My Houzz: Family Is Close at Hand in a 19th-Century Brisbane Cottage
An Australia couple’s updated home in the city’s leafy hills pays homage to residents past and present
Clapboard cottages, traditional tin-and-wood houses and renovated Queenslander homes are found in Paddington, a hilly section of Brisbane, Australia, that maintains its connection to the past. Paddington’s main street, Latrobe Terrace, is lined with cozy cafes, art galleries, fashion boutiques and antiques and secondhand stores.
Resident Jennifer Hillhouse knows the area well, having grown up near Latrobe. Today she and her partner, JC Lehuby, and their baby daughter live in a cottage next door to her childhood home. The couple have filled it with mementos and lovingly restored the interior.
Resident Jennifer Hillhouse knows the area well, having grown up near Latrobe. Today she and her partner, JC Lehuby, and their baby daughter live in a cottage next door to her childhood home. The couple have filled it with mementos and lovingly restored the interior.
The cottage had been in the previous owner’s family since it was built in 1875, and early on there was a family of 10 living in the older section, at the front of the house. The original owner was a sailor who had settled in the area with his family to help build a dental hospital.
The property now belongs to the Hillhouse family, which was living next door in a home that sits a little higher than the cottage. The family used to look down at No. 52 and wonder what it was like inside. It always had a stream of unusual tenants passing through, and the property was in need of maintenance — there were windows missing and the original outhouse still sat in the backyard.
The property now belongs to the Hillhouse family, which was living next door in a home that sits a little higher than the cottage. The family used to look down at No. 52 and wonder what it was like inside. It always had a stream of unusual tenants passing through, and the property was in need of maintenance — there were windows missing and the original outhouse still sat in the backyard.
“My parents decided to ask the owner if he would consider selling the house to them,” Jennifer Hillhouse says. “We didn’t hear anything for a couple of years.” Shortly after the parents had let go of the idea, their son Charlie was skateboarding on the street when the cottage owner came out and told him he wanted to sell.
Many of the renovations were done by Hillhouse’s mother, Sue, and the work was often a family affair. Hillhouse recalls spending many weekends sanding the floors and painting the roof alongside her parents and brother.
“It’s been a well-loved home for many years now and is very much a part of our family,” she says. “It has housed my brother and I at different times in our lives and watched us come and go during the university years, with small adjustments made to see the space work in different ways.”
Many of the renovations were done by Hillhouse’s mother, Sue, and the work was often a family affair. Hillhouse recalls spending many weekends sanding the floors and painting the roof alongside her parents and brother.
“It’s been a well-loved home for many years now and is very much a part of our family,” she says. “It has housed my brother and I at different times in our lives and watched us come and go during the university years, with small adjustments made to see the space work in different ways.”
Today the home is still loved and very much respected by its newest residents, providing a place for Hillhouse and Lehuby to make new memories. It’s also a working space for the couple, who are always working on projects in their downtime. This work table replaces the typical TV found in a living room.
The workshop room has been coined the “ante/anty” room,” Hillhouse says. “It serves as an entry, but also when [my parents] first bought the house, the floor was completely eaten by ants.”
Around 1880, the original owners added on to the back of the home. You can see the original exterior of the house as you enter through the workshop space on the right, which is the official entry of the house. The roof line is still on the original tilt of the back veranda.
The couple worked closely with Paul Hotston of Phorm Architecture to keep as much of the original house as possible, changing it only to make it livable.
Hotston made a conscious decision to keep elements of the house that told its story. The baseboard between the kitchen and workshop room shows years of wear from footsteps between the two. The original window ledges are completely worn, but have been varnished to keep them from disintegrating.
The couple worked closely with Paul Hotston of Phorm Architecture to keep as much of the original house as possible, changing it only to make it livable.
Hotston made a conscious decision to keep elements of the house that told its story. The baseboard between the kitchen and workshop room shows years of wear from footsteps between the two. The original window ledges are completely worn, but have been varnished to keep them from disintegrating.
The kitchen is now at the front of the cottage and is accessed via the workshop room.
Once the Hillhouse family had purchased the cottage, it asked the previous owner why it had taken him such a long time to decide to sell. He explained that it was because his grandfather had been a collector and Australian bird enthusiast, and he was reluctant to part with his collection. A glass cabinet filled with home-taxidermied native birds, collected over many years, was in the kitchen and difficult to relocate. “Apparently it was massive and filled up most of this wall,” Hillhouse says. He ended up donating the collection to the Queensland Museum. As a fellow bird lover, Hillhouse admits to wishing they’d been left in the cottage.
The family spends most of its time in the kitchen. “As soon as we invite more than four people over, the space gets very tight,” Hillhouse says.
The kitchen has a view of the city, with large louvered windows that open up the space. This section was originally a front veranda that had stairs leading to a front door on the left. The space was enclosed during the renovations, creating a larger living area, and the walls were left unpainted to give the illusion of concrete paneling.
Hillhouse says her favorite place in the house is on this daybed, looking down over the street. “I spent most of my pregnancy there, and it’s still such a relaxing place to sit after a busy day’s work,” she says.
To the right of the daybed in the main living and kitchen area is another ideal spot to sit and take in the street view.
Left of the kitchen and living area is the main bedroom of the cottage. This antique portrait of a French solider is Hillhouse’s most recent acquisition, which she found while visiting Lehuby’s family in France around Christmas.
