This Global Home | Day 18: Australia

Hi friends! I'm Courtney and I live with my little family in Brisbane, Australia. My husband and I moved from Texas for his job when we were just two newlyweds. Four years, two kids and three homes later- we are still here and loving it. We never know how long we are going to be in Australia, so we started out in a small loft apartment, moved to a bigger apartment when we were pregnant the first time and then had to upsize again when our family once again expanded. We moved across the river (literally, my husband takes a boat to work) last November into this little townhouse we call home. I hope you enjoy peeking around!Connect with me:     BlogInstagramFacebook

Here is our home. It's a part of a whole neighborhood of townhomes on a quiet little street. Most of the residents are young families or older retirees. It's great because there is never a shortage of playmates for my toddler. 

And just to keep it real, this is what happens when your husband thinks he can take care of the weeds in the front yard (our only space we have to take care of). Don't worry, it's been like this for months with no improvement. 

Our living room- this is the first room you see when you walk in the front door. It's so nice on pretty days to have the patio door open and the breeze flowing in. It's actually a pretty large room so the other half is our playroom.

The playroom or otherwise known as Leighton's studio apartment. Isn't it amazing how much kids accumulate? I just did a clean out and looking at this picture is giving me slight anxiety. I love having this space though, especially since we can relax in the living room and still watch her. 

I know this is super exciting, but just off the playroom is our laundry room/half bath. In the past two places, we loved the washer and dryer were in the master bathrooms, so this was very exciting for us. Also, it's noteworthy that we have a dryer. Not everyone here uses one.

The kitchen, it's pretty self-explanatory. I was also quite excited to have a walk in the pantry after just having to use drawers and cabinets the past few years. 

Our dining room/office. The framed poster is from when Travis and I spent a weekend in the South Australian wine country pre-kids, it's one of my favorite memories so I love having the poster framed where I see it every day. 

Just off the dining area is a small courtyard that leads to our garage and the inside of the neighborhood. As I alluded to before, not everyone in Australia uses or even owns a dryer. Most houses have some sort of outdoor drying rack where people line dry their clothes, even if they have a dryer. We are very American in this sense and still dry most of our clothes, because hey- I have two kids under two, I can't be bothered hanging every sock and onesie. 

The rest of the outdoor space, including some boxes that still need to be flattened (just keeping it real over here). Straight out the gate is our driveway and the neighborhood's internal street. In the evenings there are always kids out riding their bikes and playing. There is also a neighborhood swimming pool across the street which was a big selling point. 

The first room upstairs is my son's nursery. His room is my favorite because it is the only room in the house that I actually really planned out decor wise. I love the way it turned out, which is good because I tend to spend a lot of time there especially in the wee hours of the morning.

The next room is my two-year-old daughter's room. At first, I was trying to get her out of the picture, but then I figured this is real life. She loves her room and especially her little reading corner. 

The last bedroom is our master complete with a baby on the bed. Compared to other places we lived and looked at here in Brisbane, it is rather large. Not pictured is our bathroom (nothing special), and our two closets. I have yet to see a house with a master bathroom like the ones we are used to back in Texas. Also, noteworthy that we have ducted air conditioning upstairs (and one vent over the stairs for the living room). Even though it is just as hot here as it is in Houston where we are from, air conditioning throughout (especially ducted) is not that common. Most places just have units in the most common areas or none at all!  

My favorite part of our bedroom is our little balcony. It looks over our yard and the little 9 hole golf course that is across the street. To the right, you can see the clubhouse where they have a family day every Sunday with live music and a jumping castle. I love how family friendly our area (and Australia in general) is. At the end of our street, there is also a park, which is so nice to be able to walk to in the evenings. There are actually 4 playgrounds within a ten-minute walk from our house. 

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