Mansion April

Mansion INCORPORATING NEWS FROM DOW JONES’ M A NS ION GL OBA L

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- PAGE INTERIORS SECTION

AUSTRALIA

COLOURFAST

Kit Kemp’s design tips

RAISING THE BAR

Why home gyms are all the rage

POCKETS OF PLENTY

Secret spots drawing the big money

BACK IN THE RACE Melbourne prestige pulls ahead 1

M A NSIONAUST R A L I A .C OM . AU

Issue 42 • April 2021

T H E W E E K E N D AUST R A L I A N | O C T OBE R 8 - 9 , 2 0 1 6

British interior designer Kit Kemp’s shop inside New York’s famed Bergdorf Goodman store. See Page 50

Contents 9 L U X U R Y Designer renovation, hinterland jewel, gun-barrel views at Killcare 1 2 C O V E R S T O R Y High-price sales invigorate Melbourne’s prestige market 1 6 D O L L Y L E N Z Home gyms are the new must-have 1 8 B R I S B A N E The sun shines on the luxury market 2 0 D U R A L Buyers are looking for style and space outside the city 2 2 W H I T S U N D A Y S Seeking an island to treasure 2 6 M A N S I O N G L O B A L Modern Ireland, French castle, Italian fixer-upper 3 2 C E L E B R I T I E S Media personality Chyka Keebaugh’s eclectic collections 3 4 T I N Y H O M E Good things can come in small packages 4 3 P R E S T I G E M A R K E T U P D A T E Point Piper’s east side pips them all 47 MILTON

Romancing the stone on the NSW South Coast

5 0 I N T E R I O R S In Kit Kemp’s latest book she says it’s all about colour 5 4 A R C H I T E C T U R E A much-loved Melbourne home is given new life 5 7 P R O D U C T S Natural forms and neutral tones to grace your space 5 8 D E S I G N C L A S S I C Hans J. Wegner’s Teddy Bear chair

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May 8, 2021

1 2 C O V E R A five-bedroom home at 6 Lascelles Avenue, Toorak,

recently sold with an asking price of $12 million. It was designed in the 1930s by Marcus Martin and renovated by Stephen Akehurst

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Mansion AUSTRALIA

Editor Lisa Allen Contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor Interiors editor David Meagher Art director Samantha Yates Writers Libby Moffet, Emily Pettafor Joel Robinson, Luke Slattery Sue Wallace Chief sub editor Deirdre Blayney Sub editors Sandra Killen, Paul Hunter Justine Costello Picture editor Christine Westwood Advertising Michael Thompson Tel. 61 2 9288 3630 michael.thompson2@news.com.au

Editor’s letter Tax-free expat money coupled with low interest rates continue to push the Sydney prestige market to new heights, while Melbourne is energising itself with a string of high-price sales.

With the market in flux and Sydney prestige agents, particularly in the eastern suburbs, working 12-hour days to satisfy vendors and buyers, developers and realtors are now questioning when this extraordinary roaring boom will end.

Economist Dr Andrew Wilson says Sydney and Melbourne home values are merely catching up with prices of three years ago, given that COVID had suppressed values.

“The Sydney market has the extra leg-up with the expats,” Dr Wilson concedes. “We saw that last week with the sale of a $20 million penthouse unit in Bondi. There is big money coming out of Sydney at the moment.”

In a major scoop for this issue, we feature international designer Kit Kemp freely sharing her design ideas for Australian homes, while our writer Sue Wallace gives us a look inside the Richmond penthouse apartment of Chyka Keebaugh, of The Real Housewives of Melbourne fame, in all its colourful glory.

Elsewhere, we look at Brisbane’s prestige property market, Emily Pettafor reveals the unique islands on offer in Queensland’s Whitsundays, and our international real estate correspondent Dolly Lenz tells us all about the value and importance of home gyms.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Lisa Allen Editor

Unsolicited manuscripts will not be considered.

Printed by Ovato Print Pty Ltd, 31 Heathcote Road, Moorebank 2170, for the proprietor and publisher, Nationwide News Pty Limited (ACN 008 438 828), of 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010 for insertion in The Weekend Australian on April 10, 2021

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| APRIL 10-11, 2021

Rural A Secluded 156* Acre Evolutionary Botanical Estate ‘Eaglemont Estate’, Springbrook, Gold Coast Hinterland, Queensland • Carved into the heart of Springbrook and centred around a private ancient Gondwana rainforest • Secluded 63.17ha* where perfumes and colours change throughout all 4 climatic seasons • Thousands of camellias and magnolias intersperse rows of 5,000 ash trees, silky oaks and liquid ambers bounded by soaring pines. Lakes, flowing tributaries and commercial capacity water bores • The ‘Eaglemont Estate’ comprises 13.5%* of Springbrook’s cleared productive mesa • An amazing abundance of birdlife and wildlife for you to interact with in their environment • A vision of self sustainable lifestyle that shelters you from an unsuspecting outside world

raywhiteruralqld.com.au

For Sale Peter Douglas 0407 172 101 Rob Wildermuth 0428 222 687 Ray White Rural Queensland

*approx.

EMU PARK, QLD

The coastal Queensland trophy estate Mount Haven at Emu Park, overlooking Keppel Bay and Great Keppel Island on the coast of Rockhampton, is for sale, having been put to auction last month.

The 58.5 hectare oceanfront block with homestead had inquiries from around the country; however it was a local bidder from Rockhampton who made the top bid before it was passed in.

The property, listed through Ray White New Farm agents Hamish Bowman and Josh Brown, features a four-bedroom, three-bathroom homestead. There’s approval to subdivide to create eight lots.

The lots would be located at the north-east corner of the property, fronting the ocean. The marketing suggests there’s potential for boutique accommodation, tourism ventures, exclusive retirement facilities, or the expansion of the existing private family home.

The property is smaller than the 80 hectares offered in 2017 when it was listed with $15 million hopes.

TOORAK, VIC

WOOLLAHRA, NSW

Rosetta, a renovated two-storey terrace in Woollahra, has sold for almost its $3.875 million asking price. Last traded for $2.43 million in 2015, the open plan terrace on Wallis Street has three bedrooms. The entry level living and kitchen area opens to a rear travertine and ivy courtyard on its 135sq m block. There are two bedrooms on level two, and a separate studio apartment with its own ensuite above the garage.

BresicWhitney Darlinghurst agents Darren Pearce and Di Grundy secured the sale post-auction. It’s only the eighth sale Woollahra has seen over $3 million so far in 2021, compared to 12 by mid-March last year, with realestate.com.au noting that the median house price sits at $3.6 million after 70 sales last year. It was $1.9 million nine years ago.

APRIL 10-11, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

Apartment House, the Toorak home designed by architect Kerstin Thompson, has been withdrawn from sale. Marshall White Stonnington agents Justin Long and Richard Mackinnon had a $7.9 million to $8.5 million price guide.

Completed in 2014, Apartment House was conceived by Thompson around a leafy central courtyard designed by Fiona Brockhoff. “The Apartment House delivers an ‘ageing in place’ housing typology for the clients,” Kerstin Thompson Architects have said of the project. “It was imagined as such in response to the clients’ request for a single-level, universally accessible but elevated and secure dwelling with views.”

It comes with the now all-important media room and fitted home office on the main level, close to the master bedroom with ensuite. The Kooyong Road home in its dress circle location has a striking white brick and green copper facade. Entry is through double gates to the garden, with bluestone stairs and a lift leading to the main living and accommodation area. The living space is flanked by floor-to-ceiling glass that opens to the garden. Joining the living space is a state of the art kitchen, as well as a dining room, with dappled light admitted through “hit and miss” brickwork. On the ground level is a self-contained apartment with its own living and dining room, kitchen and private garden terrace. The other ground-level wing has an open-air gym and kitchenette concealed behind large cedar doors.

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WOOLLOOMOOLOO, NSW

PERTH, WA

Let there be light A Perth home designed by the architect Andrew Boughton has been listed for sale. William Porteous Properties International agent Olivia Porteous is expecting offers in the mid $5 millions. Peppermint Grove sees around three or four sales per year over the $5 million mark. The biggest in recent times was achieved in late 2017 when a 2007-built home sold for $11 million – the fifth highest house sale the suburb has seen. The latest state of the art Peppermint Grove home listing on the Swan River southwest of the Perth CBD was built in 2012 and last sold for $4.8 million in 2018. Designed to capture the river views, the three-level home with clean lines was built to maximise the northern light.

Bi-fold doors open from the open plan living and dining area, where there’s a marble, gas pebble fireplace, to a resort-style heated pool. The north-facing alfresco area includes a large Beefeater Barbecue set in to a honed marble bench.

The kitchen features a cantilevered Calacatta marble dining bar, Gaggenau and Miele appliances, and an under-bench wine fridge. Downstairs is a theatre room with motorised screen and a 900-bottle temperature-controlled wine cellar.

Linking the ground and top level, where the four bedrooms are located, is a glass and marble staircase. A six-person lift runs to all three levels.

Designer renovation A vast Woolloomooloo Wharf apartment on the harbourside landmark has been listed for sale following a designer renovation. Marketed as a penthouse-style residence, the near 300sq m Finger Wharf apartment has been refurbished by Fleming Design. The open plan layout, with a series of living and entertaining areas, is flanked by large sliding windows to maximise water views. New herringbone oak floors feature throughout the living spaces, and the four bedrooms have European sisal carpet. There is a master suite with dressing room and ensuite with double shower, steam room and jacuzzi. A guest suite has a walk-in robe and ensuite. A new Caesarstone island kitchen is in the heart of the open plan living and dining area, and the space comes with a home cinema. Ray White TRG agent Gavin Rubinstein has a guide of $11 million, topping the listings of busier recent times. Finger Wharf vendors have secured 24 sales over 2019 and 2020 combined, compared with 11 over the two previous years.

