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Showing posts with label stirling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stirling. Show all posts
Monday, November 29, 2010
It's November 30th, the last day of Spring & last night it was freezing here in the Hills! We had to light the fire again in the Living Room to keep warm, & I cranked the electric blanket up to 9 before I hopped into bed. The first day of Summer is tomorrow & I want to start eating outside again, just like this gorgeous image from Eva Kylland - bring it on!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Two very memorable things happened in the little village of Stirling in June 2006 - we moved up from the City & the Pub received a fabulous make-over. One is slightly more impressive than the other & I'll leave that for you to decide!
Since then MOTH & I have had many relaxed nights enjoying a wonderful dinner in the casual Bistro.
Or with a pint by the fire in the Front Bar, followed by the compulsory game of pool before stumbling home.
And the occasional special dinner in the flash Mallee Grill restaurant.
MOTH's well-known in the fabulous adjoining Bottle Shop, occasionally needing a red card flashed at him to let him know he's overstayed his welcome at the Tasting table.
Now Brett & Sarah the owners have responded to the acute shortage of decent accommodation in town by wandering upstairs & giving all the unused rooms a new lease of life. They have called their venture 5 Rooms - & that's exactly what it is. 5 simple but elegant suites with king-sized beds, luxury linen, i-Pod docking stations, double showers, spa baths, etc. All rooms share a cute little kitchen with a big espresso machine. 3 rooms have open fireplaces & french doors opening out onto the sweeping upstairs balcony.
We've spent many a happy warm Summer's night propped up out the front of The Stirling. Some nights, we even walk the 1/2km., but MOTH needs to lead the way home with a torch, as once away from the main street, there isn't any street lighting, so finding our front door is quite a challenge! So if you are heading up our way, I hope you stop at The Stirling, & maybe even give one of the 5 Rooms a spin.Images: The Stirling Hotel
Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Guest Room - AfterIn one of last week's posts I threw in a picture of our old house. I really enjoyed all your comments, but one in particular has caused me to do a lot of mulling over the weekend.
'Ok Millie what do you prefer your old place or new. How about posting some photo's of the interiors then we can get an idea of your style. I know it's going to be classy. What you like is hard to pick from your blog. Kind Regards Karen.'
Well Karen, it's true confession time - I just don't have a definable style, I used to but no more! This weird & wonderful house c.1972 has thrown any chance of that out of the window. Despite extensive research, that one fantastic reference book 'Decorating & design tips for bringing a 1970's house kicking & screaming into the 00's' has eluded me. We purchased for the fantastic location & the big rambling garden, & we always knew the house was going to be a 'challenge'.
So in looking for an answer to the question, I thought it may be time to post the pics on our very recent Guest Room renovation. I haven't added all the final touches (large mirror still at the Framers, comfy chair for the corner still not found, but I know what I want & a few more prints waiting to be attended to ). Oh, & a padded headboard for the bed on the sooner-than-later Wish List- so please be kind! Unlike our previous house, where because of its 1899 vintage it very much dictated to us, this time it's our turn to dictate our needs & wants to this house.
Regular readers at The Hedge know that this renovation is ongoing & huge - with every room needing major work & the kitchen & 2 bathrooms total gut & replace jobs. We have a strict budget to work within, so I've tried to reuse furniture from our old house, most times stripping, repainting & adding new hardware. However, our main objectives are:
- To banish the dark, cave-like feel that all the rooms in the house had due to the dark exposed brickwork & varnished woodwork.
- To let the grounds & garden be the star of each room. The large expanses of glass allow for this, so we wanted to create simple, unfussy interiors.
And we're doing it ourselves without any outside assistance (other than electrics & plumbing)MOTH's done it all when he's had a spare moment from work & with me acting as his builder's labourer.
I'd like to revisit the question in another year, with more rooms complete it will be interesting to see if my answer is more definitive & maybe even half-pie sensible!
The Guest Room - Before (as we saw it on the first day with the previous Owners stuff.)
MOTH's first job in this room was to pull up the disgusting carpet!
Dark, grotty & cave-like.
Like all the other rooms, it had a 1970-style sloping ceiling with exposed beams.
While pretty ugly, the built-in wardrobe was functional & very well built, so MOTH saved it, but relocated it to another wall.
MOTH had been pondering the ceiling for some time, & about a second after I took this pic, he turned to me & said "That's it, I've decided to build a new frame, drop the ceiling & install down-lights.' And so he did!
