Domain Prestige - June 21, 2023

PERFECT HARMONY

Informed by Japanese sensibility

By KATE FARRELLY

Bedfordale

Perth Dmietrieff Road

$12 million-$15 million

4 4 6 JOSEPHINE HUYNH

Private sale

Agent: William Porteous Properties International, Giovanni Notte 0401 300 648

Painter and storyteller Andrew Cranston once said: “You live in spaces then they live in you.” That couldn’t ring more true for Ralph and Caralyn Mansfield, who are selling the home they built from scratch on an inhabitable island once ridden with weeds and rocks. The design, which took eight years to develop, sits proudly as the only home on Ram Island, on Tassie’s east coast, where they’ve spent the past four years in blissful solitude. You can read about their whole experience in this edition, along with an architecture lens on a stunning residential project 240 kilometres north of Cairns, where the island theme continues at The House on Lizard Island off the Great Barrier Reef. It was built with its landscape and rich Indigenous history front of mind, and the result is a brutalist blend of concrete, glass and timbers at one with its environment – magic.

OUR COVER

Dmietrieff Road, Bedfordale

Listed by William

Porteous Properties International PAGE 2

Editor:

Josephine Huynh

Editorial producer: Hailey Coules

Group picture editor:

Kylie Thomson

Senior designer:

Colleen Chin Quan

Graphic designer: Emma Drake

National magazine

editor:

Natalie Mortimer

Group content director: Mark Roppolo

Chief marketing officer: Rebecca Darley

Chief executive officer: Jason Pellegrino

Residential sales:

Queensland

Amanda Vaughan 0413 370 004

New South Wales

Joe Pinneri

0408 694 223

Victoria, Western Australia, South

Australia, Northern

Territory & Tasmania

Ray van Veenendaal 0438 279 870

New development sales: Ivan Curic 0413 498 156

Media sales: Sam Hill 0438 348 998

Contact: editorial@domain.com.au

BEHIND THE LISTING

Tassie

Possessing a level of finesse usually reserved for six-star hotels, the multi-award-winning Bedfordale House is wrapped in magnificent gardens across almost 20 hectares. Inspired by the owners’ love of Japanese design and aesthetics, the home is comprised of stone and slate pavilions connected by a curved earth wall, ponds, courtyards and timber decks.

YELLOWTRACE

Surrounded by natural beauty 8

PETER BENNETTS

Main Beach

Gold Coast 55/3 Tedder Avenue

$7 million

3 4 3

Private sale

Agent: Queensland Sotheby’s International Realty, Michael Vettoretto 0438 705 745

Spanning three levels and 775 square metres, this expansive Malibu penthouse claims spectacular views across the ocean, Broadwater marinas and the Gold Coast hinterland. Highlights include a rooftop deck with pool.

Knockrow

Ballina 18 Edward Place

$10.8 million-$12 million 4

Private sale

Agent: Amir Prestige Byron Bay, Amir Mian 0401 470 499

Uninterrupted views across a valley to the ocean are the star attraction at this 2.7-hectare property on Knockrow’s prized ridge line a 20-minute drive from Byron Bay. You’ll find polished concrete floors, an internal breezeway and an all-weather al fresco zone overlooking a family-sized pool.

Kyneton

Macedon Ranges 114 Flynns Lane

$2.9 million-$3.1 million

4 3 3

Private sale

Agent: Broadhurst Property, Robert Broadhurst 0488 300 900

Imagine a long lunch under the pergola with countryside views at Flynn’s Hill, a 5.9-hectare retreat currently run as a holiday rental.

GLEN IRIS

With its lush greenery and tranquil ambience, Glen Iris lives up to the saying that the grass is always greener on the other side, given its bountiful parks, tree-lined streets and grand homes create an idyllic setting for a Zen lifestyle.

While the CBD pulses with activity just over 10 kilometres away, Glen Iris revels in its peaceful affluence. The locals here cherish the suburb’s serene village atmosphere.

Prized parks and property

Zali Reynolds of Shelter Real Estate considers Glen Iris a hidden inner-east gem. She praises the suburb for being a suburban sanctuary while having easy access to the city’s enticements.

