Saturday, July 29, 2006

1st Annual BooMama Blog Tour of Homes


One of the Blogs that I visit regularly is BooMama. BooMama has had the great idea of a "tour of homes" where you get to see the homes of people from around the world that link to this blog. So I am joining in. I have tried to give the Queensland feel, even though we are in the middle of winter here.





Here is one of my favorite places, it is in the centre of our home next to the kitchen. This is our meals area, you can't actually see the dinner table, it is opposite the sideboard. This is one section of my photo gallery. I love having all the photos up and change them often. Another favorite is the airconditioning unit above- it is a necessity here in Queensland, I don't know how I would manage with out it. We only have this area and the family room airconditioned but it is enough as all our living is in this area. On hot nights we go for a quick swim before bed and that is usually enough to cool us down for sleep.




Here is my front door, leading to the hallway to the bedrooms; and to where I am standing, the formal lounge room. I love it that when I first enter I see all this. I don't let the kids play in here so it stays reasonably tidy. Our ceilings are 20Ft tall with opening windows at the top for ventilation. The pictures on the wall are from an old book of my Grandfathers published in 1852. We all loved the book and felt torn (excuse the pun) about what we did. We pulled the pages out and had 8 pages each (my Mother, Sister and I) framed and mounted. We now all get to enjoy the book every day.



Here is the formal lounge, with the dining room on the left. We have lived here for 5 years and have only used the dining room once...LOL we find that we do all our entertaining on the deck.

I took the ugly old curtains down; as they obstructed this wonderful view out to the mountains. You can just see our neighbor's roof through the trees and shrubs.

I have been fortunate enough to inherit many beautiful things from family. In this photo the desk is from my Father, the cream lounge from my Paternal Grandparents and the side table from my Maternal Grandparents. There are many other beautiful sentimental things throughout my home.




Here is the pool, the kids live in it 8-9 months of the year. (Read about their winter swim here!)

The drought has really knocked the garden about, a lot of the palm fronds have browned off, but the good news is that yesterday we got an inch of rain. The dams are down to 25% capacity and there is a lot of talk on the news about introducing recycled sewerage into the water system.






Here is our dining area of the deck, it is high up amongst the palms and bushes and is the most amazing place to sit and relax. You look through the palms down the length of the pool and get all the summer breezes. We have just had lights and a ceiling fan (keeps the flies away) installed. In the warmer months we almost live out here. Breakfast is a fry up (eggs, bacon and tomatoes) on the BBQ, lunch and dinner are also served here with a rest in between on the hammocks with lots of swimming and reading as well.

We have just renovated and extended the deck as we had a touch of dry rot in the old floorboards. We now have about 150sqM of deck and we enjoy every square cm of it. The only time we leave is right on dusk when the mosquitoes swarm for about 30 minutes.

Well here is my home, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as we love living here. We still sometimes say to each other " wow, this is our home!!!!" and feel so lucky to live here in Australia.





















52 comments:

Alice said...

You certainly live in an amazing place. I love the idea of living in the treetops. Having a huge deck is just the best thing, although ours is only about 74sq m. and Canberra winter is a bit chilly for a lot of outdoor living.

Katherine@Raising Five said...

Oh my goodness! It looks like a resort! And the windows - to enjoy the beauty around you. What a wonderful home. Thanks for letting us visit.

Mama Duck said...

I love the green!! Beautiful pool as well, and photos.... just lovely, thanks for sharing!

Tammy M. said...

I loved visiting your home. I only clicked on a couple, but your blog name caught my eye. I live in Abilene, Texas, USA. My mother was Australian (I guess she still is, but is living in heaven now.) Anyway, I lived in Sherwood and have quite a large family in Queensland, the last time I visited Austrlia was about 15 years ago. It was just nice to look at your pictures and think about my family there. Thanks for sharing.

Michelle said...

Thanks for letting us stop by! I love seeing all the different styles of home through out the world.

Susie said...

Jenny,
I love your amazing outdoor space! We are in California and spend lots of time on our patio as well. I loved the fact that you each shared a bit of your Grandpa's book! Thanks for inviting us!

sonia a. mascaro said...

Hi Jenny, thank you so much for your visiting and nice comment about my house.

I love your house, it's really gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this great photos!

Have a nice weekend!

Sharon L. Holland said...

What a beautiful home. So light and airy. Thank you for sharing ti with us.

sarah said...

Beautiful! I love the colors, the view, and all the sentimental accents. What a blessing!

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

absolutely beautiful views. And I didn't even have to use my passport! Thank you!

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Jenny, I live in Arkansas, in the Southern US, and I have always been fascinated with Australia. A good blogger friend of mine, Meow, lives in Victoria. Your home is gorgeous, and I love your pool and deck. I would spend most of my time outside if I lived there, too, I think! And we have swarms of mosquitoes here, too. :-)

Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us. I'm bookmarking your blog so I can come back and visit again. :-)

Unknown said...

Really beautiful. Great pool and deck.

terrible speller said...

very very pretty. I love the floor to ceiling windows

Zephra said...

The green is simply lovely but I have to say I like the backyard the best.

~Jennifer said...

I love your house! The tall ceilings, and oh, that pool and deck are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.

mombo said...

