There are no lack of pretty pictures, houses nearby, pinterest posts and glossy home magazines that can inspire the home renovator. Inspiration was never an issue for us. As someone much cleverer than I summed it up - the devil is in the detail.
Finding detailed information on what others have done before us and what feature when with what era, and or even regional area, was the information we lacked. While Brisbane and the greater south east Queensland has a relatively abundant (I use that term loosely) source of Queenslanders often clustered in regional towns or suburbs, the Gold Coast does not. Nearby northern NSW has some stunning Queenslanders (including one renovated by my parents when I was a child in Murwillumbah) these homes tend to be Federation in style. While at first glance there are different similarities, upon a closer examination, there are definite differences such as the more frequent use of horizontal T&G boards in NSW and different styles of fretwork!
So where to get started. The internet is an obvious starting place but sometimes finding the details, is like trying to see the tree through the forest. It can be overwhelming. For example, everyone has done something different, the weblink no longer works, there is limited pricing information, the photos online are such a small resolution that you can't enlarge them and make out the profile of that skirting board and no one seems to have the same shade of paint colour that your colour swatch looks like etc etc.
There are also a small, but hopefully growing, number of blogs that also have before and after shots that are really helpful to see how the fixtures looks in situ. These all help give a practical guide to renovating a Queenslander.
If you keep an eye out of house and garden type of magazines, there are examples of renovated Queenslander, colonial or federation style homes that can also give you ideas. Pinterest is another tool that I found really helpful to put all my ideas and inspiration in one place. There are also a few books on the subject. We bought one, The Queensland House, by Ian Evans and the National Trust of Qld that was a really interesting read - particularly regarding the history of this style of house.
Failing all that, for people residing in South East Queensland, a slow drive around the suburbs of Ashgrove, Paddington, Bardon, Indooroopilly etc or the towns of Toowoomba, Rosewood and Ipswich are likely to give you lots of facade and garden ideas. Looking up real-estate websites for houses in these suburbs also brings up good indoor shots.
We also signed up a builder who had done a lot of work on Queenslander renovations and this also really helped. Having that practical resource also meant having a sounding board to help narrow down selections and provide advice as needed. Lastly my suggestion would be to try and find people you know, who have had previous experience renovating a Queenslander and who have practical advice on potential pitfalls and tips. We were lucky. My parents had renovated a Queenslander in Murwillumbah, Toowoomba and Brisbane and my sister and her husband had renovated a Queenslander in Ipswich. Sometimes its not just what you know, but who you know!
Best of luck!
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