“Glen Iris has become a haven for long-term residents and an attractive location for families seeking an ideal place to raise their children,” Reynolds explains.

“The abundance of excellent schools, including Sacre Coeur, Korowa and Caulfield Grammar, further enhances the suburb’s appeal.”

Securing property here is no easy feat, with a median house price of $2.389 million, according to Domain’s latest House Price Report. Reynolds says those who buy in the suburb don’t tend to leave in a hurry, making it a very stable performer.

“Over the past few years, I have seen a discernible shift in the demographic makeup of Glen Iris, as more affluent buyers are drawn to

the area,” she says. “This trend has sparked a demand for larger, more contemporary properties, gradually reshaping the architectural landscape of the suburb.”

Tree change in the city

Catering to this transformation, Joel Ryan, the builder behind Orbis Constructions, and his wife, Nala of Nala Design, craft bespoke homes in and around Glen Iris. Joel considers the area one of the last remaining suburbs in the prestigious inner-south-eastern corridor that has retained its character, untouched by excessive development.

“There remains an amazing collection of traditional Victorian or Edwardian homes, Californian bungalows, mid-century gems, Australian homesteads and more modern architectural dwellings,” Joel says.

“The suburb’s charm lies in its original lot sizes, larger than the typical size blocks found in Melbourne, preserving a sense of spaciousness.”

For him, Glen Iris is not just about the beautiful homes, it’s also about excellent connectivity and convenience, with two train lines, easy access to the Monash Freeway, and a dedicated running and bicycle track along Gardiners Creek.

“We love to find respite in the hidden section of the Back Creek Reserve,” Joel says. “This secluded trail ... opens up to a secret valley with pathways leading to the creek below.”

Gardiners Creek Trail is a beautiful pedestrian and cycle track that runs through Glen Iris.

YOU MAY LIKE ...

Glen Iris

Melbourne 39 Ashburton Road

$4.4 million-$4.78 million

5 2 2

Auction: 1.30pm, June 24

Agent: Bekdon Richards, Paul Richards 0414 503 324

Unleash your inner host at this captivating family home, featuring a grand lounge-dining room, a gourmet marble kitchen, a full-width shaded patio and a multipurpose fire pit.

Green, serene and affluent, Glen Iris is a world away from the nearby hustle and bustle of the CBD.

By PAULINE MORRISSEY

When Ralph and Caralyn Mansfield moved to Tasmania’s Ram Island in 2019, they fulfilled an almost twodecade-long dream – one that began with a small ad in a Melbourne newspaper.

“On the Sunday morning I found the ad and then, on the Wednesday, I flew down and met the real estate agent and she arranged to have a boat take us over,” Ralph says.

“I flew home on the Wednesday night after viewing the island and signing contracts and I rang Caralyn.

“She goes, ‘What have you been up to today?’ and I said, ‘I’ve bought an island!’ ”

When they bought it in 2002, the 26-hectare island in Little Swanport, between Orford and Swansea on Tasmania’s east coast, was far from inhabitable. But building contractor Ralph had a vision of one day making it their home.

“There was nothing here,” he says. “There was no jetty, no ramps … 80 per cent of the island was covered in gorse weed. It was our dream to come down here and retire on the island.”

After winding up Ralph’s construction business, the two made the long-awaited move from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, living in a caravan while they cleared weeds, rocks and

Make this your island home

They turned a weed-ridden, barren landscape into the estate of their dreams with views to Tasmania’s Freycinet Peninsula.

By JESSICA GOLDING

dead logs, and began building the home they’d been slowly designing for eight years.

In what Ralph describes as “the biggest logistical job I’ve ever taken on”, he worked with a local engineer to build a landing barge and moved 38 trucks’ worth of materials to the island over two days, before getting to work on the construction.

Unsurprisingly, the view served as the main inspiration for the home’s design, with a fivemetre deep wraparound deck providing the perfect place to sit and take in the scenery. “We orientated the house north and just filled the northern side of the house with glass,” Ralph

says. “You [look] across to Freycinet, across to Schouten Island, all the way out through Little Swanport estuary.”

