Old and new converge in this reimagined 1906 Queenslander

It started with a simple plan to add a small umbrella-styled pool pavilion for a modest $10,000. But when a renowned architect was brought on board, the project quickly escalated into a full-blown renovation of this 1906 Queenslander in the well-to-do Brisbane neighbourhood of Ascot.

Owners Troy and Natalee Brown had bought the inner-city home for their family of five on an uncommon triple block in 2017, lured by its spaciousness and views. “We loved the hilltop aspect,” says Troy.

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Initially, it seemed the 1215-square-metre property, called Valhalla, wanted for very little. The house had been renovated a number of times over the years. In particular, the area under the house had been filled in with a lower-ground level. It also had an in-ground swimming pool and floodlit tennis court, both in good nick.

Yet, when the Browns approached Shaun Lockyer for the job, the award-winning Brisbane architect saw an opportunity to transform a series of “nice” indoor and outdoor elements into one magnificent whole.

“The house was nice but introverted with no connection to the world outside … to the garden, pool or tennis court,” says Lockyer. “We wanted to consolidate the site, to think of it as a place where you live, not just a house with a yard outside.”

The main focus of the renovation – what Lockyer calls the project’s “centre of gravity” – was a new raised modern pavilion that appeared to float above the two key outdoor areas – the pool and tennis court.

This created an open-air room underneath for relaxing and entertaining, featuring a TV, fireplace, spa and sauna. At the same time, it connected the pool on one side and the tennis court on the other. “It unlocked the site,” says Lockyer.

Just as importantly, though, the pavilion – attached to the north side of the house, with a void-like staircase demarcating old from new – connected these outdoor areas to the interiors.

This is where Lockyer stepped in with a wholesale makeover of the original Queenslander. “We peeled back a lot of disparate elements from various alterations and additions to reinstate the integrity of the original cottage,” he explains.

On the upper street level, there are three bedrooms on one side. On the other, there are open living and dining rooms and an office opening onto a return verandah. This leads to a kitchen-meals area and balcony overlooking the tennis court.

It is here, though, that you also access the residence’s new wing, accommodating a sizeable main bedroom suite with a walk-through dressing room and en suite bathroom.

In a clever design move, Lockyer stained the original timber black while leaving the new timber a natural oak, which both separated and merged the historic and the contemporary.

“With the salt-and-pepper colour scheme, it’s evident what’s new but it complements the old. One space transitioning two different time periods,” Lockyer says.

The pavilion’s exterior operates in a similar fashion. Lockyer says he designed the white accoya batten “shoji lantern-like” structure to play off the original timber architecture (as well as the front picket fence). Yet, it is unmistakably modern.

He does it again with the use of contemporary materials for the pavilion’s undercroft – board-formed concrete (with wood-grain pattern) and Garonne limestone pavers – that also blend well with the original house.

“We push the envelope in a sympathetic but progressive way to articulate clearly what is old and what is new,” says Lockyer.

The indoor-outdoor connection is arguably even stronger on the lower ground level. Upon entering, you step immediately into a bar with raised seating and an Enomatic self-serving wine system.

Troy – managing director of insurance brokers Ausure – also runs Wineology, a self-serve wine bar. In fact, it was Lockyer who played a small hand in getting the bar off the ground, helping him source the original dispensing machine.

From the bar, you head left to a billiards room, gym (in the four-car garage) and, unsurprisingly, wine cellar, also with bar seating and 1000-bottle capacity. The other way leads to a sunken lounge-tennis pavilion, which – along with a guest bedroom – is part of a second extension to the back of the house, tucked under the rear balcony.

“Living here wrecked holidays for us,” laughs Troy. “Whenever we stay in a five-star hotel, we could be home.”

For Sale By Negotiation

18 Ormond Street, Ascot QLD 4007

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