Dreaming.

It's been too hot to pound the pavement lately, so I've been doing my daydreaming online. Here's some properties in my area currently on the market.

• Tagell Rd, Heathmont. Built in 1962.
  

• Gracedale Avenue, Ringwood East.

• Aurum Crescent, Ringwod North. I liked the style of this house, but I didn't like the renovation of some parts of the house. Why do people insist on feature walls of every lounge and bedroom in a suede finish?

• Wembley Gardens, Donvale. I love the exterior of this house. The crazy paving, the split rock walled garden. Unfortunately, the interior of this house was a bit OTT. The masculine room was alright, but that stag head would be the 1st thing to go!!

All of these images were found via realestate.com.au.
It has a great new gallery feature so you don't have to squint at thumbnails to get an idea of the property.

One day whilst the sun was briefly shining.....

.....I grabbed my camera and went for a drive around Ringwood North. Why did I drive? Well, it's magpie season and I preffered not to get swooped by a birdie!

Ringwood East, Heathmont

I have a friend who lives in the leafy part of Ringwood East, in a house that sits amongst the tree tops. I am envious of her large expanses of glass at each visit.
It's a beautiful area with many gorgeous modernist homes. The only problem is that many of them have been there for 30-50 years so the magnificent gardens often obscure the houses from the street.
The neighbouring suburb of Heathmont, once thriving apple orchards, is another hotspot for contemporary post-war housing.
After visiting my friend on Wednesday, I grabbed my camera and cruised around the streets of these 2 suburbs and took some snaps. Here's a couple that could be seen through the foliage.

Open for business!

After a well deserved break and a freshen up for the shop, Railway Bizarre is open for business again. Drop in and see the lovely Wendy at 42 Railway Ave, Ringwood East.(It's almost across the road from the train station-how's that for handy?)
Opening hours are 10-5 Tuesday to Saturday. If you visit on a the 1st Saturday of the month you can wander around the Car Boot market in the station car park.

Wall art

I grew up in a newly established estate in the South Eastern suburbs in the 70's. There were lots of brick veneer houses, mission brown wood trims and some quite avant garde houses. One thing that I remember vividly was the "flowers" that people had attached to their houses. The 1st time I saw them, I thought that they were a kind of metal sun and wondered why our house didn't have one. I guess we just weren't European enough. Or cultured. I later discovered that you could get coffee tables made from the same twisted and misshapen metal. I didn't like those quite so much as the wall art.

They are slowly disappearing from the landscape. As houses get renovated, rendered or knocked down completely, these metal marguerites have no doubt been handed over to the scrap metal man for a nice wad of cash. Or placed in hard rubbish for the lucky treasure hunter to acquire for him/her self.

I hope to acquire one for my own 70's redbrick, so that I may bask in it's nostalgic from the comfort of my yard and not from a stranger's nature strip.

Day Tripping- Mt. Waverley (City of Monash)

I spent a good part of my childhood in Mt. Waverley, in a 70's brick 2-storey with Mission brown trims. I used to walk past a group of houses and wonder to myself "Why couldn't my parents have built a house like this?"

They haven't changed much in the last 30 odd years, except the gardens have grown and some of the houses have been pulled down and replaced with McMansions.
Waimarie Drive. This house wasn't always yellow. I think it was a redbrick with white trims. It's long and takes up two house blocks across the front.

Bond Street. These houses backed onto a reserve. Most of them had inground pools, which I was rather envious of!

This house was built in 1964 and is still occupied by the original owners. It was designed by an architect after the homeowner couldn't settle on a display house design, using components from various designs he liked. it has a northerly aspect with large loungeroom windows at the front. It has a seperate carport at the back.

The owner was going to build a patio at the front off the loungeroom and even installed glass doors to open onto this area. After living in the house for a while though, they decided that a patio would impede the sun that streamed into the front bedroom windows. Potted rubber plants and a rather impressive monstera deliciosa have been plonked out the front, obviously removed from the interior of the house as they either a) were no longer fashionable or b) grew too large to be kept indoors or c) too heavy to move back indoors. The gentleman that owns the house was a lovely old fellow and I wish his ailing wife a speedy recovery. And I hope his sons realise the gem of a house that they will possibly one day inherit.

For more pictures from Mt. Waverley, head on over to my Flickr site.

Day tripping- Coburg

Whilst visiting relatives, the girls and I walked through the streets of Coburg. There were some lovely old houses, many with the original features. I particularly loved the numbers attached to the walls of many of these houses. I couldn't get many pics as the sun was going down, but here's a couple to whet your appetite.

Sunny winter days.

The weather has been perfect this week. Cold, frosty mornings followed by warm, sunny afternoons. Just right for a bit of a sleep in and an afternoon walk. I drove to Heathmont and Croydon South today and had a bit of a wander around and took some photos. I was pleased to see that many of the houses in Heathmont have been kept in an original or close to original state. There's a bit of rendering and painting of exteriors to modernise things, but shapes are kept the same and landscaping has been done to suit. It was a difficult area to photograph as it is heavily treed and the sun was a bit to high. But here's some eye candy to peruse.

Alistair Knox home for sale

ARCHITECT DESIGNED HOME ON 2 1/4 ACRES

This unique one owner, Alistair Knox designed home is privately situated in the heart of the prestigious Tintern precinct of Ringwood East on 9,246sqm (2 1/4 acres). Alistair Knox is arguably one of our most famous and influential theorists of domestic architecture in the 20th century and meticulously planned the site and aspect of this fine example of his architecture.

Photos courtesy of Treeby Real Estate.

Getting to know the neighbourhood.

I'm enjoying my walks and sometimes drives around the neighbourhood and surrounding area. There is really quite a diverse mix of house in the area, ranging from california bungalows, 1940's waterfalls and 60's cream brick. There's also a high content of traditional weatherboards and the ubiquitous McMansion popping up here and there. The more radical contemporary homes, of which there are quite a few, are impossible to photograph due to the long driveways, expansive garden combination.
Yesterday, I focused on details. It was a hazy day so I only got a few.

Love the split rock wall.

This house had good solid contemporary lines. Built late 50's early 60's. Really hard to get a good picture.

Time capsule garage in Ringwood East.

Largely untouched 60's brick. The patio even had some lovely concrete planters.

It all in the details.

Despite the fact that I should have been in the studio sewing and that it was threatening rain at any moment, I slung my camera bag over my shoulder and went for another walk today. I did the circuit of streets at the back of my house, which is also know as "The Golden Mile". It's an area high on the hill that overlooks the valley where the Croydon township sits and towards Montrose and the Dandenong Ranges. The house block are huge and the gardens are gorgeous. Most houses are completely hidden from the street because of the rambling, tangled gardens. Today, as I realised that I couldn't get many full shots of houses because of trees, plants or even a car in the driveway, I decided instead to focus on the details. I was looking for an interesting mail box or a house name, perhaps an old hanging sign or some wrought iron railings. Here's some of what I saw....

One day in Autumn I went for a walk.....

...and this is what I saw.