Conscious not to create something that would “stick out like a sore thumb”, the couple opted for materials that would blend into the landscape. The home’s exterior is clad in silvertop ash timber, with weathering steel wraps around the edge of the roof.

Inside, blackheart sassafras, which is native to Tasmania and “very hard to come across”, was used for the floorboards and staircases.

“It’s a big feature,” Caralyn says. “Something people look at as soon as they walk in.”

Now that the home is complete, the couple’s life on the island is a relaxing one, with days spent going for walks, pottering about the house, cooking on the barbecue and observing the native wildlife.

“We’ve got kangaroos and wallabies that live on the island and the bird life here is incredible, it’s just beautiful,” Ralph says.

When they need to stock up on supplies or get their social fix, a second private jetty in Pontypool makes it easy to visit the Tasmanian mainland – which they do about once a week.

“You’ve got the best of both worlds,” Ralph says. “You can have the solitude or it takes you five minutes to get off the island and within a short distance, you can be at shopping centres and wineries and restaurants.

“We’ve met a fantastic group of people just in Pontypool, and on Friday nights, we usually get together and have a drink and something to eat.”

The couple are the first people to inhabit Ram Island since 1939, when the last of the Pyke family moved away after calling it home for around a century, Ralph says.

“They built a little house over here and [Joseph Pyke] used to grow his own wheat and bake bread,” he says. “I know they had animals and they had their vegetable gardens.

“There’s a lot of Pyke family around here and they love talking to you about it.”

Having spent over four years living on the island, the couple are planning to move closer to their family in Victoria. The property, one of only 11 privately owned islands in the state, has been listed for sale via expressions of interest.

“We’re just enjoying it while we’re still here, but the day we move off the island will be an emotional day,” Ralph says. “Someone is going to be extremely lucky to own this property.”

Little Swanport

Tasmania 1 Ram Island

$6 million+

3 2 10

Expressions of interest

Agent: Peterswald for Property, Nick Morgan 0417 486 013

Timber is a central feature of this Ram Island home in Tasmania, from the silvertop ash used to clad the exterior to the eye-catching and difficult-to-source blackheart sassafras used on the home’s floors.

NATASHA MULHALL

An intriguing Lizard lair

It all started with a simple brief to create the greatest reef house in the world. I suppose when the project is in a spot the owners refer to as the “Bennelong Point of the Great Barrier Reef” – more specifically, Lizard Island, 240 kilometres north of Cairns on the fringe of the reef – why would one aim for anything less?

Surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty, the site carries a rich Indigenous history. Dyiigurra is the traditional country of the Dingaal people and regarded as a sacred space. It was named Lizard Island by Captain James Cook when he passed the land in 1770 and saw its large groups of lizards, geckos and goannas.

The new building here, dubbed The House, is entirely grounded in its connection to the reef and its place, designed to welcome the elements.

The House is a passion project of owners Steve and Jane Wilson, and holds a special place in

the family’s history, as Steve’s father developed the original lodge.

Architecture firm JDA Co. delivered the architecture, interiors and final furniture selection, while Sophie Hart was brought in to finalise the objets d’art and the styling.

JDA Co. director James Davidson says he became familiar with the place while camping under the stars on-site.

“I wanted to understand how the sun and the winds worked,” he says. “It also allowed me to test view lines from the ground floor, which impacted the final design.

“Every detail in The House ties back to its magical setting.

“The site is incredibly beautiful, and The House is there to frame its surroundings.”

The building plan is a nod to the stingrays that swim just metres away. Narrow slit windows to the south and west act as “gills” to direct

prevailing breezes and allow The House to breathe on hot days, of which there are plenty.

On the ground floor, a garden room connects indoors and outdoors via stone flooring, while upstairs, a burnished, polished concrete floor pays homage to the monumental granite shelf located beneath.

Rosewood timber and copper bring warmth to the otherwise robust interior. A large curving emerald quartzite kitchen bench echoes a sea shell, with subtle green tones complementing the hues of the reef.