RED HILL, VIC

Langhaus, a recently completed home on the Mornington Peninsula, is for sale. The 4.3 hectare Red Hill South property sold for $2.07 million in 2017 when it was a modest 1950s farm cottage. Now there is a Scandinavian-style home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The open plan living and dining area meets a striking stone kitchen with butler’s pantry. The room opens to a covered alfresco dining deck and pool. There’s also a separate building with garage, workshop, guest bedroom and multipurpose loft space.

RT Edgar Mornington Peninsula agents Paul Armstrong and Michael Parker have a guide of $11 million to $12 million, which would make it the second property in the small Red Hill South locale to break the $10 million mark. The first was a Stephen Akehurst-designed Callanans Road home that sold for $16 million in 2018.

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

BYRON BAY, NSW

The coastal town’s multi-award winning property The Boathouse has been listed for the first time. First National Byron agent Su Reynolds is expecting a sale within the $6 million range, which would be the highest result for the old part of town. Owner and master builder Ian Heanes of Heanesbuilt created the three-level home, using a mix of raw and refined finishes. It features internal and external walls of microgranite, sourced locally from the family farm. The centrepiece is the suspended polished concrete stairwell.

The main living space is on the entry level, as is a kitchen complete with American oak benches and a butler’s pantry.

Upstairs is dedicated to the master retreat, with an ensuite with white wood marble floors. Large windows offer views over Byron, the ocean and the hinterland. The property has an Enviroswim freshwater pool with river stone walls.

KILLCARE, NSW

A luxury Killcare Heights home has been listed for sale for the first time in a quarter of a century. The clifftop house with gun-barrel views across Killcare Beach has been the home of former Waratah Brian Macauley since 1995 when he and wife Marilyn paid $395,000. They renovated the home around 10 years later, adding its showpiece infinity pool overlooking the beach and ocean. The four-bedroom home on nearly 700sq m has been designed to take advantage of the views, with both levels opening to the ocean side. McGrath Ettalong Beach agents Dale Bassett and Madi Holt have a $4 million to $4.4 million guide. There are around 20 houses on the lowside of dress circle Macdonald Street. The highest price paid was in 2016 when Tanya Ford, wife of Healthe Care chief financial officer Gordon Ford, paid $4.55 million for a five-bedroom home designed by Castlepeake Architects. Two years ago former Westfield director Stephen Johns bought a house on the strip for $3.7 million.

NOOSA, QLD

Hinterland jewel With the relisting of the luxury Cooroy Mountain hillside property Stonelea Estate there are renewed hopes for a record Sunshine Coast hinterland sale. There are $15.5 million expectations for the grand estate through Tom Offermann agents Cameron Urquhart and Tom Offermann, who are marketing the 6.5 hectare property as the “undisputed stupendous jewel of the Noosa hinterland”. Set at the end of a sweeping driveway past topiaried ficuses, the home has a Travertine-tiled vestibule with timber beams and lofty ceilings. The formal dining area and living room with dual stone fireplace feature wall is serviced by the commercial-grade kitchen, fitted with leather-honed black granite benchtops, cool room, butler’s pantry and servery for the Mediterranean-style, rock-walled dining terrace, which has its own pizza oven. The terrace flows up to the wetedge swimming pool, which boasts views across the hinterland to the Coral Sea. There are five bedrooms, including a master suite in the east wing with a 70sq m dressing room. Downstairs in the east wing, a self-contained area links to another bedroom in the west wing. Joining the wings is a media room with feature screen, reclaimed Russian elm panelled wall and two portholes looking into the pool.

There’s also a second study and access to the humidity-controlled wine room and 2000-bottle cellar. In the grounds is a helicopter landing pad designed by McDermott Aviation. “The sensitively crafted estate blends perfectly into the natural terrain and has sublime 180-degree views,” Urquhart says. “It’s a place in which, somewhere between the sea spray of Noosa Main Beach 20 minutes away and the almost lost world tradition of a safe, secure unrivalled lifestyle, it’s possible to lose yourself completely.”

APRIL 10-11, 2021

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M Cover story

Melbourne’s prestige property market is well into its recovery from being the harshest hit capital city during the peak of the 2020 pandemic and much of the market is experiencing a renaissance.

Prices are typically exceeding the price guide, and in quick time.

“Smart buyers like rising markets,” Melbourne buyers’ agent Mal James advised recently. “Besides more choice, right now several of our buying clients will have $250,000 to $1.5 million in additional home equity between signature and settlement. A year on, possibly all our current clients will have better balance sheets than those who didn’t buy this weekend,” James says, adding it was often necessary for buyers to “push past the noise and act on an A-grader”.

Opinions vary on the firmness of the recovery, and there is some patchiness in some market segments.

James suggests the 2021 opening was statistically as “hot as it was in the opening market of 2016”.

“The only difference we can see is the C-graders are not selling as quickly or as much over reserve as in 2016,” he says.

Toorak has certainly been the hotbed of recovery among the Melbourne prestige suburbs, while the Mornington Peninsula’s performance has been stellar.

“Toorak is the epicentre of the big exchanges, but it’s not the only suburb – think Brighton and Hawthorn as well,” James says.

Toorak sales have included a 1930s Marcus Martin home at 6 Lascelles Avenue that changed hands last month after a renovation by Stephen Akehurst. It sold with an asking price of $12 million through RT Edgar Toorak agent Mark Wridgway, who had it listed in conjunction with Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello. The five-bedroom home on 965sq m features a heated pool and cabana.

Brighton has seen 255 New Street go under offer in less than a month, having had $18 million to $19.8 million expectations through James Paynter agents James Paynter and Suzie Farrell, with an expat expressing the keenest interest. The fivebedroom home has a bowling alley, as well as a music studio, home office, gym, home cinema room and wine cellar.

The push for more space has also been seen in the outer Melbourne suburbs, which are now attracting strong interest.

There were more than 20 private inspections and five contracts issued in the first fortnight after 5 Homestead Road, Eltham, was listed in mid-March, with offers 12

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

RICH PICKINGS Prestige living in post-lockdown Melbourne is hot property, with the state’s coastal hideaway now joining blue-chip suburbs in setting record sales with jaw-dropping prices S t o r y b y J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

This five-bedroom house at 255 New Street, Brighton, went under offer in less than a month

APRIL 10-11, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

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Top row: 6 Lascelles Avenue, Toorak Middle row: 5 Homestead Road, Eltham Bottom row: 20 Linlithgow Road, Toorak

scheduled to close next week. Aaron Yeats at Jellis Craig North East gave a guide of $2.75 million to $2.95 million for the fivebedroom, five-bathroom English Gothic style homestead. He’s marketed the property, which last sold in 2005 for $830,000, as having “the charisma of Montsalvat and the luxury of today”.

“It is clear the market for large homes in suburbs such as Ivanhoe and Eaglemont – as well as larger land holdings in suburbs such as Lower Plenty, Eltham and Kangaroo Ground – have seen some significant results as people appear to be yearning for more space and a lifestyle change,” Yeats says.

“Across the Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Ivanhoe East market, the first quarter last year sales in excess of $1.5 million are actually lower (35 sales in 2020 vs 26 sales in 2021), so we are finding that we cannot find enough homes.”

The Mornington Peninsula has been the state’s best performer, according to realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee. She notes that it has pivoted from being a second home area, and more recently a seachange destination, to a location ideal for those now working remotely.

REA Group calculated there was a 12.5 per cent increase on the peninsula in the year to February, which followed two prior annual gains of 1.2 per cent and 5.05 per cent.

The peninsula is the only one of eight key local government areas to achieve three consecutive years of growth. Melbourne’s 14

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largest growth locations for median house prices have been in Flinders and Red Hill, both on the peninsula.

“We have seen evidence of prime Portsea properties increasing by 20 per cent in a six-month period – it’s quite astonishing,” HTW valuer Perron King says.

Recent peninsula sales have included Mount Clear, a Sorrento home snapped up when put on the market for the first time in 27 years. The five-bedroom home on Constitution Hill Road sits on 1365sq m, one of three blocks offered as part of a total 4375sq m. Kay & Burton’s Gerald Delany and Liz Jensen secured the sale in just over a month.

King notes that the Melbourne market sprang to life after stage four restrictions were lifted in October/November, with the exception of Portsea/Sorrento, where properties had remained strong. “Typically, after Christmas the market takes a break as we all head off to the beach,” King says. “This summer was unprecedented in terms of having peak spring activity to it and this has continued into autumn.

“It is the busiest I’ve seen in the prestige space for this period in 20 years in terms of refinancing and transactions.”

“Right now premium property is doing exceptionally well, and with economic growth returning we are looking at boom time conditions,” Conisbee says.

“The Melbourne luxury boom started a bit later than other

capital cities, primarily because of the extended lockdown; however it does appear to have recovered very quickly,” she says.

“The extended lockdown in Melbourne impacted the luxury end of the market. Elsewhere in Australia, we saw very strong conditions across all luxury property markets over the pandemic.

This year, Melbourne will catch up.”

Demand has come predominantly from the traditional local high net worth buyer, although it appears there is increasing interest from expatriates returning from the UK, US and Asia.

The latest Toorak home to hit the market is 20 Linlithgow Road, billed as a modern masterpiece, by architect Stephen Jolson. The modern interpretation of the traditional family home took three years to build, providing 1250sq m of luxurious internal accommodation.

“It is akin to a 7-star hotel,” RT Edgar Toorak listing agent Antoinette Nido says.

The home, on 1270sq m, has four bedrooms and a lower level devoted to entertainment, with a 20m heated indoor pool, steam room and gym.

“The trend of last year and this year continues to prove Toorak to be the best prestige suburb for volume sales, and highest sale price. The prestige market has really rebounded post lockdown,” Nido says, citing 19 sales above $10 million since November 2020.

