Historic schoolmaster's home provides Victorian charm with modern living

The extraordinarily beautiful Victorian cottage is fully renovated. Photos: Supplied.

There is nothing lovelier than a home with history, and the former schoolmaster’s cottage built in 1865 at 47 Wilson Street in Braidwood is a perfect example.

The home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the exterior has been lovingly repainted and restored with all the original features intact. The interior of the home is brilliantly renovated and modernised, but retains the delightful Victorian period features that make the home such a charming and character-filled residence.

A white picket fence surrounds the home, and the verandah has a wrought-iron lace frieze around the roofline and a hardwood deck is the perfect spot to watch the world go by and chat with friends.

Entering the front door introduces the wide hallway and staircase to the upper floor, with a family room on the right and a formal lounge on the left. At the end of the hallway is the formal dining room, study (or fourth bedroom), kitchen, family bathroom, and laundry.

It’s not hard to imagine the Victorian-era schoolmaster preparing class notes or correcting homework in front of the beautiful open fireplace in the formal dining room or entertaining friends in the formal lounge room. The polished hardwood floors, high ceilings, bay window in the family room and sash windows are true to the era, as are the brass light switches, ornate plaster ceiling rosettes, solid interior doors, and fireplaces.

The kitchen is a masterpiece of style, with an enormous original fireplace now housing a combustion stove, room for a dining table, railway tiles, sash windows, a 900 mm British-made Belling range cooker with multiple ovens, and a double porcelain sink.

The home has a delightful alfresco dining area under a pergola with a shade sail canopy, providing a cool outdoor dining option. The exterior of the home at the back conjures visions of the schoolmaster’s horse and buggy pulling up to deposit passengers at the door, but is now an area for parking cars.

Adjacent to the kitchen is a family bathroom with a magnificent claw-foot Victorian roll-top bath, a frameless shower, instant gas hot water, and a toilet. The bathroom is graced with a magnificent chandelier, an appropriate touch of class in a beautiful room.

Upstairs, the home has three further bedrooms, and another bathroom, with a master suite with a walk-in robe.

Angled rooflines and an overhead fan make the master bedroom a delightful retreat, while the second bedroom has a fireplace, as does the thoroughly modern bathroom, with instant gas hot water.

Belle Property Braidwood principal Kelly Allen said the home is a landmark property in Braidwood, a historical and valued building, and a delightfully modern family home.

“This property has everything a family will need, including a huge vegetable patch in the garden, two paved entertainment areas, one with a pergola, and one nestled under a large shade tree,” she said.

“The original well is still in place and makes an interesting garden feature plus an excellent permanent water supply, two off-street carports and a large barn storage shed, three rainwater tanks, landline phone, good internet and mobile reception.”

Original Article published by Sharon Kelley on The RiotACT.