My House Rules - The Queenslander Gone Wrong?

BEFORE: a plain 50s board & brick suburban

On prime time TV here there are two house renovation shows vying for the limelight.
On My House Rules the teams are renovating a very plain house in Brisbane that aspires to be a Queenslander. Easy. You would think...
Most of the teams didn't seem to know what a Queenslander was. The big reveal is tonight and already I shudder to think what might be. We have already seen the modern pivoting front door which is totally wrong for a Queenslander and modern battening also wrong for the style.
However, the glimpses of the kitchen we have seen look spot-on.
Here are my style cues for the perfect Queenslander, one of my own favourite house types.

AFTER: This is kinda how it should look but I don't think it will...

This house I have done a story on is a stunning Queenslander that was totally renovated.

KITCHEN: country with industrial touches, like this Queenslander I photographed for the Weekly.

STYLE CUES: Pressed tin, vertical jointed wall boards, timber fretwork.

BEFORE: The MHR teams contemplate the brief.

DREAM ON: how an traditional Queenslander looks.

More about country life: Becoming local

There are lots of things that surprise me about living in the country. I will always be a "blow-in" as we call it here in Australia, no matter what. They say it takes at least 20 years before the born and bred country folk might consider you an honorary local. This is not such a big deal most of the time and there have been some breakthroughs.
Being invited to the Pyree Ball - the local farming community's annual knees-up, is a definite sign that you are on the road to being accepted.
Sharing my farm-grown produce, like the huge blue pumpkins modeled by my daughter above, gives me street cred.
Does anyone have any tricks for winning over the locals?

Country Roads

You know you are in the country when....
A neighbour arrives for dinner on a crisp autumn night on horseback, leading another horse he is breaking in. Both horses spent the duration of the evening hitched to the front fence occasionally whinnying to their friends 1km down the lane.
Wow... for a city girl like me.

Is the Grayson Hamptons house the ultimate beach house?

I am working on a look book for a someone who is building a big Hamptons-style beach house. I have some gorgeous inspirational images but would love some more.

The Grayson mansion on the TV show "Revenge" is pretty much it, but it doesn't really exist!
The dramatic double-height entrance hall to the shingled turrets - the stuff of dreams.

The other all-time favourite is the Hamptons house in the movie "Something's Gotta Give", where Diane Keaton lived.
What is your favourite image?

Autumn Flowers In My Garden - Dahlias

Just couldn't resist taking some photos of the incredible autumn flowers blooming in my garden at the moment. The apple in the photo is to show how big they are.

These Dahlias were only planted in the past year so I'm quite chuffed they have done so well, even though it was quite a difficult summer.

They survived a very dry December followed by storms and the edge of a small tornado which hit our region some weeks back. Luckily we just caught the edge of it but our neighbours down the lane lost about six huge trees.

Dahlias make for wonderfully colourful flower arrangements and the vivid colours brighten up any room. I bought these Dahlia bulbs online from Garden Express and can recommend them!

Home Office Re-Design

If you study the elements that make this eclectic office gorgeous, it comes down to the green walls, white vintage desk with contrastingWassily chair and the bold floral rug which anchors it.

I have a new space for my home office which looks pretty sad, I'm sorry to say. I need some inspiration!
It is also a storeroom for all my house props so this will be a big challenge to bring it all into line.
I have an antique desk which I've had since school, but it either needs to go or be re-painted a happy colour.
The walls also need a paint so I might inject some colour - or wallpaper - here too. Its the one space in the house that is just mine and mine alone. I had never realised that until just now so that means I can paint it whatever colour I like!
Here are some of the must-have elements:
- a vintage desk with some personality, painted white or a bold colour
- an over-sized pinboard
- a stylish chair (no black vinyl swivels for me)
- great light fitting
- cool table/desk lamp
- heaps of attractive storage
- a graphic rug

What would your ideal home office look like? Chic and sleek or stylishly eclectic?

This modern office is probably like the space I have to work with - love the all-white with a touch of blue. This happy space is in a lovely house in Brisbane I photographed last year by designer Anna Spiro. The yellow vintage desk makes it!

Glimpse of my latest project

Over the next few weeks I am going to post glimpses of my own farmhouse which is still a work in progress.  We have been working on it, be it in bits of time here and there, for the last few months.

Here is my cat Mini making herself at home in the church hall. The grey walls are Dulux "Timeless Grey" and the trim "White On White". The window is a reclaimed window we had in the shed that matched the originals fairly closely.

The floors are the original hardwood which we did not have time to sand and finish before moving in for Christmas so we left them raw. We quite like the unfinished boards and we are considering what techniques we can apply that will give them a finish but keep that raw look.

Any suggestions?