Thursday, April 19, 2012

Living History


As Warragamba Dam again spills it`s excess water along the Nepean then the Hawkesbury river it brings one back to pre dam times when the dam had no impact on people`s lives, when people were not warned of impeding floods by way of electronic communications, they just had to deal with the unpredictable river.


The Hawkesbury is a beautiful river to live by. The most fascinationg aspect, to me, is the history that surrounds us here. First settlement on the Hawkesbury was at Pitt Town Bottoms in 1794. The fertile river flats were perfect for growing fruit & vegetables to supply to the Sydney settlement. It was imperative that the farms were successful and each Governor from the Sydney Settlement made sure that they were going to succeed, none more  thou than Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Unfortunately the river wasn`t always kind to the settlers and they had to endure many floods which wiped many of them out finacially. The great flood of 1867 had an even bigger impact. It peaked at 19.2 metres, caught many unaware and lives were lost. The Barnhouse still has signs of where the 1867 flood went thru, lucky it was 2 storey.


Everywhere along the river there are still properties from our early days. This one has to be my favourite all time property. I would so love to get my hands on it and bring it back to its former glory. Imagine the stories that it could tell.


You may think that perhaps you recognise it..... you would be right....it`s featured in many commercials, photo shoots & music video clips. The owner is a very old guy who has let it go, its beyond him and its now derelict. Such a shame that a house of such significance will be lost.

This house is the adjoining property, needs renovating as well. Maybe one day they will fall into the hands of someone who will treat them well.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

In the Garden

Hi There

I`m the Mum, the 1 with the creepy dolls heads... more on them another day.

I just wanted to share some pics of my gardens before they go dormant for winter.



I share my garden with our pets and with a wide variety of native wildlife. I have geese, a rooster, horses and of course my dog and I often have the barnhouse dogs visiting as well. Native wildlife includes a wide variety of birds, possums, sugar gliders, bandicoots, goannas and lots of blue tounges and bearded dragons. On the snake front I get eastern browns (hate them!) Red belly blacks and this summer I came across a death adder, that really deterred my need to spend time in the garden; nice surprise (not)!






I do have areas of formal gardens as well with clipped box hedges, rows of lavenders etc but it has taken me 4 days to master just putting this post up & I think it`s pic heavy enough already so I will be back another day.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Super Kitsch!!!


I love these plates so much...I am going to hate to part with them, but they are now listed on the website www.barnhouseantiques.com




Sunday, April 8, 2012

Industrial Trolley Coffee Table Carts


We love our industrial at the Barnhouse and we could not help but grab these great industrial coffee table carts. The metal wheels make it easy to move around but what we are loving the most is the timber top with the funky patina of divine colours. 

These are very popular and our price point makes them a steal. We have just listed them on our website (www.barnhouseantiques.com) and if you are interested we suggest you grab them now, before they are all gone!





Saturday, April 7, 2012

Happy Easter!!!


I hope you all have a wonderful Easter or Eastyr if you are 'Morgan and Finch'. Mum does not buy me eggs for Easter but decorations. This year she got me this Happy Easter garland and when I hung it up, I realised that it was spelt wrong. But Josh and I think it is too funny to return to the shop. 



Wednesday, April 4, 2012

New Zealand Vintage Shopping Help!!!


Josh and I are heading over to New Zealand in a few weeks. I am doing a training course at the uni in Auckland for a week then we are flying down to the South Island to travel around for the second week. We are landing in Queenstown and then travelling up to Franz Josef then we are flying out from Christchurch.

We would love to know any great vintage shops, op shops, old cool towns and anything else 'cool' for 27 year olds to do.