Coats Of Many Colours
Newcastle Herald
Saturday November 18, 2000
`NEVER be too proud.' That's the advice this Tighes Hill couple have for other renovators.
Many of their treasured and antique possessions used to be other people's trash. And with a bit of creative TLC, they have become treasures again.
The potbelly stove in the kitchen was rescued from the back of a truck on the way to the tip in Dubbo. The 1930s walnut chiffonier, sideboard and table with four chairs went for a song during a property settlement. The sideboard, now converted to a bathroom vanity, was thrown in with a second-hand bedroom suite just because the owners asked for it. And the re-covered dusty pink velvet lounge was bought for $25 before it even made it onto the St Vincent de Paul truck.
In fact, the restored double-brick Federation home the couple bought eight and a half years ago is filled with the spoils of 16 years of crafty collecting, from antique china to kitchen canisters to flying ducks on the walls.
`We prefer to think of it as practical,' the owners said, not wanting to give the impression they have a house full of junk.
`You can do a lot with not very much money.'
The same goes for their approach to structural renovation. While professional help was engaged to recreate Federation fretwork, construct a curved brick wall to enclose a private spa courtyard and in interior design, the couple did much of the painstaking restoration themselves.
They pulled out aluminium windows to reveal a view, pulled up industrial grey and floral carpet to reveal pine floorboards, knocked out pokey walls to create a free-flowing kitchen, dining and living area and installed French doors for light and access to the courtyard. Intricate timberwork was stripped of layers of paint, often with a Stanley knife.
One owner, a now expert hobby leadlighter, has also made an amazing 24 leadlight panels for the home's windows and doors.
`It saved on curtains,' he says, modestly.
He took his colour cues from an original round window and a panel above the front door, recreating some in Federation style and lashing out with a kookaburra theme in the kitchen and dining area. He is also responsible for the redesign of the kitchen, formerly the maid's quarters, using new pine floorboards for cupboard doors and a built-in sideboard.
`New kitchens are really expensive, so we thought we would give this a go,' he says.
`It worked really well. We just stained them to match the floors.'
The boards are teamed with white laminex benchtops and a white tile splashback behind the potbelly stove, used for heating and cooking. Brick walls are painted a terracotta red called tapestry and the effect is rich andcomforting.
Floorboards were also used in the deep blue main bedroom to create a built-in wardrobe and dressing table with leadlight doors. Here they are stained darker to match a four-poster bed.
The owners have not been afraid to use colour in their renovation, calling in expert help from designer Carmel Gibson. Continued on Page 16
From Page 15
Their hallway, nearly nine metres long, is painted rich ochre and has an incredible seven colours in the ornate ceiling, determined by a wide rose-patterned wallpaper frieze.
In the bathroom they have used a strong rose pink with white and burgundy tessellated tiles, and in the formal dining and loungeroom a softer pink trim balances moss green walls.
The terracotta red of the kitchen is carried through the informal living room and picked up in checked lounges.
Pedestrian and driveway entry to the house is, strictly speaking, at the back, as the formal front was constructed to make the most of views over Throsby Creek from Nobbys around toCharlestown.
The front has its original tessellated tile verandah and an elevated grassy terrace. What would officially be known as the back garden is where recent energy has been spent.
Standard gardenias and old roses give off a delightful perfume, and the deep mauve of jacarandas has been highlighted by agapanthus, lobelia, native violets and convolvulus.
The strong purple statement is fitting for this home so rich in colour.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
Share This