There have been seven sales greater than $20 million.

“To put this in historical perspective, there have only ever been six sales greater than $20 million in Toorak. South Yarra comes in at a close second for volume of prestigious property sales and high sales prices.”

King notes that two years ago, a $20 million sale in Toorak or Portsea was significant. “They are now occurring with much more frequency, and even in the mid-tier prestige segment of $5 million to $10 million, the volume of sales has significantly increased through all segments,” he says.

“Portsea was once considered highly volatile, with reductions of up to 40 per cent in the Global Financial Crisis downturn.

“It’s unlikely we will see that level of volatility returning, with current market fundamentals and a shift to regional living.

However, markets are cyclical, and with every upswing there is a correction. When and by how much is the unknown.”

Nido says while these stellar suburbs are strong performers the momentum has spilled over into surrounding suburbs, with RT Edgar Toorak achieving strong prices in Malvern East, $8.7 million; Malvern, $7.85 million; East Melbourne, $7.3 million; Prahran, $6.46 million and Richmond, $4.6 million.

There was a recent suburb record sale in Richmond.

Comedian Hamish Blake and his entrepreneurial wife Zoe Foster Blake sold their Melbourne home at 79a Rowena Parade for $7.435 million – well above the guide of $5.9 million to $6.3 million. The now Sydneysiders secured the sale of the home, which was designed by Neil Architecture and appeared on Grand Designs Australia, in just two weeks through Jellis Craig agent Carla Fetter.

Kay & Burton’s Michael Gibson notes that while the marketplace is known to be driven by three life events – death, divorce and debt – a fourth driver has been added in the past six to 12 months, which is the huge emphasis on making lifestyle changes as a result of the pandemic.

King advises the fundamentals are strong in prestige property in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

“The market has stated that it loves Melbourne and Victoria in the face of a global pandemic,” he says.

“However, the market is a confidence game and it is macroeconomic factors that will put on the handbrake – so any restrictions on credit, rising unemployment, inflation and rising interest rates. When is the unknown. Previous boom cycles have lasted from six to 30 months.”

It is obvious to buyers’ agent James that “the homes that present a ready-to-move-in, shiny new lifestyle are “Top of the Pops.”

“From Sorrento to Aspendale to Brighton to Queensland, from Toorak to the country, buyers are looking for the beach, for the air, for freedom,” he says.

“And they don’t want to wait – they don’t want to renovate.”

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

Dolly Lenz

Local aspect

WITH JENNY LENZ

JOE ADSETT ARCHITECTS

Joe Adsett

The pandemic has refocused global attitudes around home quality and size, health and wellness, and workplace flexibility.

Our clients now seek to invest in their health and general wellbeing, and we encourage their home accommodation brief to be extended to the full gamut of gym, pool, spa, steam room, sauna and tennis court. Before the pandemic we would see occasional requests for home workout facilities for timepoor executives or those who wanted privacy. We design the spaces to open up to an outdoor area mainly to create a lovely green outlook, but also to accommodate external strength and conditioning training. Ideally, we can also accommodate a separate entrance to the gym so external trainers and/or friends can visit and train as a group without disturbing the rest of the occupants. The space is best designed around specific equipment and specific workouts. Generally, a space 8m long and 5m wide will accommodate a host of differing exercise needs and users while remaining flexible, as fitness needs and equipment change. Height is a critical dimension and we usually design a 3m high ceiling to accommodate clearance for elevated machinery.

PHILLIPS PANTZER DONNELLEY

Debbie Donnelley

A dedicated fitness area is now an essential space in many luxury residential properties HEALTHY LIVING

Home gyms raise the bar Over the past year, the real estate industry has seen several interesting trends emerge that can be directly attributed to the effects and impact of the global pandemic.

As COVID-19 dramatically altered the daily lives and routines of consumers, a shift in what features buyers prioritised in their next home began to take hold throughout markets across the US. Driven by a desire for healthy living, home gyms have skyrocketed to the top of many wish lists and are now an irreplaceable amenity of any luxury home.

Home gyms have always had a place in real estate, but for so long they were more of an afterthought – mostly relegated to small rooms or an uninspiring basement space that collected dust and was rarely used. Neighbourhood and in-building gyms were generally a more desirable setting for exercise, but as COVID shutdowns took hold those facilities were no longer an option, forcing buyers to pivot and thus creating the home gym boom.

Instantly we saw a rush of real estate buyers demanding inhome gyms that rival the most luxurious fitness facilities, with the same equipment they were accustomed to using on a regular basis.

The most popular and hard-to-get accessory for every home gym quickly became the Peloton bike – a stationary bike with access to virtual classes that replicated the spinning and personal training experience in the comfort of a home setting. It garnered a months-long waiting list and is now a ubiquitous fixture in luxury real estate marketing photos.

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With gyms gaining in popularity, the growing question became where to put one in a residence that would fit the needs and demands of luxury consumers. In large estates and townhomes where extra square footage is readily available, fitness areas are regularly included on the lower level of the property separate from the living quarters. Homeowners have been transforming these typically under-utilised spaces into athlete-worthy exercise facilities, all while adding significant value to the property.

Not to be outdone by suburbanites, city dwellers have cleverly adapted apartments, where space is at a premium, to accommodate at-home workouts in a luxurious setting. Frequently seen are large walk-in closets that have been converted to glorified Peloton studios, or smaller guest bedrooms outfitted with multiple pieces of equipment yet still able to function as a sleeping space if needed.

Fitness is such an important part of our daily lives and one thing that the pandemic showed us is that a safe and luxurious space to exercise at home has moved from an afterthought to an essential real estate amenity.

This trend shows no signs of slowing down and will continue to be at the top of any real estate wish list for years to come.

Dolly Lenz heads up New York-based Dolly Lenz Real Estate and has sold well over $US13 billion worth of luxury US and international homes. Jenny Lenz is managing director of Dolly Lenz Real Estate. dollylenz.com

Demand is huge among current homeowners for a space in which to work out, and that includes balconies, garages, spare rooms and store rooms. Many have turned a room, or preferably a garage, into a home gym – anywhere with good ventilation, which is why garages or balconies (in apartments) are popular. Airconditioning is also good to have, but fresh air seems to be the preference. Owners are looking for space to set up free weights and barbells, which don’t require a big area. However, many have moved to pilates and require reformers (beds), which take up a bit more space.

The larger gym machines aren’t really that popular, given their size and cost. Infrared saunas are popular for health more than fitness and, depending on whether they’re a twoor four-person unit, the space needed varies, but most require only a smallish area. The big winner for home buyers is always the garden – the bigger the better if it is to be a family home.

RAY WHITE BRUNSWICK

Matthew Schroeder The pandemic has put a massive focus on health and wellness because lockdowns have made people realise they have to take care of themselves. They had the extra time and motivation to improve themselves. People are putting a premium on buildings that have gyms because they don’t have to go to a random gym and they know people who are using their gym live locally. I have sold a couple of apartments in buildings that are fully serviced by a gym, pool and sauna. Twelve months ago, when I’d show people around I never saw anyone there but now there are always two to three in the gym and people waiting to use the pool. There’s definitely a conscious effort to buy in those buildings. The trigger was the fact that a lot of public gyms were not operational and people had to take matters into their own hands. They became innovative with their spaces. In morning Zoom meetings you would often see people post workout or see a treadmill in the background. The most common exercise equipment I see is any form of treadmill or running machine, and stationary bikes. Anything that is foldable is popular. The most common spaces are either the second bedroom or the living space, usually near a window to simulate being outside.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

Brisbane J OE L ROB I N S ON

Sun shines on luxury The Queensland capital’s prestige property market is booming, with architectural flair and river frontage highly prized

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

T

Far left: Garfield Drive in Paddington has been reconfigured for modern living Centre: The towering Markwell Street home in Hamilton Left: The renovated Norman Park Queenslander on Power Street

The Brisbane prestige property market has rolled into 2021, quickly picking up where it finished last year.

Place agent Heath Williams says there are more buyers currently than there is stock, which is making pricing in the highend market competitive.

“The tides have turned,” he says. “However, Brisbane’s prestige market still represents value in comparison to its southern counterparts.”

Williams says there has been an upswing towards architecturally designed homes. “There’s a movement away from the nostalgia of the classic Queenslander. People want the latest technology and trends within the home.”

Brisbane Broncos chairman Karl Morris recently emerged as the buyer of one of the Queensland capital’s most high-tech houses, on the Kangaroo Point clifftop.

The sprawling Leopard Street home sold for a Brisbane record $18.488 million in late 2016, bought by Chinese interests with Australian residency from Angelo and Sandra Russo, the names behind City Motor Auction Group.

With settlement yet to take place, Morris is tipped to have paid closer to $16 million for the 1445sq m, three-level home complete with six bedrooms, private home office with boardroom, cinema, wine cellar with tasting room, gym with steam room and cliffside infinity pool.

In a sign there is an emerging depth to the buying pool, Williams also secured the on-sale of Balaam, the former Brisbane record holder. The luxury Hamilton riverfront on the Harbour Road dress circle was designed by architect Shaun Lockyer for property developer Don O’Rorke.

“Balaam had sold with another agent for $9 million and in the space of just a few hours I struck a deal for $9.5 million to a local buyer,” Williams says. Balaam is the fourth sale above $5 million in Brisbane this year. “We are seeing 80 per cent local buyers and 20 per cent interstate and overseas interested in Brisbane’s prestige market,” he says.

Sales activity on the Brisbane River declined, however, over 2020. The total value of absolute riverfront house sales was just shy of $133 million, down from the $155 million secured over the previous year’s total, according to the 27th riverfront report by Johnston Dixon.

