Wednesday, June 19, 2013

House Rules - Do Your Research

The contestants are frantically stripping out the termite-infested northern beaches home of Michelle and Steve and we are looking forward to seeing some "Beach House" style in the big reveal.

Some things that have been niggling about the previous Brisbane house. When I thought about what I would have done with that house there would have been some fundamental differences:
Firstly I would have made the decks much bigger and put a DA in to wrap the veranda around the side.

What were they thinking putting modern double glass doors from the front porch to the master bedroom? Talk about a fishbowl. The doors would have worked if they had used a more traditional french door which has only the top panel glazed.
The ensuite, though nicely done, looked like it belonged in a project home. The other team got the traditional details pretty spot on in the main bathroom.

There is so much stuff to look at style wise, both in magazines and on the web, I wonder why these contestants don't do some research.
The kitchen, as I've mentioned, was great but the pokey little deck out the back barely fit a table for two.

With the beach house I think there will be fewer "style" slip-ups but the brothers who were asked to do Morroccan tiles in the bathroom have got the wrong idea here. Once again, if they had just Googled "Morroccan tiles" they would have seen that what they have chosen is completely wrong.



Sunday, June 16, 2013

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.