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Before & after: A spacious modern farmhouse in Brisbane

February 14, 2019 1 Comment

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We’ve featured the work of Queensland based pianist turned builder Rachael Turner before and her latest renovation brings more of the same high quality. Located 10 minutes south of the Brisbane CBD, Rachael and her company Front Porch Properties purchased this 1930’s pre-war character home, renovated it and sold it within a year recently.

BEFORE front
BEFORE front
AFTER front
AFTER front

“There was no design brief as such as I was building for myself, with no client involved. However, the vision I had was to transform the run down home into a dreamy modern farmhouse that was contemporary but had storybook charm and would appeal to the general market,” says Rachael.

BEFORE lounge
BEFORE lounge
AFTER lounge & dining
AFTER lounge & dining
AFTER dining
AFTER dining

“The original home had some beautiful original features such as ornate ceilings and elaborate cornices that we worked hard to restore. We raised the home by two metres, built all new underneath, and meticulously renovated and restored the original part,” says Rachael of the expansive home that now boasts five bedrooms, three bathrooms, two living areas and a pool.

BEFORE kitchen
BEFORE kitchen
AFTER kitchen
AFTER kitchen

The hub of the home is a huge open plan kitchen, living and dining area that’s complemented by soaring 3.7 metre ceilings. “The modern farmhouse style kitchen has a cute butler’s pantry. We love the custom built produce drawers for potatoes and onions that were built from recycled oak,” says Rachael.

AFTER butler's pantry
AFTER butler’s pantry

Special mention should be made of the many entertaining areas also. “There are four separate outdoor entertaining areas, including a huge back entertainers’ deck with a sunken fire pit, eating area and super cute front sun porch with a custom porch swing,” says Rachael.

BEFORE backyard
BEFORE backyard
AFTER backyard
AFTER backyard

The spacious theme continues upstairs where a very large staircase connects through to the bedrooms and upstairs sitting room that has views through to the city. “The staircase is very special as it has sisal carpet, shiplap wall cladding, matte black balustrading, a huge window seat and a seagrass pendant,” says Rachael.

AFTER staircase
AFTER staircase

The master bedroom now has a huge walk-in robe and spacious ensuite too. “The ensuite was originally a bedroom and now has a huge freestanding bath, custom wainscoting, restored 1930’s cornices and ceiling and and a ‘his and hers’ vanity,” says Rachael.

BEFORE bedroom
BEFORE bedroom
AFTER bedroom
AFTER bedroom
AFTER ensuite
AFTER ensuite
AFTER double vanities
AFTER ensuite double vanities

“The vision for the home was to create something that would be extremely comfortable, easy and relaxed to live in. I was really careful in trying to tick all the boxes in terms of what a potential buyer would want. I love that it has many different zones and places where you can go to retreat,” says Rachael.

AFTER walk-in robe
AFTER walk-in robe

And as for the learning process, it’s a continuous one. “I’ve learnt that renovations of this scale always cost more than you think or budget for. The amount of effort that goes into restoring old character homes is enormous – especially if you are passionate about doing it right and paying proper respect to the original home. It would be easier and cheaper to rip things out and start again, but I’m passionate about restoration and this often comes with a hefty price tag. The outcome is totally worth it though!”

AFTER main bathroom
AFTER main bathroom
AFTER study
AFTER study

For more | One of Rachael’s other renovations

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Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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Comments

  1. AvatarJoanne says

    February 18, 2019 at 8:01 am

    I usually love a good before and after as much as the next person but I wouldn’t call this one inspirational…I cannot any qualities or details of the original home in there at all, it mentions restoring ornate ceilings and cornices but I’m not seeing any of them….this may as well be a new build which to me defeats the purpose of a great before and after. Love the chosen finishes and the finished product of course looks great but the original character has been completely wiped out.

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