The agency’s latest On The River report found an average sale price of $3.69 million compared to last year’s $3.787 million, with turnover 10 per cent lower. Josephine Johnston-Rowell says the

APRIL 10-11, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

fact that the average riverfront house price remained relatively static at that high level despite COVID-19 was a testament to its rarity and unique appeal.

Brisbane’s premium prestige market is characterised by sales in excess of $5 million, according to Herron Todd White Brisbane valuer David Notley. He says the premium market is generally within 6km of the CBD, including riverfront and non-riverfront properties.

Brisbane recorded 22 house sales in excess of $5 million last year, which Notley says surpassed previous years.

To date this year there have been four over $5 million.

Ray White New Farm agent Matt Lancashire, who sold the house that set the 2016 record, says the huge demand will only grow as the year goes on.

He puts it down to low interest rates, houses being more price appropriate in comparison to those in the southern states, and Queensland being one of the most liveable states in Australia.

Lancashire expects an influx of southerners will relocate to Brisbane in the next 12 months.

There have been two big-ticket sales in Paddington, with the suburb record smashed twice in a month. First a Fernberg Road home in need of a renovation broke the record when it sold for $7.75 million. That was topped less than a month later by the Paddington home of surfer and developer Paul Gedoun. His home sold within 24 hours of going online for $8 million.

Lancashire received more than 100 inquiries in that time.

“The current lack of stock, coupled with increasing buyer demand, means days on market are continuing to decrease, and properties are being snapped up for record prices quicker than ever before,” Lancashire says.

He secured a suburb record of more than $11.8 million for Hamilton Hill House in Hamilton. The new Shaun Lockyerdesigned home, bought by a local family who were upgrading, has more than 1000sq m of living space including a gym, wine cellar and cinema. Outside there’s a heated lap pool and a pizza oven on the entertaining terrace.

Demand has been so high in recent months that houses close to completion are being put on the market.

Lancashire has a Bulimba property listed that isn’t ready for occupation until July. Shaun Lockyer has designed the fivebedroom home, which is being built by Black Developments.

Another example is the sale late last year of NOIR, where the paint had barely dried on the luxury Hamilton home before an expat paid $9.442 million for it.

In Paddington, an original Queenslander-style house gutted

by DAH Architecture, only retaining its classic facade, original floorboards, windows and doors, has found a buyer. The interior of the 1900s home on Garfield Road had been reconfigured for modern day living, with every room boasting views to Mt CootTha. Set on 580sq m, Douglas Construction and Development created the new home using concrete, timber and glass blended with natural materials, including raw exposed brick. The main entertaining area is on the lower level, connecting to an outdoor pavilion and swimming pool. A glass-encased staircase leads to the upper-level bedroom wing where there are four bedrooms, separate living area, original sunroom and a study.

Ray White New Farm agent Christine Rudolph sold the home pre-auction for $2.8 million late last month with strong local interest.

There has also been strong interest from expats keen to return home. Last month a Norman Park home was bought by a family who have been overseas for a decade. Place Bulimba agent Sarah Hackett secured the sale of the four-bedroom renovated 1900s Queenslander after “multiple offers”.

Heath Williams is selling a Hamilton home recently refreshed

by Wyer + Craw. Set behind a heritage-inspired facade, the threelevel home on 900sq m of manicured gardens features a stone fireplace, lofty coffered ceilings, ornate cornices and a timber staircase. It includes four bedrooms, a home office and a rumpus room. In the grounds is a terrace with a barbecue area and swimming pool, complete with water feature.

Williams is asking for offers above $4 million.

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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Dural

Top: The house sold by Dr James Ellingford Centre: Ray Hadley’s acreage, asking $8 million Bottom: Belvedere, listed for offers over $13.8 million

J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

Room to move

City buyers are on the hunt for luxury acreages

Demand is soaring at Dural in Sydney’s Hills District, according to REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee, with would-be buyers flocking to the area in search of prized acreages within easy reach of the city.

Sydney agent Alison Coopes says she’s getting interest from local, interstate and international buyers for the two-hectare Hemers Road estate Belvedere, which is on track to set a suburb record.

“A lot of inquiry has come from owners of city properties who want their own resort-style retreat on weekends,” Coopes says.

“We are receiving a lot of inquiry from buyers who in fact will maintain apartments and/or smaller homes in the city but who aspire to have their country retreat for weekends and holidays.”

The six-bedroom mansion has $13.8 million hopes.

Coopes says there has been interest from upsizers seeking out the Hills, including from Parramatta.

If it reaches its price guide, Belvedere will exceed the current Dural record, set in 2018 when Moncur Estate, the 2012-built, two-storey French provincial-inspired home on two hectares went for $10.85 million. It was sold to interests associated with Chinese billionaire couple Zhou Qunfei, founder of optical manufacturer Lens Technology, and her husband Junlong Zheng.

Belvedere has been over-engineered to last for generations, with more than 360 cubic metres of concrete and more than 100,000 schooner bricks used. Coopes says a rebuild would cost close to $10 million.

The level of luxury is immediately apparent in the main entry foyer. A vintage European 72-light Swarovski crystal chandelier hangs from the six-metre-high ceiling. There’s also custom-laid Italian marble flooring and a sweeping, full 20

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

concrete floating spiral staircase with wrought iron and custom curved timber balustrades.

There are more crystal chandeliers in the formal living and dining rooms, and an open wood fireplace with hand-carved white marble mantle.

The three-level mansion has six bedrooms and five bathrooms. In the two hectares of landscaped grounds is a heated pool and a championship tennis court.

“A perfect block with elevation, a view, and no easement or power lines, located in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Dural, simply doesn’t exist,” Coopes says.

Just 2km away, Lumby Hampson agents Kate Lumby and Will Hampson have sold the Dural home of video game developer Dr James Ellingford.

Ellingford, former managing director of Take-Two Interactive and was one of the main executives behind the popular video game Grand Theft Auto, paid $3.9 million for the house in 2019. It sold last month for $4.310 million.

The latest prestige offering comes from radio veteran Ray Hadley, who is looking to sell his acreage in Dural to downsize locally.

The price guide has been given as $7.7 million to $8 million, given that other Dural acreages have been fetching in the mid $8 million range.

Peter Colusso at LJ Hooker Dural describes the home as a picturesque semi-rural escape only 10 minutes from the Castle Towers shopping centre and the Sydney Metro.

The two-home, 2.2 hectare listing comes at a time of heightened interest for big homes on big blocks in the aftermath of the pandemic.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

17 Highs Road, West Pennant Hills Ultra-luxe ‘smart home’ entertainer on 2603sqm near Metro Grand of scale and built to the highest standards of craftsmanship, this architect-designed oasis sets a new benchmark for family excellence. Majestic against a private treescape, it’s offered complete with C-Bus automation, a simply spectacular Degabriele bespoke kitchen and four-car garaging – all within minutes of Cherrybrook Metro, Coonara shops and Murray Farm Public School.

• Vast lounge/dining zone, theatre, formal rooms with Jetmaster linear fireplace • Rain-sensor Vergola terrace, sleek sauna/gym, solar heated wet-edge pool • Gaggenau kitchen appliances, butler’s pantry, Blum auto open/close joinery

For Sale: Inspection: Contact:

Private Treaty As Advertised James Ramsay 0420 665 913

• Versatile study/rumpus/fifth bed, two ensuites, lavish master dressing room • C-Bus lighting and motorised blinds; wifi control for sauna and Actron ducted air • Full brick and concrete slab construction, under-floor heating throughout • Impala custom cabinetry, cloak room, wine cellar/storage, outdoor shower, alarm • Landscaped gardens, child-friendly yard with irrigated lawn and north aspect

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680sqm int 2,603sqm ext

Whitsundays

Below left: Elysian Retreat can be yours for $8.75 million Below: Pumpkin Island, on the market for the second time since 1961 Bottom: The owners of Victor Island are seeking $4.95 million

E M I LY PE T TA FOR

An island to treasure It’s no fantasy: you can buy your own luxury resort or an entire tropical island

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Everyone dreams of running away to live on a tropical island, right? Megan and Paul Sullivan have lived that dream since 2015, at the gateway to the famed Whitsunday region. The pair, originally from New South Wales, had been living in Bali and were looking for a tropical adventure when they inspected Victor Island, off the coast of Mackay.

“Coming in by helicopter, I was already thinking: ‘The magic is working; I really love this place’,” Megan remembers. And her five years in paradise really did live up to the hype. Megan jokes that she and Paul are the Swiss Family Sullivan, “but with NBN, Netflix and airconditioning”.”

“It’s a very laid-back, stress-free, easy life,” she says. Every day is different: whether it is high tide or a full moon, the beach changes all the time.” They often see turtles swim past as they drink their morning coffee, and catch fish or crack oysters off the rocks. “And the stars do shine that little bit brighter out here.”

One of the main clinchers for the Sullivans was their island’s

proximity to the mainland, with Mackay just two kilometres away. “For me, there’s got to be something on the horizon,” Megan says. They also loved the thought of owning an entire island. “Part of the appeal was the privacy and the security; there aren’t too many islands out there that can be all yours,” she says.

The couple have worked to make the island self-sufficient, with a desalination plant, a solar farm, a backup generator and rainwater storage. Megan also keeps chickens and has fruit trees, including spectacular tropical mangoes.

While they have adored their time in paradise, the couple are relocating to New South Wales to be closer to family. They have Victor Island on the market through Barbara Wolveridge and Lynn Malone at Sotheby’s International Realty’s Tropical North Queensland base, seeking $4.95 million.

“We are very blessed and we’ve lived a good life here,” Megan says. “The only question is: where do we go from here? We couldn’t possibly beat this.”

Victor Island is not the only tropical escape seeking a new custodian. Wolveridge and Malone also have Whitsunday resorts Elysian Retreat and Pumpkin Island on the market, for $8.75 million and $20 million respectively.

