'What have I done?': How buying a mouldy house gave Linda a fresh start

Although she insists there’s still work to be done, Linda Christall’s charming cottage in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has undergone an impressive transformation over the past decade.

It was an unloved, mouldy “removal house” from Ipswich when Christall bought it and had it brought to her one-hectare block near Pomona (a small town about 40 minutes from Noosa), before embarking on a “hugely mind-blowing” overhaul – most of which she did with her own hands. 

It was an opportunity for the rundown old house to have a new lease of life, but more importantly it offered Christall the same chance; she’d recently become single for the first time in decades, and experienced a brief period of unemployment and homelessness. She decided it was time to create a peaceful sanctuary for herself. 

These days the house is indeed a haven, and a home for the much-loved vintage glassware, ceramics and books that grace the shelves. Many of these items were sourced on treasured trips to France where Christall, who’s “always been a collector”, rummaged through Parisian flea markets then brought back suitcases bursting with things she couldn’t resist. 

“I’d pack very lightly [here] and then just come home with loads of linen and chandeliers and little lamps, just lots of things,” she says. 

The beds are sumptuous with French linen, while bunches of fresh and dried botanicals from the cottage garden adorn the rooms. It’s also home to an impressive array of chandeliers. “I think my sister once counted 30 chandeliers in my house and around the gardens,” Christall says. 

Yet when she thinks back to the early days as owner of the house, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight. The old Queenslander was delivered in mouldy pieces on a couple of semi-trailers, ready to be put back together on the vacant block Christall bought once her marriage settlement money came through.

“And I just thought, ‘oh my god, what have I done?’” Christall remembers. “It just looked like a whole lot of rubbish, really.”

Her concerns were somewhat allayed when she got a closer look at the well-preserved vintage features of the house: original windows of coloured glass, fretwork over the doorways, and several sets of french doors that Christall could imagine might someday open onto a deck that would overlook nearby Mount Pinbarren. 

While her builder put the house back together and moved some interior walls to best suit the aspect, Christall did much of the other labour herself, sticking to a tight budget that required her to slowly fix up the floors, paint the walls inside and out, and scale the roof to make repairs. 

She also tended the outdoors of the block, planting extensive gardens where there’d been none, and maintaining the lawns.  

“I used to mow it from one corner to the next. It used to take me about a week with a hand mower, and by the time I finished I’d be back to the start again.” 

Incredibly, Christall also completed a nursing degree and worked part-time at a hospital while fixing up her home. 

“I spent every spare minute on getting it liveable between work and uni, with very little income. It wasn’t an easy process – it was a long, gruelling process, but it was exciting at the same time. It was something I was doing by myself,” she says. 

“It’s been quite an adventure, and it’s endless you know. I’m very creative – I love to just keep planning and making things better, and improving things.”

The challenge now is to decide when it’s finished enough to invite guests to stay.

Christall is keen to share her cottage on Airbnb as a retreat that’s close enough for a swim in Noosa’s beaches but far enough away to unwind on the deck watching cattle graze in the distance. 

There’s just a few more home improvements to cross off her list first. 

“I feel like I’m never going to be finished,” she laughs. “I always see things that need doing.”