So here it is almost complete, with new curtains & carpet. The blanket box (a must for chilly Hills living!) on the left has received a Millie make-over. It was the boy's toy box for ever & ever & I just repainted it from a yukky reddish-brown. 
I picked the first camelias for the year from our garden yesterday. A padded headboard will set this wall off a treat. 
I gave these prints from our old house a make-over with simple black frames from IKEA. The bedside table is nearly 30 years old, was a light brown with doors & scrolly-things which I ripped off in a fit of pique one day. It held the sound system in our old house & I hated it, but once I stripped it & repainted it, I think its found its niche. The external shutters will get a paint once we get to do some outside renovations. 
The wardrobe relocated by MOTH. Once he'd moved it, the whole room changed for the better & I was really able to place the furniture exactly as I wanted. He built a bulkhead at the top & is still thinking about how to finish it off, so it's still a work in progress.Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Image Silver CrossWhile out walking over the weekend here in Stirling, I passed a Mum proudly wheeling her baby in a shiny new Silver Cross pram & what a head-turner it was! She was talking loudly to her husband & I detected a strong English accent, so I surmised that they may have brought the said perambulator with them from the Old Country. Known as the Bentley for Babies, they are considered the ultimate in baby carriages. Highly impractical I hear you say & yes, they don't fold down, so that rules out ever travelling anywhere by car or public transport. Add to that the fact they weigh a whopping 75lbs. & you'd have Buckley's getting it through the entrance of any store while out shopping. You'll also have to hand over AU$3,999 to own one, but gosh they have a certain something!
The top of the range is the Balmoral, which is handmade in rural England. It features a hand-sprung chassis, hand-spoked wheels, hand stitched pinstriped lining & a sequentially numbered plaque. Colours available are Navy, Navy & White and Brown & Cream, but I'm very partial to the one pictured above in elegant Onyx Black. I'd love to hear your pram stories (I won't share mine in detail, but it involves leaving a new baby outside the Welland Plaza Fruit Shop fast asleep in his pram & only remembering him as I drove into the driveway at home)! Oh & what colour would you like your Balmoral to be?
Monday, April 6, 2009
This house, a couple of street's away from us in Stirling is for sale. It's called St. Mark's & was built in 1910 as a Hills summer house for a family living down in Adelaide. The young Owners have certainly eschewed the fusty, musty look that still often goes with period houses - thank goodness!
No country kitchen look here - very streamlined & sophisticated, although Miss Millie would need a little more bench space.
Built of local sandstone, the house is simple in design, & I love the turret.
The front entrance hall is stunning & the use of colour here very brave, but gosh they've pulled it off. The intricate plaster work on the ceiling is wonderful & the leadlight panels around the door just glorious.
A more subtle use of colour in the living rooms.
The main bedroom was once the formal sitting room complete with bay window alcove & has fabulous views over the garden. Initially not really a fan of that particular wall colour, it's actually grown on me as I've prepared this post. The turret room is directly overhead.
The bay window offers a sunny spot off the main bedroom to look out into the garden. 
A little girl's bedroom - pretty in pink.
Navy, red & white for a boy's room - although I'm pretty sure my guys would have been begging me to flick the chandelier!
Functional guest room with fireplace.
A side entrance hallway again using the dramatic surprise element of red with contrasting white.
The house sits on approx. 4,000 sq. metres & has a swimming pool & outdoor entertaining area tucked around the side.
Lovely garden aspect leading up to the pool area.
The lovely sunny pool area.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
......so why don't you come along with me on my walk. It's late afternoon, so there's plenty of shade & just a gentle breeze. Just remember though that the properties here are on very large parcels of land, so most of the time you can only catch a glimpse of the houses from the road. Off we go, down our garden path & into Braemar Terrace, there's the long side of our place on the right.
Just a few metres along is this new house. It's constructed from limestone blocks with 6 pane windows & has a set of double white Georgian doors with the most marvellous fanlight, very pretty & elegant. A young family with a toddler & new baby live here.
Next comes Hathaway....
.....a little 1930's cottage owned by a lovely elderly couple.
We'll turn into Ayers Hill Road for just a few steps & then down into gorgeous Laurel Road.
The entrance to Laurel House which can't be seen at all from the road.
Now we come to Stirling's Jewel in the Crown, the estate of Sir Edward Stirling, the founder of Stirling. Firstly a surgeon, then a politician (fittingly as the father of 5 daughters, he introduced the Bill in State parliament to enfranchise women in South Australia), Sir Edward purchased the land here in Laurel Road & built his wonderful home in 1883. He lived here until his death in 1927.