Malone says the inquiry level for tropical property has “increased exponentially” since COVID-19 swept the world.

“So many people are looking for safety and security,” she says.

“If you live on a tropical island, the only time someone will come to visit you is if you invite them.”

Pumpkin Island, on the market for only the second time since 1961, is a private six-hectare island with seven guest cottages. It is part of the Keppel chain of islands, 14km offshore from Yeppoon.

The island’s business has stayed remarkably intact throughout national and international border closures. The resort has been running at 90 per cent occupancy and the next available opportunity to book the entire island – popular for family reunions or corporate getaways – is 2023, Malone says.

Elysian Retreat is an oceanfront resort located on Long Island that features 10 king villas and a day spa. This business has also boomed throughout COVID, with occupancy levels through April 2021 of 93 per cent, Malone says.

If you prefer your island experience slightly more populated, both Hamilton and Hayman islands in the Whitsundays have also seen some luxurious homes change hands recently, and others are on offer. Hamilton Island Real Estate recently put a four-bedroom apartment overlooking the island’s marina under offer. The agency had been seeking $8.45 million for the Airport Drive property.

In January, the agency sold 22 Melaleuca Drive for $6 million.

On exclusive Hayman Island, Sotheby’s Carol Carter is marketing a four-bedroom holiday residence, part of the new Hayman Villas development, for $7.7 million, and a threebedroom residence for $4.7 million.

The properties have glorious views across the Coral Sea and private pools on their balconies. Owners can access the services of the nearby InterContinental Hotel Hayman Island Resort and have the option to put their homes into the hotel’s accommodation pool when not in residence.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

Castle the village heart

Luck of the Irish This striking modern home, called Ngong, has sweeping views over the Owenabue River in Cork’s beautiful Carrigaline. A previous owner, who spent time in Africa, named the property after Kenya’s Ngong Hills, says agent Roseanne De Vere Hunt of Sherry FitzGerald. “For such a spacious and impressive house, it is also a real home,” she says. “Designed with light in mind, the house is oriented to catch the sun as it moves, without overheating or glare, as carefully thought-out internal glass brings daylight throughout.” Substantially rebuilt and expanded in 2008-09 from a 1970s dormer bungalow, it has finishes such as walnut floors, marble tiles and triple-glazed windows. “They transformed the whole property to take advantage of the vistas and make it more of a family home,” De Vere Hunt says. The 670sq m home has five bedrooms, and five full and one half bathrooms. It sits on 6394sq m of established grounds, and features an indoor heated pool, gym and sauna, generous outdoor decking with extensive patios and a barbecue area.

With playrooms, several living rooms and work spaces, the property is ideal for a work-from-home lifestyle. In addition, the grounds include showpiece gardens, a private putting green with sand bunkers, a zipline, and a kitchen garden with raised planters for vegetables and herbs.

The house has energy-efficient windows, underfloor heating using geothermal energy, and solar panels – which help heat the pool.

The renewable energy systems mean the owners save on heating costs. It’s located in a rural setting on the outskirts of Kilnagleary, and is less than a 10-minute drive from all the amenities and recreational facilities that the seaside towns of Carrigaline and Crosshaven, with its marina, have to offer. It is listed for $US2.07 million ($2.67 million).

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This restored 30-room, mid-15th century castle is in the heart of Lauzun village in south-west France.

“It’s a very pivotal building in and around the village,” says listing agent Anthony Mackle from Maxwell-Baynes Real Estate. Normally in France, to get the grandeur – “the towers, the manicured landscape” – that comes with owning a historic chateau, “you’re generally out in the middle of nowhere”, he says. But this castle, known as Chateau de Lauzun, is part of the village. You could step outside the fortified walls and gates and pick up a croissant and coffee. “It’s beautifully crafted and restored, in superb condition,” Mackle says. “It’s got a real wow factor.”

The stone castle was built in three distinct sections and phases. The oldest, the Medieval Chateau, includes a drawing room, dining room, kitchen, living room, office and large wine cellar, along with six bedrooms and four bathrooms. This is where the owners live, and it has been updated with modern conveniences. The Medieval Chateau now has underfloor heating and a high-end modern kitchen with Gaggenau appliances. Built in 1570, the Renaissance Chateau features an imposing 20m x 10m Great Hall with a pair of ornate fireplaces, King’s and Duke’s bedchambers, parlour, and a chapel that’s now a two-bedroom apartment.

The third building, known as the New Pavilion, was built in the 17th century to connect the Medieval and Renaissance chateaus. It has a professional kitchen, library and gymnasium.

The 612sq m castle has 10 bedrooms and six full bathrooms. It sits on a 4ha lot. Amenities include a stone-formed swimming pool, gym, library, large wine cellar and two kitchens. Outbuildings include two large barns and a two-bedroom guardhouse at the main entrance. The castle, which has been listed at $US3.64 million ($4.69 million) is 30 minutes from Bergerac and its international airport, and 90 minutes from Bordeaux.

BILL CARY

Aperitivo in your casa?

A 36-bedroom fixer-upper in northeastern Italy with the potential to be transformed into a luxurious palazzo hit the market last week for $US1.79 million ($2.3 million). Set on 2ha in the town of Gorizia – about 90 minutes from Venice and a few minutes from the Slovenian border – Villa Ceconi dates from 1885 and spans a gargantuan 3205sq m (for comparison, that’s about half the size of the White House), according to Beverly Hills-based listing agent Matias Baker Masucci of the Sanborn Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties. The four-storey villa has a formal entry, great room, kitchen, atrium, staff quarters, sunroom and wine cellar. There’s also a detached 241sq m guesthouse that’s configured as three separate apartments.

“The house presents a unique opportunity to own a historical place that can be repurposed, while maintaining its architectural integrity,” Masucci says. Local building regulations are flexible, as part of a movement in the country to incentivise giving new life to places that have fallen into disrepair, and the possibilities are “endless”, he says. “The structure is sound but is in need of modernisation. The major costs I foresee will be in plumbing, fixtures and HVAC [heating, ventilation, aircon system]. The rest will be up to the imagination of the buyer. You have enough space to give the luxury residence anything it needs.” Extra amenities, such as a tennis court and pool, could be added outside too, and hiring local artisans would help maintain the villa’s integrity, Masucci says. “A great deal of the floors are still in excellent shape as well as all the columns. This house just needs to be brought to the 21st century, but its 1885 and 1923 character is still intact.”

LIZ LUCKING

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

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S t o r y b y S U E WA L L AC E P h o t o g r a p h y b y A A RON F R A N C I S

An eclectic collection

Media personality Chyka Keebaugh likes a house with personality – and that means bright colours, beautiful artworks, and unusual objects with interesting histories

A cluster of French copper pots dangles in the kitchen, antique silver cloches are lined up on a dining room wall, and half a dozen pairs of Moroccan slippers are neatly nestled under a handpainted Cuban tea chest.

Celebrity homemaker and media personality Chyka Keebaugh adores collecting things, but it’s the stories behind them that she loves the most.

Keebaugh and her husband Bruce, co-founders of The Big Group, a catering and event company with a variety of venues in Victoria, moved into their new Richmond penthouse apartment in February last year.

It has been a busy time as the pair also opened Melbourne’s newest hotspot, The Commons at Ormond Collective – a cafe, beer garden and wine bar – which has already established a devoted following.

Step inside their new home and you are bombarded with a chic mix of “the fun and the fabulous”: lush, bold fabrics, vivid colours, custom-made Turkish rugs and treasures gleaned from faraway places. Eclectic artworks by Nicholas Harding and Kate Bergin feature and a Gaston La Touché commands attention in the powder room.

The couple, who have a sprawling property on the Mornington Peninsula, shelled two apartments and redesigned the space to accommodate their needs.

“After selling our family home several years ago, we really worked out how we wanted to live and the kind of spaces we needed now we are empty nesters,” says Keebaugh , who has a lifestyle website, chyka.com.

“I absolutely love apartment living. We have a 35m long terrace that allows so much light into all of the rooms. I love watching the seasons, the rain, the sun … it really is just so beautiful.

“To get to our bedroom we have to walk through all the

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spaces, which means no room sits feeling unloved and they all work beautifully together. It’s an apartment that feels great when it’s just Bruce and I, or with a group of friends.”

When it comes to decorating, Keebaugh has a knack for creating great spaces with clashing fabrics, textures and colours.

“I can’t stand homes with no personality. I think a home needs a stack of books, fragrant candles and lots of flowers,” says Keebaugh, who as the new Harris Scarf ambassador will launch her homewares line, Chyka Home, next winter. “I walk around my home every day turning on lamps, tweaking things, adjusting that pile of magazines, because a home needs to always be moving. I love there to be stories about pieces and think having plants in your home is also really important.”

Her favourite haunt is the stunning pink room, where she watches television with adored two-year-old cavoodle Otto, the king of the household.

“It’s the colour that I love and it just feels happy and it’s just as cosy in winter as it is in summer,” she says. “I always make sure I have beautiful pink roses in a gorgeous vase that we bought overseas … flowers to me will always make a space.”

The long terrace, with a barbecue and dining table, reflects her love of flowers, with hedges of gardenia, star jasmine, tuberose and Mexican orange blossom in oversized pots and wicker baskets.

“On a perfect summer’s day we open up the balcony doors and it really just smells incredible,” Keebaugh says.

So, what makes a house special?

“A house becomes a home because of the people who live there – it’s a place that has stories where people feel welcome. I really try to make all my spaces feel very special and considered, and it’s really complete when our kids [Francesca, 26, and BJ, 24], come home.”

