WALK THIS WAY

One Brisbane couple’s desire for an “interesting” home developed into a dramatically different take on the traditional Queenslander.

- Jackie Brygel

Rising above a street in north-east Brisbane, this dramatically reborn 1950s Queenslander basks in its tranquil setting. Unpretentious yet undeniably special, the house ensures a relaxed lifestyle for its owners, Hannah and David Hodson, without ignoring its postwar roots. Most of all, Hannah and David – who share the home with their daughters, Murphy, three, and Bronte, almost one – say it’s a house that’s distinctly ‘them’.

“We bought the property in late 2017,” says David. “The existing house was a fairly poky weatherboard decorated in a heritage colour scheme, but it was sitting on a 920-square-metre corner block. We could see what a great opportunity it presented.”

After living in the home as it was for almost a year, Hannah and David called interior designer Ian Wrightson of Wrightson Stewart to help them update it. “Hannah and David came to us because they were keen on a previous project of ours where we had adapted the original architecture plus added an interesting extension,” explains Ian. “Here, old and new are likewise connected in an interesting way.”