A close-up of the gate post at St. Vigeans.
Then a little further along & here's the entrance gates to St. Vigeans tennis court.
Then we walk past a heritage plaque noting the history of the Gardeners Cottage which we're just about to come to.
The little stone Gardener's Cottage was originally built for Mr. Douglas Searle the first gardener of St. Vigeans.
The easter Lillies are just starting to appear on the roadside.
Then we walk past a heritage plaque noting the history of the Gardeners Cottage which we're just about to come to.
The little stone Gardener's Cottage was originally built for Mr. Douglas Searle the first gardener of St. Vigeans.
The lush green undergrowth growing either side of the road thrives here, fed by the winter creek that meanders through all the properties.
A second driveway leading up to another part of the St. Vigeans estate.
Now we see the entrance to Lower St. Vigeans.
In the early 1900's, a parcel of land was created from the larger St. Vigeans estate, a house was built on it for one of Sir Edward's daughters & so Lower St. Vigeans came to be. There is an amazing pond at the back of the property & a previous Owner, who was a well-known local Caterer, used to do a most marvellous lunch for only 2 people at a time. A table was set on the little pontoon over the water & it felt like you & your lunch partner were a million miles from anywhere!
Another interesting plaque. I can't see the top of this amazing old Oak, I've tried & almost tumbled over backwards in the process!
At the next property this garden rotunda is set right down on road level. I often see the Owner sitting down there in her dressing gown reading the morning paper very early!
Let's stop for a moment & turn back around. There's the gates to Lower St. Vigeans on the bend & that delightful little garden rotunda.
Then around into Birch Road, although I can't describe the house that is Birch Lodge as it is hidden by so much garden & many old trees!
Down this drive sits one of the area's most admired homes. A huge rambling Edwardian villa, complete with terracotta roof tiles & gargoyles. It looks onto a fabulous tennis court & winter creek.
As you may have noticed, many houses have Scottish names. This signifies the links to Sir Edward's Scottish father.
If you close your eyes, you can almost hear the sound of horses hoofs & carriage wheels crunching up this gravel drive a century or more ago!
This carpet of lush ground cover on the verge always slows me down as I pass by. There is a ultra-modern house tucked right up at the back of the block.
These hydrangeas have struggled in the searing heat of our record-breaking Summer, they are usually looking absolutely stunning.
The house up this drive is one of Stirling's oldest, a spectacular early Victorian bluestone mansion.
Another favourite - this house looks fantastic set lengthways against the sweeping curve of the drive.
This old home came on the market last year & I had a nosey. It was awful inside, very neglected & unloved. I hope the new Owners give it some TLC & realise they have what many of us would covet, a true circular drive!
And opposite, this very old historic cottage has just received a shiny new roof. The old one was a very rusty murky green & now it looks like the belle of the ball!
Then back onto Ayers Hill Road. I love this stuning old stone house on the way home, the wide verandahs are so inviting. This family have a tribe of teenagers who are always outside throwing a few hoops or kicking the footy around.
Now along Braemar Terrace again towards home.
And there's Hathaway again.
I hope you've enjoyed your walk around a little part of my world. It's getting late, the shadows are long on the ground, but it's been a lovely way to spend an hour. I try & do this lap briskly at least a couple of times a week, even in the dead of Winter & each time I do I think how lucky I am. I can walk in the middle of the road as there are never any cars & I rarely see anyone else. The beauty of the scenery & the solitude it offers refreshes my soul each & every time.
And Dunbarton Oaks on the corner.
Our neighbour's Prunus tree in all it's Autumnal glory.
Up towards home, with our laurel hedge looking in need of a trim - MOTH says next Sunday's the day!
Up into our country lane with our house on the left & more of our laurel hedge extending up the lane which is a no-through. Right at the end there are massive gates leading to a huge old mansion. The blocks for the few houses in our lane came when this piece of land was sold off from the original estate. Interestingly there's a real mix of architectural styles, spanning from the 1930's at the top of the lane, & finishing with our 1972 'beauty' at the bottom!
And so here we are home again, onto the front path, through the garden & down to the front door.
I hope you've enjoyed your walk around a little part of my world. It's getting late, the shadows are long on the ground, but it's been a lovely way to spend an hour. I try & do this lap briskly at least a couple of times a week, even in the dead of Winter & each time I do I think how lucky I am. I can walk in the middle of the road as there are never any cars & I rarely see anyone else. The beauty of the scenery & the solitude it offers refreshes my soul each & every time.
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