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

Chyka and Bruce Keebaugh in their Richmond penthouse, featuring artworks by Nicholas Harding and Kate Bergin, treasures from faraway places and pops of colour from flowers in every room. Opposite: Otto the cavoodle

APRIL 10-11, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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Tiny home

Good things in a small package With a keen sense of design and a shrewd eye for repurposing found objects, the owners of a Kings Cross studio the size of a hotel room have cleverly created a cosy, artful space S to r y by L I BBY MOF F E T

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P h o to g r a phy by N I K K I S HORT

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| APRIL 10-11, 2021

It’s hard to choose the most impressive feature in the Art Deco apartment of Phillip Reynolds and James Avramides, tucked away in Sydney’s colourful Kings Cross precinct. Perhaps it’s the intimate library where a classic Eames chair sits beside an old wooden bureau, surrounded by books. Or maybe it’s the elegant bathroom, with its walls and ceiling covered in an ethereal Fornasetti wallpaper depicting floating grey clouds.

Then there’s the striking black marble kitchen benchtop and splashback, streaked with a single lightning-like flash of white. Not to mention a vibrant painting of the area’s party life that hangs beside the double bed, and the gallery wall of images and mirrors in the lounge area.

But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the unit is that all of the above features – and more – have been fitted into just 18sq m.

In a triumph of design and style, Reynolds and his nephew Avramides have transformed the tiny studio unit from what they say was a “gloomy, depressing space” into a character-packed apartment full of panache – and in high demand on Airbnb. Reynolds, who has lived in the Kings Cross district in Potts Point for 50 years, stumbled upon the studio when it was offered for sale in 2018 and immediately rang his nephew to declare they should buy it together.

Describing himself as a “flaneur who dabbles in property”, Reynolds already owned three one-bedroom units in the 1938 block on Orwell Street and instantly saw potential in the small space. “The smaller the place, the better the rental return,” he laughs, then adds, “In fact, the worse the apartment, the more I love it.”

Once the unit was purchased, the two began a massive makeover, all the more remarkable because Reynolds wanted it done on a “shoestring” budget.

Counterintuitive as it seems for such a small area, Reynolds insisted that the studio’s walls, floors and key features, including its cupboards, bookshelves and kitchen cabinetry, should all be black – a successful decision that creates the illusion of space, with each area morphing into the next.

A loft-like platform was created for a double bed, with the panelled walls below opening to reveal an elegant library-cum-study, which Avramides nominates as one of his favourite features in their “micro-unit”. Next to the library and also APRIL 10-11, 2021

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under the bed is a wardrobe, complete with an ironing board and safe, while the staircase leading to the bed area is home to storage drawers and bookshelves stacked with some of Reynolds’ considerable book collection.

While most hotel rooms the same size struggle to offer enough space for guests to fully open their suitcases, the clever design of this compact unit means it boasts a lounge area with a 42-inch television, coffee table and a tan leather lounge that converts to an additional double bed. There’s a high table for dining next to the kitchen area, which has a full-size fridge, oven, microwave and small stove.

Remarkably, given all the apartment’s features, the entire fit-out cost less than $5000 – much of that soaked up by the exquisite bathroom wallpaper, leather lounge and kitchen appliances.

Many of the remaining furnishings have either been made by Reynolds or found by him, often on the streets of Potts Point. It’s an eclectic collection that adds true local character to the apartment.

“I like to go walking at weird hours, and that’s when you find stuff,” he says, pointing out a series of charming photos and artworks that he framed after discovering them discarded on the local streets.

In pride of place beside the bed is a colourful montage of images of men in leather, fireworks and Sydney Harbour. Reynolds found the painting dumped on the streets 20 years ago and Avramides insisted they hang it in the apartment.

“It’s so quintessentially Potts Point because you’ve got people of all different walks of life in the one image and, being the clubbing district that it used to be, it’s also showing a party,” Avramides says.

The pair smile as they reveal how Reynolds created the striking coffee table from a black and white dog food tub and a leftover piece of benchtop, and how the bathroom’s exotic vanity unit and basin was fashioned from a $40 Moroccan bowl and a small cupboard found on the streets.

While the duo say they had some disagreements during the renovation process, the overhaul was a success and they’ve received rave reviews from guests, with one client eschewing his own much larger rental apartment in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli to stay in the small Orwell Street studio.

Phillip Reynolds and James Avramides in the 18sq m studio apartment they bought in 2018 and transformed into a superstylish inner city pad

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S P O N S O R E D CO N T E N T

How the classic beach house is bring reinvented AU T H O R — A N D R E W S P R O J E C T S

Coastal living is the new Australian dream with house hunters flocking to beachside locations and searching for modern beach homes.

Coastal properties are among the most commonly viewed by buyers on realestate.com.au. However, new developments are changing the concept of the Australian beach house with the offer of a coastal lifestyle coupled with modern convenience.

Image source: All pictures are courtesy of Andrews Projects.

Beach House has 12 dwellings each boasting a 262 sqm floorplan and 360-degree views.

Rising demand for coastal living in Queensland While beachside houses are sometimes seen as holiday homes for those looking for respite from the big cities, plenty of Australians have been opting for a permanent sea change for some years now.

However, this trend has been supercharged during the COVID pandemic with people drawn to the beachside lifestyle. Realestate.com.au data reveals the seaside destinations Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were both among the top search locations for house hunters from March to September.

Meanwhile, leading into the June quarter, Queensland experienced the highest growth in terms of new residents, mainly driven by people moving from the south, according to the chief economist at realestate.com.au, Nerida Conisbee.

“Movement from the southern states of NSW and Victoria into Queensland was significant,” Conisbee says.

“Queensland gained 4,000 people from NSW and 2,100 people from Victoria. It was the state that gained the most from interstate migration.

And the Queensland locations where we are seeing the most search from Victorians on realestate.com.au are popular holiday destinations like the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.’’

During the pandemic, some of these areas had considerable price growth.

Leading up to the June quarter, Gold Coast was a particularly strong performer, according to Conisbee.

“The median price for houses in Surfers Paradise has jumped 24% (in this time period),” she notes.

Reinventing the beach house With so many people flocking to the beach to live, not just holiday, it appears the days of the humble beach shack may be numbered.

Instead, buyers are looking for beach homes that are more contemporary, according to Andrews Projects sales manager, Sarah Andrews.

“When people think of beach houses, they think about family holidays — beach, ice creams and summer memories — and they envision fibro shacks,” Andrews says.

“But that’s something from a bygone era. Now, beach houses and apartments are where people want to live permanently. They are much more modern but still have that laidback beachside feel.”

In the new developments popping up along Australia’s eastern coastline, sleek designs, open plan living and lightweight new-age materials are transforming the concept of the beach house.

A modern design Andrews Project’s latest development, The Beach House at 4 Australia Ave, Broadbeach, is part of this new breed of beach houses that mixes beachside lifestyle with sophistication and everyday functionality.

“It’s coastal, light and beachy,” Sarah says. “It’s designed to be liveable and low-maintenance with finishes like natural timber flooring, stone bench tops and floor-to-ceiling double glazed windows. We’ve also included all the modern conveniences like two side-by-side car spaces and an additional storage rooms for all apartments.

“The design incorporates a private lift lobby as an added layer of security, giving you peace of mind that your apartment is lockable and safe. What’s really unique about Beach House is its corner positioning and location just 50 metres to the beach.”

Although beach-house design is evolving, some crucial aspects have stayed the same. Proximity to the beach, and a place to store bikes and surf boards are also still key, she says, especially with many people in search of house that offers beach lifestyle for the whole family.

“One thing that hasn’t changed is people still want living space,” says Andrews. “We want the big kitchen, a separate laundry, plenty of storage and a big balcony for entertaining. We want the room to create those lifelong memories.”

W W W. B E A C H H O U S E B R O A D B E A C H . C O M . A U

BROADBE ACH

AIREYS INLET 03 5220 0200

LORNE

ANGLESEA

TORQUAY 03 5295 1999

03 5263 2214

APOLLO BAY 03 5237 2600

03 5289 4222

www.greatoceanroadrealestate.com.au

485 WILD DOG ROAD APOLLO BAY PRIVACY, STYLE & EXCEPTIONAL NATURAL BEAUTY Awe inspiring. A natural Paradise. Secluded. Jaw dropping. From the moment you make your way down the meandering track with views of the valley & Wild Dog Creek below, you can feel that you are immersed in something truly unique. As you make your final approach from under the avenue of oak trees & past the hornbeam hedge, you are left speechless as your eyes rest upon the waterfall, & the homestead is finally revealed. Remarkable harmony between house, garden & the breath-taking landscape of the Otways. This scene you will remember forever. A beautiful, private homestead, reminiscent of a luxury country retreat, with open, airy interiors, picture perfect vistas & landscape designed gardens looking directly upon an escarpment of verdant rainforest with an 8m waterfall cascading into the ceaselessly flowing creek with private swimming holes. Thoughtfully fashioned with visionary eyes on the potential for further development, the property would make the ideal family compound or "retreat style" business with several outbuildings creating the option for further expansion of accommodation in addition to the existing separate s/c 2 bed cottage.

FOR SALE NOW OR BY EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

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Darren Brimacombe 0418 317 424 Kirsten Body 0421 620 440 AIREYS INLET | ANGLESEA | APOLLO BAY | LORNE | TORQUAY

Iconic Paradise Waters Luxury on the Main River

59 Commodore Drive, Surfers Paradise

Architecture as spectacular as the views spread out before it, this

6 Bed | 6+ Bath | 5 Parking

north facing property with 360-degree views offers the ultimate

For Sale

Gold Coast lifestyle in a magnificent Main River setting.

coleresidential.com.au

Wrapped within meticulously maintained resort inspired

Nicole Bricknell 0407 162 534

grounds, this home seemingly floats above a vista of panoramic

5531 5555

views from the Hinterland to the Main River & City skylines.