A central, curved stairwell acts as the heart of the building, with an oculus above for tracking the patterns of the sun and the moon. A roof terrace and spa cap off the property and offer 360-degree landscape views.

The logistics of working on such a remote site brought with it plenty of challenges. The building process called for ingenuity to ensure minimal environmental disturbance.

Materials were delivered via an offshore pontoon and hoisted from the beach onto the site using a “flying fox” mechanism.

“What makes me especially proud is creating such an amazing outcome through an incredibly difficult, complex process.”

by DANA TOMIC HUGHES YELLOWTRACE

COURTESY OF JONES

The House’s rugged appearance seems like a ruin from the outside. The robust, board-formed concrete shell isn’t purely for aesthetics; it’s functional and lends itself to withstanding cyclonic winds and harsh weather conditions.

This project took almost 30 years to complete from when Steve’s father set foot on the island, with the client now finally enjoying the fruits of his labour.

It’s a testament to the fact all good things and many great projects do, and should, take time.

“What makes me especially proud is creating such an amazing outcome through an incredibly difficult, complex process,” smiles Davidson. “I love that about being an architect; we’re building people’s dreams a lot of the time.”

If you find this property intriguing and its location at one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, and you’re after a memorable stay in one of the most luxurious private properties in Australia, you’re in luck. The House is available for bookings.

yellowtrace.com.au

PETER BENNETTS

Transformed, Tri-Level Penthouse.

MAIN BEACH, GOLD COAST

This 775 sqm masterpiece ‘New York style’ Penthouse has undergone an elegant transformation to create a world-class executive residence.

Spanning three-levels, it features an enormous 262 sqm private rooftop swimming pool with spa deck and outdoor kitchen. The interior levels are wrapped in window walls to capitalise on the captivating coastal views.

A grand-scale dual-level open-plan living area boasts five-metre ceilings. Three king size en-suited bedroomsthe Principal enjoying a showpiece dressing room. Fresh as a brand-new custom-designed modern home, the northern Malibu Penthouse is ready for its future owner.

3 4.5 3 2

Malibu | 55/3 Tedder Avenue, Main Beach.

For Sale: $7,000,000

Michael

+61 438 705 745

Kim Sharpe: +61 412 261 266

Vettoretto:

The GlasshouseTropical Glamour.

PORT DOUGLAS

The Glasshouse, one of Port Douglas’ most glamorous homes and a magical garden paradise is on the market.

The three-level residence sits high on Island Point with panoramic views across Four Mile Beach, the mountain ranges, and the Dickson Inlet.

Following a two-year top-to-bottom renovation importing Murano glass chandeliers from Italy, bespoke furnishings, and commissioned art playfully designed and curated in celebration of a joyful tropical lifestyle, The Glasshouse has been metamorphosed into a world-class residence of opulence to rival an ultra-luxury resort.

4561

26 Island Point Road, Port Douglas

Expressions of interest closing 10th July.

Barbara Wolveridge | +61 418 760 004

queenslandsothebysrealty.com

SAPPHIRE BEACH 42 Coachmans Close

Experience the epitome of elegance and luxury at 42 Coachmans Close-a remarkable residence nestled i n a prestigious location. This exquisite property transcends ordinary living, immersing you in a world of opulence and refinement. With a magnificent main residence and two luxurious villas, it boasts 15 pl ush bedrooms and 15 impeccable bathrooms, offering a haven of tranquility and style. Indulge in a lifes tyle tailored to the discerning homeowner. From a spacious garage for your car collection to a state-of-t he-art home office, every detail is designed to enhance your comfort. Host unforgettable gatherings in vers atile, grand spaces that seamlessly adapt to your needs, complete with a private bar for toasting and entertainment. Step outside to discover a paradise created for all ages, featuring a 25m lap pool, a charming children's playground, and a private beach where each sunrise brings new possibilities.

All information contained herein is gathered from sources we deem to be reliable. However we cannot guarantee its accuracy and interested parties should rely on their own enquiries.