Blackbird Cottage Style

Blackbird Cottage Style We used to be in the cottage… now its an old house in tne city

Give me the same classic Australian house design any day of the week and I’ll absolutely think about moving.Victorian ho...
27/09/2026

Give me the same classic Australian house design any day of the week and I’ll absolutely think about moving.

Victorian houses masquerading as Georgian with little sash windows and symmetrical details.
Federation cottages with verandahs and fretwork.
California bungalows with their chunky porches and beautiful brickwork.
Art Deco with its curves, geometric details and unapologetic glamour.

Because “generic” to me doesn’t mean boring. It means a really good set of bones.

Timber floors. High ceilings. Picture rails. Fireplaces. Leadlight. Proper doors. Wide verandahs. Windows that actually let the light in.

I love houses that were designed for ordinary people to live in, but still had details worth keeping.

You don’t need to turn an old house into something it was never meant to be.

You just need to let the house be the house… and then make it yours.

1914 but not grandma. 😉

The laundry/powder room took a lot of planning.I wanted it to feel like it belonged in our old house, but not in a “let’...
24/09/2026

The laundry/powder room took a lot of planning.

I wanted it to feel like it belonged in our old house, but not in a “let’s recreate 1914 exactly” kind of way. More like… old-house character with a little mischief. Pretty, practical and just a bit unexpected.

And then I found Striped Leaf by Photowall.

It has that lovely traditional feel I was after, but the pattern gives the room enough personality to stop it feeling like a very serious little heritage museum. 😂

I chose their traditional paste-the-wall wallpaper, which was easy to hang, even on our wonderfully wonky old walls. And I’m pretty sure wallpaper is one of the quickest ways to make a small, functional room feel like you actually meant to make it beautiful.

And because apparently I’m sharing all my good finds with you now…

Photowall are offering you 15% off your order.

Use code LINDY15 at checkout.

Now I just need to stop finding rooms to wallpaper. 😬

You can’t manufacture a century of character, but you can make it beautiful again. There was one fairly significant prob...
22/09/2026

You can’t manufacture a century of character, but you can make it beautiful again.

There was one fairly significant problem that put other buyers off our house. A huge crack in the kitchen wall that made it look like the whole thing was about to land on our heads.

We looked at that crack and thought, well… that can be fixed. Apart from the cracking, the house had beautiful bones.

So we bought the house. We budgeted $30k for the fix. It cost $10k, including the plasterer patching the solid plaster after the structural work.

When did we become so afraid of having our own taste?Every bathroom on a certain renovation show seems to look exactly t...
19/09/2026

When did we become so afraid of having our own taste?

Every bathroom on a certain renovation show seems to look exactly the same — and costs $50k+ (which is eye watering in itself).

Ours cost half that. We built it from scratch, including a completely new floor, and made it feel like it actually belongs in our house.

I get it. A bathroom is a big-ticket item. You might be living with those tiles and tapware for the next twenty years, so committing to colour or pattern can feel like a risky business.

But personality doesn’t have to mean pink tiles and a leopard-print bath. 😂

You can have a beautiful bathroom that’s neutral, classic and still completely yours.

The trick is not choosing what’s currently everywhere.

It’s choosing what you like.

Because I’d much rather have a bathroom with a bit of personality than spend $50K making my house look like everyone else’s.

Vanity: Harper 1500 from Vanity by Design
Paint: Tint
Fittings: Antique Copper from TradCo | Traditional Architectural Hardware
Roman blind: THREE GIRLS
Floor Tile: Decor8 Tiles
Tapware: Kingsley Brushed Copper ABI Interiors
Lighting: Toledo Fat Shack Vintage

I want the beautiful old house, the high ceilings, the timber floors, the fireplaces and the original details.I want flo...
15/09/2026

I want the beautiful old house, the high ceilings, the timber floors, the fireplaces and the original details.

I want florals, hand-painted tiles, antique furniture and things with a little history.

BUT… I also want colour.

Pattern.

Quirky art.

Modern lighting.

A kitchen that actually works.

And absolutely no beige-on-beige-on-beige pretending to be “timeless.”

Give me the soul of 1914.

Just… with better plumbing. 😂

WHO’S WITH ME?

Reasons people think we SHOULDN’T remove the floating floor and return to a split level room 🙄 we lose floor space🙄 we’l...
10/09/2026

Reasons people think we SHOULDN’T remove the floating floor and return to a split level room
🙄 we lose floor space
🙄 we’ll fall down the step.
🙄the floor slants a little. (Duh. It’s a verandah. It’s built to repel rain)

BUT under that tile is the original oak floor🥰 so guess we’re doing it.

It’s the little details that set a house apart from others and for us that’s using TradCo | Traditional Architectural Ha...
08/09/2026

It’s the little details that set a house apart from others and for us that’s using TradCo | Traditional Architectural Hardware to complete a look. The electrician has been busily installing new light switches and outlets in Antique Copper colour. We’ve added new door k***s to doors as they get painted too, bringing the glorious heritage vibes into our home.

What do you think?

03/09/2026

While I was decorating walls, Gavin has quietly created a whole new garden with
🧱a mix of brick and steel garden beds
🍎 fruit espallier
🌲a maple tree
🌼Beds of hydrangea, hellebores and ferns
🏚️ a new pergola and entry.

There’s still painting to do when the weather warms up but the foundation is finished.

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Hobart, TAS

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