With details picked out in pale shell pink and a corten version of a picket fence, the solid stone building is a lovely piece of Queensland heritage brought up to the now.
Restored with care and an eye for detail, the original tuff stonework was largely concealed behind the many interations this charming building has been through. Indeed, over its 160 years it has been a home, Cairncross, then an Orphanage, then a home again (to a former Queensland Premier), this time as St Claire, and then on to being a private hospital before the Midgley Family bought the property in 1903. Shortly thereafter, the eldest daughter Anne, converted the house to a private school: Miss Midgley’s Educational Establishment.
Purchasing the property in 2020, co-owners, and mother and daughter, Lisa and Isabella White drew on their architectural backgrounds to affirm the building’s quirks. (Architectural graduate Isabella is currently digital content lead with Architectus, While Lisa has been working in the property development and architecture sector for the past twenty years.) As such, the foundational changes are designed to bring the building itself to the fore.
The stone work for example was largely concealed or in disrepair. Quintessentially Queensland, the walls of Brisbane tuff, a local stone of compacted volcanic ash with distinctive pink, purple and burgundy shades, is the acknowledge hallmark of the property and rightly so. During the removal stage of the restoration, builders discovered the fan detailing surrounding the doorway. This has now become a feature with the new double m property crest set within its centrepiece.
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The stone has also informed the interior palette with subtle grey-toned pinks and mauves used sparely amongst what is otherwise a white interior with dark timber floors. For both the kitchens and bathrooms the foundational colour is a warm rusty tone with glossy tiles in shades of oyster pink. And while there is sufficient grey in the tones to nullify any overtly feminine quality, the addition of a Brazilian granite with large swathes of rounded grey inclusions returns the whole to neutral. Dark cabinetry and an island of patinaed brass reinforce this visual dynamism, while vibrant rose curtains add a splash of zing to the bathrooms, where fluted glass blurs and softens the whole.
The guest accommodations themselves are considered and large with all but one having two light and airy bedrooms with a large low bench suitable for two open suitcases. The one-bedroom option, The Principals Office (all the rooms have schoolish names), however, is particularly charming with glass bi-fold doors opening to a large outdoor deck, garden setting and direct access to the pool. The building’s history is pronounced here with evidence of past entrance-ways having been filled in with convict bricks somewhere in the building’s 160 years of change. That said, all the options have a charm of their own as well as an outdoor courtyard or verandah space.
Working closely with council, the restoration of such a significant Brisbane property required adherence to an overlay of Heritage requirements. A picket fence was one such requisite, but as the hotel was providing contemporary amenity, Lisa and Isabella successfully argued for a contemporary version in corten. Conversely, they were encouraged to cover the original moulded ceilings, the pair however, worked with council to showcase the ceilings by locating a flame-retardant paint from America, which would allow the property to meet hospitality fire safety requirements.
With one-meter wide stone walls, the house is uniquely thermally insulated. Effectively this allows for reduced reliance on artificial heating and cooling, and the property is largely solar. The particularly beautiful lap pool, for example, is entirely heated by solar. Designed to be the right height for siting, the outer edge of the pool becomes the seating for one side of the long table for lunches and functions. It is this attention to detail and spatial acumen that allows the whole house to gracefully host it guests.
Carefully designed and considered, the rooms are effectively self-contained apartments with everything you need for a getaway. And, not only is there a full kitchen in each, there is also loads of space for your bathroom accoutrement and if you are lucky enough to secure a ground floor room, you can even bring your dog.