In the main bedroom is a bold and colorful portrait of a French sailor with a dog and a parrot, painted by artist Mike Bennett. Hillhouse bought the painting before she met Lehuby, which seemed to somewhat predict her future. She now has a French partner with a dog, and the pair found themselves living in a house that was once owned by a sailor.
“At the time it seemed absolutely humongous and the art dealer was questioning me about why I wanted to buy the biggest painting in the exhibition,” Hillhouse says. “For me, there was no other option.”
“At the time it seemed absolutely humongous and the art dealer was questioning me about why I wanted to buy the biggest painting in the exhibition,” Hillhouse says. “For me, there was no other option.”
Trinkets and travel mementos are artfully arranged on a vintage shelving unit in the main bedroom.
Much like the rest of the home, the bathroom and laundry showcase the couple’s eclectic collection of treasures. An installation of mirrors is accompanied by artwork, framed photographs, hats and hanging plants.
Also in the bathroom is a hook for each family member’s towel.
The house is decorated and influenced by the past. “Our time here growing up is still very visible, as well as the time other people have spent living in the house,” Hillhouse says.
The house is decorated and influenced by the past. “Our time here growing up is still very visible, as well as the time other people have spent living in the house,” Hillhouse says.
The back section of the home, beyond the workshop area, is the newest part. Hotston really got to add his mark here, creating a perfect balance of indoors and out, with the afternoon light flooding in from the backyard and illuminating the flute board panels along the exterior wall.
The plan was to simply restore as much of the cottage as possible and make the least amount of structural changes. It was quite an undertaking, Hillhouse says, because everything was so dilapidated. But it was amazing what a difference a bit of cleaning and paint made.
The plan was to simply restore as much of the cottage as possible and make the least amount of structural changes. It was quite an undertaking, Hillhouse says, because everything was so dilapidated. But it was amazing what a difference a bit of cleaning and paint made.
To the right of the new hallway is the second bedroom, which now belongs to daughter Manou.
Before Lehuby and Hillhouse lived here, the cottage was occupied by Hillhouse’s brother Charlie and a friend. At the time, Charlie was taking and printing a lot of photos, as well as producing and publishing art zines. His room is now Manou’s room, and his books are still on display there.
His photos can also be found in most rooms of the home, and the couple have grown quite fond of them. “It wouldn’t feel right to take them down,” Hillhouse says. “They are a visual record of our history in this home.”
His photos can also be found in most rooms of the home, and the couple have grown quite fond of them. “It wouldn’t feel right to take them down,” Hillhouse says. “They are a visual record of our history in this home.”
The outdoor area is arranged for comfort, and the family spends quite a bit of time here enjoying the Brisbane weather. Lehuby’s favorite part of the cottage is the back veranda. He enjoys crafting knives and has a workspace set up outside where he welds the blades.
Older, treasured and upcycled items are all around the quaint home, including these antique water pitchers and well-used stove on the back deck. It’s a cozy place to gather around a fire with the family.
From the garden you can see where the major renovations were done. The roof over the back deck became the biggest architectural feature of the home. It sits higher than the rest of the home to allow more light to come in.
Hotston came up with the idea to keep the roof pitch in line with the other houses in the Paddington area. This shot is taken from beneath the deck to the far side of the cottage.
“It was quite difficult to build the long steel poles under the existing deck, but the end result is not only a wonderful feature, it has also breathed new life into the back section of the house,” Hillhouse says.
Hotston came up with the idea to keep the roof pitch in line with the other houses in the Paddington area. This shot is taken from beneath the deck to the far side of the cottage.
“It was quite difficult to build the long steel poles under the existing deck, but the end result is not only a wonderful feature, it has also breathed new life into the back section of the house,” Hillhouse says.
As the family cleaned up in and around the cottage, it discovered relics from the past. Under the flooring was vinyl from the 1940s through the ’50s, and “archaeological” items continue to surface in the yard. “We’ve found horse shoes, bridle bits, a shoe and a boot-repairs sign, coins and old tools,” Hillhouse says.
The boot-repair sign now hangs on a shed in the backyard that’s now being rented by a friend — and where Lehuby and Hillhouse lived before Manou came along.
The boot-repair sign now hangs on a shed in the backyard that’s now being rented by a friend — and where Lehuby and Hillhouse lived before Manou came along.
An old bathtub stands beneath this lime tree. It was initially used as a fish pond, but the warm Queensland sun was a little too harsh when it came to controlling the water temperature. Now it serves as a decorative feature.
Hillhouse, left, and Lehuby cuddle with Manou in their outdoor living area.
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style:
Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes| Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Jennifer Hillhouse and JC Lehuby; their 11-month-old daughter, Manou; and their Jack Russell terrier, Marcel Duchomp
Where: Brisbane, Australia
Year built: 1875
Jennifer Hillhouse and JC Lehuby co-own and run Vielle Branche, a shop in Brisbane’s Albion neighborhood that stocks French antiques, houses a cafe, hosts workshops (such as French language lessons) and offers a venue for events.
The family’s interior decor is influenced heavily by the aesthetic of their business. “Initially, as our business began, we brought furniture home as a way of paying ourselves. We were poor but rich in French farm furniture,” Hillhouse says.
Beneath this window at the entry to the home is an antique French baby’s bath, now repurposed as a planter.