A Luxury Escape olio mio estate P PO OK KO OLLB BIIN N,, H HU UN NTTE ER R VA VALLLLE EYY N NS SW W

AAluxurious luxuriouscountry countryestate estateset seton onapproximately approximately63 63 acres. acres.Positioned Positionedin inthe theheart heartof ofthe thePokolbin Pokolbinwine wine district districtand andshowcasing showcasingthe thebest bestof ofthe thehunter huntervalley valley olive oliveand andwine wineproduction. production.

Contact Contactone oneof ofthe theexclusive exclusivesales salesagents agentsfor formore moreinformation informationor or to tobook bookaaprivate privateinspection. inspection.

expressions expressions of of interest interest close close 15 15 april april 2021 2021 at at 4pm 4pm Inspections Inspectionsstrictly strictlyby byappointment appointmentonly. only. www.cullenroyle.com.au www.cullenroyle.com.au

RICHARD RICHARD ROYLE ROYLE

DEBORAH DEBORAH CULLEN CULLEN

0418 0418961 961575 575 richard@cullenroyle.com.au richard@cullenroyle.com.au

0401 0401849 849955 955 deborah@cullenroyle.com.au deborah@cullenroyle.com.au

Retreat In Luxury!

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19 GROSVENOR TERRACE, NOOSA HEADS This impressive, sophisticated home is nestled next to the Noosa National Park providing the perfect hidden oasis. Thoughtfully designed to encapsulate Noosa living at its finest.

The indoor/outdoor entertainment area is a stunning space as it overlooks the tranquil pool with water feature and is ideal for entertaining your family and friends all year round.

Placed in a prestigious cul-de-sac surrounded by magnificent homes and within walking distance to all that Noosa has on offer.

AUCTION On Site Sat 17 April 11am VIEW Sat & Wed 10-11am Sharon McLure 0400 084 975 sharon@lagunarealestate.com.au

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We put a world of experience behind you, so you come out in front.

atlas.com.au

Atlas by LJ Hooker

Milton J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR

Danesbank, built in the 1860s, was previously owned for 36 years by the late interior designer George Freedman

Romancing the stone The 1860s stone cottage Danesbank overlooks pioneering dairy farming land at Milton on the NSW South Coast.

Set on 28 hectares of rich volcanic soil, Danesbank is one kilometre from the highway, up a quiet country lane. The views from its wide verandas extend over the southern Shoalhaven towards the Jervis Bay headland, three hours’ drive from Sydney and 2.5 hours from Canberra.

The three-bedroom cottage, with four-metre-high pressedmetal ceilings, has a formal dining room and a drawing room with a cedar fireplace. The mid-Victorian era cottage was crafted from hand-cut local stone and timber for the Milton Court clerk of petty sessions John Valentine Wareham, in the 1860s.

It was built by master builder James Poole, with blackbutt and cedar floors downstairs and upstairs floors crafted from New Zealand kauri that had been ballast on the New Zealand to Ulladulla shipping trade route.

Danesbank, which is in the Woodstock enclave, is best known for its 36-year custodianship by Sydney interior designer George Freedman, who first bought the property in 1972 for $25,500 with his then partner Neville Marsh. It was expanded with the addition of a second portion in 1983 for $75,000.

Sympathetic improvements included a kitchen with louvred windows said to have been inspired by Glenn Murcutt.

The design duo had used Murcutt for their Woolloomooloo APRIL 10-11, 2021

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office premises. The kitchen comes with a slow combustion fire, and the modern bathroom addition has underfloor heating. The house is shaded by a 100-year-old oak tree.

Freedman, aka Mr Colour, sold the Evans Lane holding in 2007 for $1.165 million to the current vendors.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Freedman was described as “the Godfather of Interior Design”. He died in 2016, aged 80. His first notable interior schemes included the executive suites for the Bank of New South Wales in 1970. He went on to attract residential, commercial and restaurant clients, including Tony and Gay Bilson, Damien and Josephine Pignolet, James Fairfax, the Oatley family, Lisa Ho, and Andrew Denton and Jennifer Byrne.

LJ Hooker Ulladulla agent Lisa Cox has listed the $2.5 million property, which has quickly gone under offer. “It is an old-world Australian icon nestled in the blissful NSW countryside,” she says. Cox recently sold Applegarth, an 1868 single-storey cottage, also built by Poole, that sits on a 20 hectare holding and was the home of former convict John Cambage and his wife, Emma. It was listed at $2.85 million, having previously been sold for $575,000 in 1996 after a modern rear addition.

At nearby Mount Airlie, a substantial double-storey classical Victorian stone home sold in 2013 for $1.03 million through the LJ Hooker office. The five-bedroom home on Woodstock Road was built in 1868 by Poole for David Warden, the district’s first

mayor. The homestead, with its 260sq m ground floor space, is described in the Shoalhaven Heritage Inventory as being “undoubtedly the finest old home in the district”. A report by the Australian Town and Country Journal in the 1880s described it as “one of the handsomest south of Sydney”.

Comprising 4000 acres (1618 hectares) of first-class dairy land, Warden’s estate was the largest of its kind in the district.

With the exception of the home farm of 400 acres, the remainder of the property was let out to 18 tenant farmers. Much of the dairy has gone, although there are still cattle farms, with Tillowrie, an 1897 farm listed for the first time, having been occupied by five generations of the Turnbull family. The elevated 56 hectare farm holds between 70 and 100 head of beef cattle and the current agistment agreement can continue should the new owner wish.

Danesbank’s dairy ceased operations in the early 1900s and Cox offers buyers details of the Nowra, Moss Vale and Braidwood weekly cattle sales, as cattle have been agisted in its northeastern paddocks.

However the property is now thoroughly modern, boasting what Cox describes as “a highly successful” self-managed Airbnb rental business that provides a “significant financial return” to the owners. Visitors to the romantic stone cottage love having the Milk Haus nearby as their local cafe. Danesbank is $375 a night, and booked out months in advance.

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Mansion AUSTRALIA

COLOUR STORY

Kit Kemp’s design tips for Australian homes

SECOND NATURE Rustic rugs, tables and lighting

CURVE BALL

Reviving a much-loved Melbourne home

OPEN ARMS

Hans J. Wegner’s all-embracing chair

APRIL 10-11, 2021 | THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

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a Interior design S U E WA L L AC E

COLOUR YOUR WORLD

Sharing her passion for bold, creative design, Kit Kemp has filled her latest book with divine inspiration

A hot pink cushion with orange zigzag trim; a towering, boldpatterned bedhead; and a quirky collection of 70 bowling shoes purchased from eBay over a year – that’s what the star of British interior design, Kit Kemp, is all about.

And she’s set to share her treasure chest of design tips in her new book Design Secrets, to be released in May. It’s packed with advice on how to create a room that invigorates the senses, a staircase that invites you to linger on each step, and an entrance hall that’s a place to dream. Her tips will help transform the humdrum into the memorable and magical with a good dose of quirky.

Kemp and her husband, Tim, are co-founders of the boutique Firmdale Hotels in London and New York, and pioneers of luxury hotel design and service. Her distinctive “look at me” decor features a kaleidoscope of glorious colours, bold patterns and textures that evoke wonder. “I believe the best rooms never want us to leave,” she says, “There is a certain something that captures the imagination and stays with us forever.

“I walk into some rooms that are beautiful but they are instantly forgettable when you leave. That’s why I love using colour, collections and special pieces to spice up people’s lives.”

As for the latest design trends, Kemp, with her eagle eye for detail, says it’s all about colour. “I think people are becoming braver with colour, and I know Australians are always adventurous and love the use of colour and are much bolder than us,” she says. Cushions are the answer, add colour and make bold statements, but don’t be boring – add a trim, an appliqué, splash the colour and mix up the fabrics. “If you have your eye on expensive fabric, use it for one side of the cushion with a contrast,” Kemp says.

Oversized bedheads with press-studs are striking signature pieces in her hotel rooms. “I like a big headboard, as it shows off the fabric design on a flat surface and you can build the decor around that,” she says. She loves using handmade and decorated statement pieces, including wall hangings, paintings and

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specialty items. “The thoughtfulness and character of a lovingly made object is worth a million times more than an accessory that has no meaning or soul,” she says.

Maybe you will be inspired to gather your souvenir spoons into a quirky collection framed on a wall, or turn that op shop jacket bought decades ago into a curtain trim. “You can build rooms around one small piece of stunning fabric or a special something you treasure,” says Kemp, who heads a team of eight at her Kemp Design Studio in London.

She hopes her book will plant a creative seed, encourage a new way of looking at interiors and inspire confidence to be “fabulously different”. “I think everyone is looking for fresh ideas, especially with lockdowns, and there are simple things that don’t cost a fortune to change the look of a room,” she says.

“People are also looking for some grandiose touches and there’s a lot of creativity around at the moment.”

Never afraid to shy away from the conventional, Kemp uses dots, spots, stripes, zigzags and appliqué that sit happily with florals, geometrics and checks in the brightest of shades, turning drab into remarkable. She is all about detailed, whimsical storytelling. At times it’s a little like stepping into a fairytale as she works her magic, often with found fabric from another life and everyday objects grouped together in eclectic collections.

So was Kemp an inquisitive child who sat sketching for hours? “No, I was always out climbing trees with my two brothers,” she says. “I was a bit of a tomboy and didn’t do much sitting around drawing.” Neither did she inherit her love of interior design from her family. “They were of the philosophy that if you can remember the last time something was decorated it doesn’t need redoing.”

Kemp is the creative director of Firmdale Hotels, while Tim is the property developer. They have three adult daughters and four devoted Cavalier King Charles spaniels. They opened Dorset Square Hotel in 1985, and now have eight hotels in London and two in New York. Each is distinctive – Kemp APRIL 10-11, 2021

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creates a “village” feel, using prompts from surrounding neighbourhoods. “You should feel a sense of arrival and know where you are or there should be something that resonates with a particular area,” she says.

