Modern Australian Bungalow 1971

Well, after a post about houses I didn't win or bid on, here is the house that arrived this week. I won it (for the grand total of $3.25) last year, and went with my sister to pick it up from the Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills in October. (She bought it for me!)


It's a bungalow made in 1971 by a master builder, the grandfather of the woman I bought it from. Architecturally, it's quite simple, perhaps influenced by post-war austerity style houses, with a hint of abstract. The roof is metal, and almost flat - sloping wooden beams give it a very slight pitch. The roof opens on hinges at the back, to give access to the inside of the house.


However, Graham and Linda Kimber, who live here, prefer to use the front door. You have met them before, demonstrating different Erna Meyer scales. (I'm not sure how Graham manages the door-knob; he must have very strong arms, I think.)


The interior has been decorated with wallpaper and carpet from the seller's parents' house and her grandparents' house.


To the right of the hallway is the open plan living and dining room, and straight ahead is the kitchen, with the back door opening out of it. (Well, it would if there was a back door, but there isn't one now, just the doorway.)


To the left are the bedrooms - a large master bedroom, and a small children's bedroom - and the bathroom.


The carpet in the living /dining areas and hallway is the same as in my mother's living / dining rooms and hallway, but in a different colourway.


(Here is my mother's cat Sophie
demonstrating how well she matches the carpet in Mum's hallway.)

It looks like all the windows originally had curtains, but apart from the kitchen and bathroom, only one set of curtains remains, in the living room.


As you can see, several wallpaper designs are used in the living areas, and the bedrooms also have different patterns on each wall. The children's bedroom is bright and colourful, but quite small (typical of second bedrooms in real houses of this period).


The master bedroom is much larger, and also has pretty wallpaper:


Linda is contemplating what furniture she could buy for this lovely spacious room. (The business of moving to a new house seems to be causing both Linda and Graham to pull their hair out. I hope they get settled soon, before they lose it all!)

The bathroom and kitchen are quite small. The bathroom has a built-in toilet, bath, basin, mirror and towel-rail, and bright lino on the floor:


The kitchen has very cheery wallpaper, and a hand-painted curtain.


As the bathroom has plastic furnishings (Jean, I think?), I think I'll use moulded plastic furniture in the kitchen too. I've tried out a couple of sets - green Kleeware:


and cream and pale green Blue Box:


I prefer the green - just slightly larger, and more in keeping with the bright wallpaper and curtain, I think.

I have some furniture for this house - I plan to use the dining table and chairs from Oese here - but I think Graham and Linda will need to visit Tim's secondhand shop, and buy some furnishings through catalogues and auctions. We'll keep you posted!