Playing Tennis

When you know how much a vendor has spent on a property (damn you RPData) it makes it very difficult to tolerate any B.S. when they try to tell you what you should be paying. Especially if they have done nothing but use the place as a storage facility and watch it waste away... poor little church. 

Anyway, while we play that game of tennis with the contract going back and forward with conditions and a thousand dollars here and there, I am googling away and maybe on the search for a copy of Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Elle Decor. Anyone... anyone?

Linda at Surroundings featured a transformed 175-year-old church Check it out on THIS blog and more details are in the Elle Decor as mentioned above.

The Church - An Update

Sorry for the confusion everyone!

We are looking to buy the church and land as it is located currently as a weekender to renovate for family and friends (hopefully for a project this summer) if we can get it for the right price.

This will also give us an idea of the local area and tradesman working rurally and build relationships for building the lake house.

Will keep you all posted.

A HEAP of work

Falling in Love

Loving this

Loving this

Not loving this

Or this... but heaps of potential - no asbestos! YAY

So there you have it. More info to come asap.

Church needs an Owner

Like the pining in the eyes of the doggies while I look at the RSPCA Adopt a Pet page in the newspaper... that is how I feel when I look at cute rural cottages and sweet old places.

I have kept my eye on this place a while now. It is so cute. I would LOVE to get my hands on it and fix it up. But you cant have everything right.

Although I am working on trying to have my mother to buy it. She loves it too. I think the idea of the flowing creek for the grandchildren to play in was what got her across the line.

Then I will have another little project to work on. Yep, just what I need!

Cute - TICK
Leafy - TICK
Lovely vista - TICK
Power - TICK
Street appeal - TICK
Potential - DOUBLE TICK

The only large expense is sewerage / septic and never fear I have become quite the expert on that little topic!

Fire Place

Probably should have stated this in my last post. I actually own the house I am considering moving to the lake. So it is just a matter of working that in as AN option or THE option.  So I am working with AN option and we are going to complete a bit of due diligence on this idea and see what we come up with.

My main issue is that it will not be exactly what I want and the front of the house hosts two of the bedrooms and the back of the house the kitchen and outdoor area. So then comes the question - Do you have the bedrooms looking out to the water or the kitchen (with potential deck and outdoor dining area?) Or do you have the front facing the entry from road with the lounge and one of the bedrooms to the lake. But then I need to keep street appeal in mind too and how it will look over all on the block. Big decisions.

Anyway, onto a little fireplace post:

I am having a fireplace no matter what. I have never understood the closed fireplace idea. And modern fireplaces just do not make sense. To me a fireplace is something which should be kept traditional and not messed with too much. Well that said, not caveman style! More federation, open fireplace style.... you get my drift right?

Anyway... this is the fireplace I am planning to recreate.

Very old and 'nothing' photo but only one I could find without launching a search party through disks or waiting to take a photo and then load it etc etc. Life is busy people!

What works:

I like that it is elevated from the floor. You don't have to bend too far to stoke it and it also creates more of a feature in the room as it is closer to eye level. It also works very well in a smaller space.

I like that there is a little mantel on the top which is basic.

This fireplace draws like a dyson which some people might say is not efficient when it comes to fuelling it? Hey, for years I had unlimited firewood supply and for me its about being able to sit there and enjoy the feel of it. I can promise you it does not ever smoke up the house or make anything smell of smoke. It is fantastic!

I like this simple design. What are everyone's thoughts?

To Move a House

So here goes.

I have an option to move a house from Brisbane to the lake.

It has potential, but would be a lot of work too and maybe not exactly what I would 'design' myself.
It is circa 1915. Very high ceilings. Bullnose veranda (once the 1950s additions are removed along with the asbestos eeewwww) Three bedrooms, beautiful wide timber floor boards which are in good condition.

But do I really want the issues of house relocation? What I do know though, is that if I don't move this house it will be either demolished or moved by someone else. The demolishing makes me sad though.
Please share any stories.
 

Lounge Area