As for those bowling shoes, they feature at the Croc Bowling Alley at Ham Yard Hotel in London.

As well as new builds, the Kemps love breathing life into dilapidated areas, as with their latest venture, the Warren Street Hotel in New York’s Tribeca district. The former car park will feature 70 bedrooms across 11 stories, with a restaurant and bar.

Last November Kemp opened a shop in New York’s Bergdorf Goodman store, featuring one-off pieces. She’s also had fun developing a lighting collection for Porta Romana, including the Rocking Robin, inspired by Alexander Calder’s mobile designs.

She has collaborated with Wedgwood, Wilton Carpets, Andrew Martin, Anthropologie, Christopher Farr, Chelsea Textiles and Fine Cell Work to created collections of tableware, furniture, fabrics, wallpaper and fragrance.

Her love of artisan work features in her book’s chapter “Meet the Maker”, which delves into the creative minds of retired sailor turned woolworker Colin Millington, renowned ceramicist Martha Freud, sustainable fashion designer Clio Peppiatt and figurative painter Joe Fan. So, is an Australian Firmdale Hotel on the cards? “I would love to see a Firmdale Hotel in Australia one day and I am open to suggestions,” Kemp says.

Describing 2020 as “challenging”, she believes that when the world reopens people will travel less but stay longer in one place.

As for the greatest compliment she could receive, it’s when a guest picks up a bespoke piece or found object and asks, “Where did this come from?” or “What is this?” Imagination heightened, senses awakened and dreams triggered – Kemp has achieved what she set out to do.

In her book Design Secrets, Kit Kemp reveals how she turns drab into remarkable with the clever use of dots, stripes and zigzags that happily mix with florals, geometrics and checks in myriad textures and bold colours

Kit Kemp’s Design Secrets is out May 5. Hardie Grant, $49.99 MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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w AHEAD OF THE CURVE

The exciting renewal of a much-loved Melbourne home that had outgrown its use as a family domain has created timeless, dynamic spaces

S to r y by LU KE SL AT T E RY

Photography by LUCAS ALLEN

When Jolson Architecture Interiors began building what would become the threefloor inner Melbourne dwelling Arc Side, director Stephen Jolson looked at the site, gave his head a figurative scratch, and wondered how to correctly categorise the work.

The existing house, built a little more than 20 years ago to the design of a prominent Melbourne architect, had been so thoroughly dismantled by Jolson and his team that little was left beyond a curved section of the facade and one piece of the first- floor concrete slab. These were the only vestiges of the original house. “Was it an alteration or addition, or something closer to a new build?” the director asked himself.

The clients moved into the building – whose envelope has also been retained by Jolson – in 2001. “It was quite a revolutionary three-level home at the time,” he says.

“The idea was that level one and two were reserved for the couple and the ground floor for their children, much like separate apartments. But as time went on it ceased to be a family home. The clients love the location, its connection to Melbourne city and water views. In short, they love the environment. But they had outgrown the space, the way the house was designed. Their main problem was that the central stairwell blocked the possibility for open plan living.”

While they had good memories of their family home, they also recalled the struggle they’d endured to drive the modernist facade through the local council.

“They were reluctant to enter the process again and trigger the same problems,” says Jolson, whose practice is also Melbourne based.

The design solution – to retain the curved facade and radically reconfigure the interior – saved everyone a lot of pain. And yet the curved facade and the discipline it imposed became, in the design process, an “impetus”, a motif around which the language of the new structure could evolve. “When you are designing renovations you often end up with more interesting results because you’re challenged by a dialogue, that perhaps might not exist if there are no parameters or constraints,” Jolson says.

While the curved facade gave a certain sculptural street presence to the early noughties building, inside it was animated by a very different design language.

Where the interior of the turn-of-the-century building was colourful with a pronounced geometry, the design by Jolson and his team, led by Daniella Mikulic, was calm and seductive. “We were interested in the flow of surfaces, reflections and filtered light,” Jolson says. They ended up taking the form of the curved facade and integrating it into the interior so that “the curve inspired the whole experience, inside and out; it infiltrated the design process”. Curves, moulded into walls and ceilings sweep through the entire space.

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A restrained palette allows features such as the sweeping staircase to the right to take a starring role

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A calm fluidity flows through the interior, from the entry with its bold, sculptural staircase to the kitchen, lounge room and master bedroom

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This curved form is most pronounced in the beautiful steel staircase, the hero of the home. The staircase frame had to be inserted by crane, and once in place it was encased in polished plaster. The effect is dramatic, sculptural. The home’s interior revolves around the staircase and an oculus skylight window that is moulded sinuously – almost organically – into the second-floor ceiling. It’s on this level, with its water views and its softly diffused light, that the kitchen and living spaces are located.

The sculptural staircase, which descends over two levels, also allowed the architects to play with volume in a way that was denied by the old segmented – upstairs and downstairs – scheme.

The immediate impression on entering the new home is one of a central dramatic space that connects seamlessly with the other spaces radiating from it.

“We’re very interested in the way light flows off walls and surfaces,” Jolson says. “The design allows for a diffusion of light across thresholds: from the master bedroom to the ensuite to the hall. These spaces are not necessarily segmented by a door.”

Jolson’s work on Arc Side channels his modernist influences – “I’m influenced by modernism but not overly by any one modernist” – but it also incorporates elements of Middle Eastern design. These influences “come from extensive travel in places like Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso and India”, he says.

“In India we were asked to design a non-denominational temple recently and have spent a lot of time there. Middle Eastern traditions have also taught me a lot about veiling light, simple use of materials, volume and texture.”

Apart from the Middle Eastern design legacy, he is attracted to the work of Italian master Carlo Scarpa, particularly his “use of materials, form, and careful attention to detail”.

If there is a single word that captures the experience of Arc Side it is fluidity. Movement through the house is fluid. The water is an emotional presence. And the many polished surfaces of plaster and stone pick up ripples, glints and reflections. The sinuous form of the interior is heightened, not diminished, by the presence of hard-angled benches and storage spaces.

The architects designed the new structure, its interior and the garden. A horticulturalist helped put the design in place. This “holistic” approach allowed them to sustain the impression of fluidity from the curved, street-facing exterior, through the main interior spaces and into the rear garden. A sensitivity to the entire sense of place embodied in the site governed Jolson’s approach to Arc Side, and it’s an approach he takes into each commission.

“Each home is an individual and intuitive response to the site, the context and the client brief,” he says.

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Etc. S A M YA T E S

6.

Natural forms 1.

TABLE LIGHT The Block Sconce in Calacatta Viola Marble is a two-piece sculptural stone light with a captured bulb, $2805. henrywilson.com.au

2.

TABLE Liquid Moon Side Table in sandy pearl, made of resin, $1100. dinosaurdesigns.com.au

3.

CHAIR Prime Time easy chair in McNutt fabric, $6950. greatdanefurniture.com

4.

CHAISE LONGUE Wallace chaise longue by J. M. Massaud in white or black, from $9150. poliformaustralia.com.au

5.

PENDANT LIGHT Moooi Random Light suspension lamp in black or cream. Designed by Bertjan Pot, available in three sizes, from $1155. spacefurniture.com.au

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6.

VASE Handcrafted in a rustic texture ceramic, the Danyon vase honours organic forms and neutral tones.

W200mm x D170mm x H280mm.

Availability 16-18 weeks, $395. cocorepublic.com.au

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RUG Armadillo x House of Grey Umbra Rug in myrrh from the Ellipse Collection. Tibetan-knotted from soft Afghan wool that has been left undyed. Each rug is uniquely handcarved. Custom made and available as a wall hanging, POA. armadillo-co.com

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Teddy Bear Chair

Design classics

H A N S J . W E G NER

DAVID MEAGHER

Designer Hans J. Wegner, top left, and his Teddy Bear Chair, right and below

A

lthough the Danish furniture designer Hans J. Wegner is best known for his chair designs in wood, he also designed a number of large upholstered chairs, including this one, known as the Teddy Bear chair.

The chair’s official name is the PP19 chair but its nickname derives from the wooden insets at the end of each arm, which are thought to look like the paws of a bear, and the fact that the chair’s shape makes it appear to be hugging the person who sits in it.

The Teddy Bear chair has been in production by PP Møbler since 1953 and it first gained popularity for its organic and sculptural style, and because it appeared lighter, but no less sturdy, than the traditional armchairs of the time. It was the first item of furniture Wegner designed for Møbler and it marked the beginning of a lifelong collaboration between the two.

The solid timber frame takes two weeks for a single craftsman to produce and then the upholstery takes another week. Four different materials are used in the upholstery – cotton, palm fibre, flax and horsehair – over a base of metal springs.

It is said that a chair with such precise upholstery actually softens with age and that it will become more and more comfortable over time.

The Papa Bear chair can be paired with the PP120 stool for the ultimate in lounging comfort. Both are available from Cult Design. The PP19 chairs starts at $41,400 and the stool from $5,000. cultdesign.com.au 58

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A RARE LIFESTYLE AWAITS - AIRLIE BEACH

�bsolute waterfront, high �de is your boundary, the beach effec�vely yours. Set between tropical landscape and the �oral Sea, this pres�gious and wonderfully private residence with 40m beach frontage is nestled in the exclusive Mandalay Point. Exuding tropical style and comfort the main dwelling is complemented by a separate guest house, free standing ar�sts/yoga studio and well equipped workshop. Privacy is assured by vegetated covenants on both sides. Very unique opportunity to acquire this ‘street to waterfront property’ that has truly been blessed by nature.

377 Mandalay $3,975,000

Rob Taylor 0428 466 124 rob@taylorspropertyspecialists.com.au

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www.taylorspropertyspecialists.com.au/6029738

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