What a beautiful home. It seems like a lifestyle I could fit right into. I've not been out of the continent (N.Am.) as yet, but would love to make the LONG trip from Texas to your part of the world someday. Thanks for sharing with us.

Jenny said...

What a gorgeous home and breathtaking view!!! I absolutely love the high ceilings and the use of your grandfather's books is brilliant!!!! You had me oohing and ahhing all the way thru the tour!!
Thanks for sharing!!!!

Carol said...

Those big windows! And that view! And that deck! Oh my. Gorgeous.

Thank you for this wonderful peek into your beautiful home.

Kelley said...

Thanks for stopping by to see my house earlier. Yours looks like a pretty special place as well. I appreciate the symmetry in your decor, (especially on your photo wall, and the green wall/windows). I think it's always nice to incorporate items that meant something to loved ones.

How amazing it is that we've been able to travel the globe this weekend?!

Kelley said...

PS - it was a really good call to take down the curtains and expose those beautiful windows!

Malissa said...

love the green wall and all the photos and sentimental things!

Your pool looks heavenly!

Thanks for stopping by my merry go round!

Big Mama said...

The pool is so beautiful, it looks like a resort. Thanks for sharing with us!

Susanne said...

Wow! Beautiful! Love that green color!!!

Trisha said...

I like the way you have decorated your home. Lovely! My son, who is looking with me, wants to "take a bath" in your pool!

No one is you ...& that's your power said...

Hi jenny,
thanks for dropping in!, I checked your blog. That baby boy was heavy! My children were 8lb 2 & 8lb 3 so I can imagine!. Your home look s beautifull . I love the high ceilings and swimming pool
X Dommi

Laura said...

what a beautiful home! what an awesome shade of green! what a clever idea to share a family treasure as your grandfather's book.
thank you for opening your hoime and thank you for visiting mine.

Carole Burant said...

Thanks so much for opening your home to us...wow, it's gorgeous and the view you have is amazing!! I love the idea of each of you sharing pages of your grandfather's book and framing them!! I love all your furniture and decor...and that pool! I've heard about the drought over there...hopefully it ends soon!

Cheri said...

I love your home- the high ceilings and the green color are great! I've always wanted to visit Australia- thanks for the glimpse!!
Cheri

Barb said...

Awesome! I love love that green wall. And I could easily just live on your deck. Forever. It's wonderful. Katherine's so right - looks like a resort. Or the rain forrest or something. Amazing.

Anonymous said...

You have a lovely home...I'm glad I got to see your part of the world. Those windows are great, that pool & deck are amazing!
Thanks for visiting me.

Geekwif said...

Georgeous home! I love all the windows in the formal lounge, and the swimming pool looks so inviting!

Thanks for sharing your lovely home.

sarahgrace said...

Wow! What a neat place! Looks very exotic...and pretty nice for winter!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! May I come over and swim in your pool?

Heather said...

LOVE IT! I would love to have a deck that we could use that much of the year.. (of course we can use our deck as a sledding spot in the winter!)

LZ Blogger said...

Beautiful home in a beautiful place! We loved the three weeks we spent there (in Australia) on holiday last summer.

Brenda said...

Beautiful home! I love the windows and high ceilings. Your deck is also very nice. Looks like a wonderful place to hang out. Thanks so much for inviting us in!

Val said...

That deck looking out over the palm trees - how wonderful. Yep, many of us Victorians are tempted to head north when they see photos like this, especially today!

Dining room used only once in 5 years? Why not use it for something else? You might find some ideas on the bloggy tour. Isn't it fun?

PastormacsAnn said...

First let me say that your children are darling (followed your link to your winter swimming post and then from there viewed the ugliest baby post.) They're beautiful!

Now your home - Wow!! Really like all your photos; great arrangement on the wall as well. That green in your entryway is a beautiful color. And your pool and deck are so inviting, I can see why you spend most all your time out there.

I've so enjoyed greating to see homes from all over the world. Thanks BooMama!

Thank you for inviting us in for a tour of your lovelye lovely home.

Anonymous said...

Amazing! :)

emzeegee & the hungry three said...

Jen,

This is a barge - I saw your comment in response to one on Amazing Trips page. A stick of butter in the US is baically the same as a 250g block of butter for us in Australia. :) Hope that helps.

Michelle

Chilihead2 said...

Your view is stunning! I love your deck and pool area as well. Thanks for sharing!

Leslie said...

Jenny, I love the green! And I avoid curtains whenever possible. I've been told that Aussies live on their back patios and decks during the not-winter months. We look forward to that.

Erika Jurney said...

What a gorgous, open house. I feel relaxed just looking at the pictures. Sweet deal that you actually get to live there!

Tom & Lana said...

Wow!loved the foliage! What a beautiful home. One can easily see how important family means to you.

The Amazing Trips said...

Your home is incredible!!! I love the high ceilings, green paint, pool - trees ... it's perfect!

Andi @ udandi / Lunch It Punch It said...

ah, I'm jealous of the pool! If I could spend every day of my summer swimming, I would!

thanks for visiting my place!

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Great post/blog tour of homes...Amazing places and love seeing all the different styles of home through out the world.