The school day might have ended, but at 11 Hillside Drive at Daisy Hill, the fun was often only beginning.
Schoolbags could be put aside, uniforms exchanged for swimmers and another afternoon spent splashing through the backyard pool.
Other days belonged to the tennis court, where games could continue long after sunset beneath the floodlights.
Sometimes, tennis gave way to basketball, or scooters racing across the court — a backyard playground where one game could become another and the imagination could be set free.
For owner Sophia and her family, the Daisy Hill house became something of a private resort, tucked among lush gardens and greenery.
“It just feels like we are living in a resort,” Sophia said.
“It’s a very, very relaxing atmosphere.”
The family purchased the property more than three years ago, drawn by its proximity to John Paul College and the extraordinary playground — a sprawling world of recreation, possibility and outdoor adventure hidden from the street.
Set on 2041sqm, the property features a lagoon-style swimming pool, spa, waterfall and floodlit tennis court surrounded by established gardens.
“The kids play tennis, even basketball there,” Sophia said.
“Almost every day, they finish school and jump into the pool.”
The gardens and outdoor entertaining areas also became a gathering place for barbecues, celebrations and afternoons spent with friends.
“All my friends love to come to my home,” she said.
Inside, the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house offers a quieter kind of retreat.
High ceilings and generous windows welcome natural light, while Sophia said the breeze flowing through open windows helped keep the house comfortable during Queensland summers.
Come winter, there was the warmth of the fireplace.
“It’s very bright,” she said.
“It’s a very comfortable house.”
A separate studio near the tennis court offers additional space for work or recreation, while nearby schools, shops and Daisy Hill’s bushland reserves provide suburban convenience.
But more than its features, Sophia remembers the happiness her family found there.
She said the house accompanied a period of growth for both her children and the family business.
“It brought us so much happiness,” she said.
Now, business commitments have prompted a relocation, bringing their time at Hillside Drive to an end.
Yet leaving behind the swimming pool, tennis court and countless afternoons spent together has proved harder for the family’s youngest members.
“Even my kids don’t want me to sell it,” Sophia said.
“They want to keep it.”
And although another family may soon call the house their own, Sophia said her children still hold onto the possibility of returning one day.
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