Highgate Hill Colonial

Highgate Hill.  When I first moved to Brisbane after finishing university, one of the suburbs that I lived in was Spring Hill.  Back then (and maybe still now?) there weren’t many places that you go to get good take away food.  There was a chinese takeaway restaurant that delivered, and not much else.  I love Vietnamese food – especially a vermicelli rice noodle bowl with lots of fresh herbs and topped with spring rolls.  So good.  So vermicelli rice noodle bowls is how I found out about Highgate Hill.  This beautiful, hilly suburb that has incredible views and historic Queenslanders as well as the best Vietnamese / Asian restaurant that I have ever been to.  So take a look at this original colonial Queenslander (not for sale) that was built in 1880.

The house has been extensively renovated and was held by the previous owners for 20 years.  It has all of the views, including this one.

The high ceilings dominate the all of the rooms.  There are two original fireplaces as well as pressed metal ceilings. I prefer a more muted colour scheme – call me the beige, white and cream army, so I would paint this room (and the others, as you’ll see) if it were mine.  I would love to see this room repainted and redecorated – it would be breathtaking.  This room is Bed 5 on level one of the floor plan (below)/

Here is the other room with the fireplace and take a look at the ceiling!  While I’d still stick to a neutral colour scheme, the blue/lilac paint colour in this room is okay – although I think that the window frames etc should have been painted white / cream.  Imagine this room with a rug and a few old-style leather couches around the fireplace.  It would be such a cosy and intimate place.  On a cold, wet winter day you would find me in there with the fire going, me in my pjs with a good book (and maybe a glass of red).  On the floor plan (below), this room is the sitting room on the second level.  Did I mention that this house is three levels?

Another sitting room.  Again, look past the decor and paint colour.  Look at the high ceiling and the french doors that open up onto the verandah.  I love the little pane of lattice that peeks through from the veranda.  The owner of this house has made the room look even larger by hanging the curtains from the ceiling.

Another bedroom.  This house has seven bedrooms and six of them open up onto a verandah.  This house is a dream!

The top floor (which is an addition) has views that go for miles. It is a parents retreat with its own deck.  I wish that they had put in bifold doors here.  Imagine waking up in the morning and sitting outside (hopefully the kids are still sleeping) and having a cup of coffee while the sun rises.

The main living areas are located on the second floor.  I miss the traditional features of a Queenslander in these rooms.

Here is the bathroom located on the second floor.

The floor plan shows how enormous this house actually is.

Details

This house, in Highgate Hill, is not for sale.  It was sold for $1,820,000 in December 2014 by Luke Croft of Ray White – South Brisbane.  The real estate link can be found here.