If the practical, common sense side of your nature points you towards a brick home, look no further than this superbly well built, 22 square home that has been gently updated without being completely torn apart and rebuilt inside. The home is unusual in that it offers 3 levels of living with the extra spacious combined lounge and dining, wonderful sunroom and the kitchen, all with polished timber floors, positioned on the top level. The 3 big bedrooms and the bathroom facilities are all located half a level down from the living area and the internal stairs carry on down to the entry foyer and front door as well as to the huge space underneath. This space is fully habitable and includes a bathroom with shower and vanity unit, a separate toilet and the laundry. This area is currently being used as a home consulting area, but could also include a bedroom, kitchenette and good sized living room if desired for kids that won’t leave home or older family who you want to have with you.

The original owners selected this particular, extra large block of land to build their new home when they had the choice of hundreds of vacant lots on Mount Tamborine. They chose it because it had good red top soil and was located high up at the end of quiet little Kalmia Court which catches the cool sea breezes and looks down over the surrounding area and out to the trees in a beautiful tropical Environmental Corridor. That nature reserve includes a large natural lake surrounded by rainforest and it is renown for the bird life that inhabits the entire locality. They also chose it as a protected spot with ideal north-easterly aspect so they could take the best advantage of natural climate control. The current owners have take full advantage of this aspect by insulating the new roof and positioning solar power cells connected to the grid in the ideal site above the living room. When it came to the choice of builders, the original owners went with the very best, Frank Salisbury, a local builder who understood the nature of Tamborine Mountain’s winds. Frank, who sadly passed on a couple of decades ago, built every home with the intention of it standing for centuries to come.

As some one who first saw the home when it was owned by the people who had it built, I am pleased to say that this home has been modernised without being turned into a total fashion plate. The current owners started in the right place with their modernisation by installing a new roof along with all new guttering. The huge open area that contains the lounge and dining room as well as the top landing of the internal timber stairs, still has that wonderful spaciousness and those very wide double sliding glass doors that open out to the sunroom are still there. You can close off the sunroom at any time, while always being able to relax or dine looking out through the sunroom glass at the beautiful trees in your own garden. The decor has been tastefully updated, the solid timber floors repolished and new window treatments installed, but it is still that lovely big room where an entire family can gather for celebrations. A new timber floor has been added to the sunroom too. The kitchen has been updated, but not totally ripped out. All the appliances you want, including a new dishwasher and new 5 burner gas cooktop sit comfortably with a good electric oven and rangehood, The walk-in pantry is a Frank Salisbury special! Anyone who decides to remove it will discover very quickly, as this writer (the owner of a Salisbury built home) did, that he built things such as pantries to defy removal right down to the last nail. Where complete replacement would best serve, like in the bathroom, the current owners did it, but they tried not to lose the inherent character of the home.

We owe the absolute magic of this garden mainly to the sellers. Sure, there had been earlier plantings of lawns, trees & shrubs, and they did have a good water bore to help them, but much imagination, countless hours of labour and lots of dollars have gone in to turning this somewhat sloping block into a terraced Paradise with steps and stairs, well controlled beds and not too much lawn plus a really impressive water feature with live fish and gazillions of water plants as well as a fountain for water music. No doubt the frog population loves that water feature as much as the fish do! Havens for simply sitting our and relaxing or taking in the winter morning sun have been included in the plan and flowering shrubs seem set to provide flowers throughout the year. Many fruit trees were also planted and these are now giving home grown fruit. They also added the wonderful rear deck with its peace and privacy along with its lush and colourful garden outlook. Oh! Yes! They will also be leaving 3 garden sheds for the new buyers too!

People seeking a quiet and serene setting for a home and small business such as the current consulting business, or folk with a growing family who need a rumpus room to keep the teens out their hair, along with people who want to create a separate living apartment for extended family, will all find what this home offers is ideal for their needs. People who need to commute to the Coast or even Brisbane will find that its location, well removed from Tamborine-Oxenford Road, yet quickly accessible to that main commuting thoroughfare, will also appreciate the sense of serenity while being able to join the downhill traffic at Tolima Drive.