It would be understandable if you assumed we’d discovered our Anniversary Prize Home nestled in the folds of a glossy home design magazine. You know, one of those country-styled mags with pages of impossibly gorgeous heritage homes (‘Estates’ might be a more appropriate word) with impeccably curated, ‘lived-in’ interiors with just the right amount of rustic charm.
While it’s true that the above is a pretty accurate description of our stunning hinterland Prize Home, the original inspiration for this beautiful home didn’t spring from the pages of a magazine or an Instagram feed.
Far from it.
Our $1.3 million Anniversary Home in the village of Montville, high in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, was inspired by the original Queenslander home in which the Endeavour Foundation began.
Back in 1951, on the verandahs of a grand old Queenslander in suburban Brisbane, a group of parents of children with an intellectual disability got together to find a better way.
These parents believed that children with an intellectual disability deserved the same right to education and as meaningful life as everyone else.
This desire to create more educational options and opportunities for children with intellectual disability formed the cornerstone of what would become the Endeavour Foundation.
Each year, we celebrate these humble beginnings by giving away a timeless Queenslander in our Anniversary Home lottery as a tribute to the original home where those Queensland families dared to imagine what’s possible.
Set on over 4000m2 of fertile hinterland real estate, this year’s Anniversary Home embodies the essence of Queenslander design with a gabled front entry and wide sweeping verandahs.
With such a wonderful history behind this grand Montville lady, it’s hard to believe that if you’re the lucky winner, you’ll be the very first to enjoy living under her roof.
That’s because, despite her ‘mature’ looks, our Montville country house is actually a brand new, purpose-built, architecturally-designed home.
And that, people, means three words: ‘modern creature comforts’. Hallelujah.
No draughty floorboards that let in the winter chill. No windows that jam every time you try to open them. And no creaky stairs or rickety handrails.
Instead, assuming you’re the winner, you’re going to have to put up with gloriously modern, free-flowing fittings like ‘soft close’ kitchen drawers and contemporary, high-end finishes including polished Caesarstone kitchen benchtops and integrated appliances.
In the master bedroom ensuite, you and your significant other will each have to cope with having your own vanity sink and suffer the wrinkles caused by long soaks in the deep, free-standing bath tub.
And that’s not the half of it.
Take the state-of-the-art media room, for example. In there, the creature comforts really do go next level, literally. The cinema-like, stepped seating, is about as close as you can get to an authentic ‘Gold Class’ experience without leaving home.
If all of this luxury inside is a little hard to take, don’t think you’re going to get any relief outside.
The enormous back deck is the pure definition of ‘designed for comfort’ with so much space to spread out and multiple casual seating areas for relaxing and taking in the picture-perfect view.
The stainless steel outdoor kitchen, under the sheltered BBQ pavilion, is also a thing of beauty for tong-wielding weekend chefs. This impressive set up serves a whole other purpose than the segregated outside kitchens found out the back of early Queenslanders. With a huge eight-seater timber table and even a bar cart right alongside, it’s the ideal recipe for entertaining family and friends, day and night.
Most indulgent of all, is the outdoor cinema with a huge pull-down movie screen and up-to-the-minute 4K cinema projector – all professionally installed and ready to roll.
Imagine having to stretch out in bean bag on a Summer’s night with some Maltesers or a big bowl of popcorn and take in a classic?
Told you it would be rough.
Along with all of these modern creature comforts, our architect and interior designer have managed to include generous dashes of country charm into this four-bedroom home.
White Shaker-style kitchen cabinetry, horizontal VJ panelled feature walls and ornate fretwork above doorways all add instant character to this brand new home.
Check out the floorplan and you’ll see the footprint of our Montville Prize Home is actually a modernised version of the classic square Queenslander layout, which typically featured a central grid of rooms surrounded by wide, cooling verandahs.
So, just as you’d expect, the home’s central living areas are flanked by a verandah across the front and decking across the rear.
However, it’s the proportions that really set this place apart.
With over 240m2 of internal living area and a massive 160m2 of verandahs/decking, the home boats a whopping 400m2 of living area.
And, just like in the magazines, carefully-curated furnishings and homewares (that are all part of the prize) sit perfectly in the space and create a luxuriously relaxed feel.
No expense has been spared.
Every penny of our $100,000 interior design budget has been spent kitting out the home with elegant designer pieces from plush linen sofas, artisan-crafted rattan suites and even a statement king-sized four-poster bed.
One day, in the not too distant future it could all be yours. But only if you buy a ticket. As they say, you have to be in it to win it, so pick up a ticket (or a few) today.
And remember, if your ticket is drawn out as the Prize Home winner, you’ll also pocket a handy $10,000 worth of gold bullion (that’s $5,000 to cover Council rates and water charges for a year and then $5,000 towards realising your travel dreams).
If you’ve always pictured yourself on the pages of one of those country-inspired home magazines, here’s your chance to live the dream in real life. Come and explore our stunning Queenslander Prize Home, at 205-209 Western Avenue, Montville. It’s just 30 minutes from the Sunshine Coast and a scenic 75-minute drive from Brisbane.
While you’re on the Range, you can sample the cafés and boutiques of Montville village or set off to explore the walking tracks of
Kondalilla National Park.
The home is open daily between 10am and 5pm AEST right up until the lottery closes on Wednesday 29 May (except Good Friday and before 1pm on ANZAC Day).
If you can’t make it to explore this beautiful Prize Home in person, you can still experience this amazing country estate from the comfort of your lounge. Take the virtual tour of our Montville Prize Home now
When you purchase lottery tickets from Endeavour Foundation, you help to provide opportunities for people with an intellectual disability to learn life skills, live independently, have a job they love, and be actively involved in their local communities. Find out more about how Endeavour Foundation is helping people with disability to imagine what’s possible.