Restoration and sensitive extension of Brisbane Queenslanders, Federation homes and character cottages. Council-savvy, contractor-aware, considerate of original detail.
A pre-1946 Queenslander or Federation home was designed for a different climate, a different way of living, and different building economics. The genius of the original architecture — the wide verandahs, the high ceilings, the cross-ventilation, the timber frame raised off the ground — is exactly what makes these homes worth keeping.
Restoring them is a design problem, not a preservation exercise. The work isn’t to freeze the home in 1925; it’s to translate what worked then into how a family lives now — and to extend or modify the home with the same spatial discipline that made the original work in the first place.
We work across Brisbane’s heritage and character precincts — Ascot, Clayfield, New Farm, Bardon, Paddington, Hamilton — with the council overlay knowledge to navigate Demolition Control Precincts and Character Residential zoning without surprises.
The lacework, the chamferboard, the VJ panelling, the original casement windows — we restore what’s salvageable and replace like-for-like only where the original is genuinely beyond saving. New work is clearly contemporary, never pretending to be original.
The original verandahs, ventilation paths and elevated floor were the climate response. Modern additions need to extend that logic — cross-ventilation through the new spaces, eave depths matched to summer sun, materials that breathe rather than seal.
Most Brisbane heritage work needs a Character Residential or Heritage assessment. We do pre-lodgement meetings with council before the design locks in, so we’re designing to what will be approved, not what we’d like to be approved.
Council approvals run longer than standard residential — budget 6–9 months in design and approval, 9–15 months on site. The slower pace is what produces work that genuinely respects the original home.
You can almost always restore and sensitively extend, even in DCPs. What you can’t do is remove the original streetscape elements without compelling justification. We work within those constraints regularly — they tend to produce better outcomes anyway.
Per square metre, often yes — heritage trades are specialised and original-spec materials cost more. But the full value picture (the heritage character premium on resale, the streetscape position, the maturity of the established garden) usually clears the difference.
Yes. We have a network of trusted heritage carpenters, plasterers, leadlight specialists and roofers across Brisbane. They’re slower and more expensive than general residential trades, but they’re the right answer for original-fabric work.