124 Australian Country HOMES
and raised them in an idyllic landscape,
surrounded by nature.
“We lived on 100 acres just outside a
little village called Glenreagh in the Coff s
Coast hinterland,” Sharon says. “We had
built a home based on a Tasmanian cottage
that we admired using sandstone and
period cedar doors and windows. Our
lifestyle block was ideal while the children
were growing up and we had every farm
animal imaginable. We home-schooled the
children for their early primary years and
Brenton had his workshop at home so we
worked, lived and travelled as a family.”
But as the children grew, the couple
realised they needed to be closer to
amenities, such as high schools anduniversities and decided to pack up
the farm and move to Toowoomba, on
Queensland’s Darling Downs, about two
hours from Brisbane. The physical move
turned out to be a lot tougher than the
decision to make it, given their now vast
collection of antiques.
“Our move was enormous as it took
15 truckloads to move the workshop,
household contents and stock from
the shop,” Sharon says. “It took us nine
months of hard labour with me based
in Toowoomba looking for a new home,
workshop and shop while Brenton was still
in Glenreagh working, travelling to antique
fairs, and loading the truck once a fortnight
or so to bring a load to Toowoomba.”
They fi nally found a place to set up shop
near Toowoomba’s historic railway station
in the CBD, and they found their forever
home just a stroll away in Burfi eld House.
“This place felt like home, even though it
is on one of the busiest streets in town,”
Sharon says. “It is an oasis in the city with
a ten-minute walk to the CBD and work.”
The Federation-era building also ticked the
old-and-worn box, and has been a perfect
project for them since.
“Brenton has been very hands-on and
enjoys working on the house,” Sharon adds.
“The fi rst job was repairing and replacing
the guttering so the house was level and
not leaking. There has also been a lot of
rewiring and plumbing work.”
Sharon’s main focus has been on fi tting
Burfi eld out with their personal collection
of favourite antiques and taming the three
quarters of an acre of garden that thrives in
Toowoomba’s fertile soil.
“My favourite part of the house is the
front verandah,” she says. “It’s particularly
wide and I have a lovely view of the garden.
I like to imagine all the people who have
walked up the steps to the front door over
the past 110 years.”
The home is believed to have been
built by a couple who were partners in
the Cramond and Stark department store
which opened in Toowoomba in 1905.
Through renovation and repair, many
original features remain, including the
intricate cast iron balustrade on the front
verandah, now painted a crisp white, andThese pages: The Kinnears are not afraid of bold colours and have used many in Burfield House’s interiors to create a stunning backdrop for the collection of
antiques they have assembled across more than 30 years of appreciating, collecting, restoring and trading furniture.›