asking whether I'd be interested in having my kitchen makeover featured on their blog. Well, I said, I don't know, I'll have to think about it....oh, who am I kidding? Of course my answer was an immediate, big fat YES! So if you're interested, hop on over here to check it out. There's also an interview to go with the pics. I'm just a little bit excited about it, in case you hadn't noticed, so here are some of the photos from the post:

See you tomorrow!

I'm on the hunt....

....for some gorgeous pendant lights for my newly-zhushed kitchen. But it's so hard to find lighting that's beautiful and affordable. As the lovely A-M lamented recently (pop on over to read her post here), it's really difficult to track down something that's both good-looking and within the realms of possibility price-wise. This is the look I'm after...

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...but it's nearly impossible to find. Regardless, I need to find something I like asap. Why? Because my hideous pine ceilings are about to be painted! I'm ridiculously excited - I've wanted to do this for years. I ran into a builder friend on the weekend, who actually enjoys painting (!) and he offered to come and help me with the ceilings - how good is that! So if I'm a bit scarce on the blog front, don't worry - I'm not sure I'm good enough to swing from a ladder, paintbrush in one hand and laptop in the other! But you can be sure I'll be posting all the goodies as soon as I possibly can.

Oh, and I also have some very exciting news to share with you all...so stick around, I'll spill the beans in the next few days!

Have a good one,

Paddington perfection

When we first moved to Brisbane from Sydney, we lived in the inner-city suburb of Auchenflower. The area is full of lovely period homes, mostly timber Queenslanders. On weekends, we'd spend our time driving around, looking at all the beautiful old homes, and often stopped in to the neighbouring suburb of Paddington.

One of my favourite houses in Paddington is now on the market. Latrobe Manor is a gorgeous colonial that's undergone a huge renovation, and the old girl has been given a new lease on life. Take a look at her now:

To sweeten the deal even more, this home is to be auctioned as a package, complete with an adjoining three bedroom cottage, perfect as guest quarters/home office/teenagers' retreat. 

See you at the auction!

images via realestate.com.au

Clayfield - a work in progress

For some time now, I've been working on a very special project. My sister lives in a gorgeous old worker's cottage in the Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, and I've been helping her with its renovation. I absolutely love old Queenslanders, so not only do I get to work with my lovely sister, I also get to play with her very cute house!

We've spent a long time looking for the perfect dining table and chairs, and as space is limited we needed to find something quite petite. Take a look at what we found - a beautiful french bistro table and four bentwood chairs, with lovely pressed seats.

isn't the detail lovely?

the base is cast iron - gorgeous

and we couldn't resist these antique french candle sticks

Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Queenslander style, take a look at this home, which I posted about here. The front section is a colonial workers' cottage, and is almost identical to the home my sis owns.

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Isn't it gorgeous?

Not only are we looking for furniture and accessories, we're also in the process of finishing the installation of her new kitchen (I know, kitchens seem to be top of my renovation list at the moment!)

Today I'm off to source the splashback tiles, which is the last step before the room is complete. I can't wait to share the finished product with you, it's quite the transformation. The house was completely original, and the kitchen consisted of a cupboard, a sink and an ancient sandstone fireplace. We now have a charming and airy space which complements the original cottage beautifully. Of course, when the tiling is complete I'll be sure to post all the pics!

Oh, and do you remember this post about the little pony I found? Well, he now has a new home in a cute little cottage in Clayfield........!

Oh look at me now!

Ooh, I can hardly contain myself! In spite of all advice to the contrary, I decided to have a little preview of how my makeover will look when it's all done and dusted. Can I tell you how much I LOVE IT?

Here's a sneak peek:

as you can see, there's still painting to be done around the skirting

from this...

...to this!

I can't tell you how much restraint is required not to throw all the doors back on right now. But it's raining today, and I do have some concerns that the paint isn't quite cured enough (but shh, don't tell hubby or I'll get the "I told you so" speech!). But I'm so in love it's not funny.

Patience Kerri, patience!  Right, no more teasers until it's all back together again, I think promise. Truly :-)

all images Driftwood Interiors