Mansion incorporating news from Dow jones’ M A NS ION Gl oba l
AustrAliA
ďƒ† 10
-page
interiors
section
Rock star
A home anchored in its setting
Leaps and bounds
Kangaroo Point scales the heights
Growing concern
Gardens come into their own
shore thing
The race to secure a piece of Pittwater
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m a nsionaust r a l i a .c om . au
Issue 37 H August 2020
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Contents
9 L U X U R Y Canberra indulgence, Perth architectural gem, Kensington Pool House 1 2 C O V E R S T O R Y Pittwater’s idyllic lifestyle is in more demand than ever
Trenavin Park, Phillip Island, Victoria. See page 33
Mansion AustrAliA
1 6 D O L L Y L E N Z Shifting priorities are bringing country homes to the fore 2 2 K A N G A R O O P O I N T A late-Victorian mansion gets a stunning makeover 2 4 T O O R A K The prestige enclave is increasingly home to opulent apartments 2 5 A L B E R T P A R K Properties in the desirable suburb are selling off market
Editor Lisa Allen Contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor
2 6 G A R D E N S Outdoor ‘rooms’ have become essential retreats in tough times
Interiors editor David Meagher
2 9 R E A U P D A T E You don’t have to go coastal to secure a luxury property
Art director Samantha Yates
3 2 M A N S I O N G L O B A L Mogul’s mansion, Italian villa, listed London manor 3 3 B A C K P A G E On Victoria’s Phillip Island a historic estate is up for sale 3 5 I N T E R I O R S A rocky outcrop is a natural part of this inspired house design 4 1 P R O D U C T S Bend your decor to your will with an eclectic mix of shapes 4 2 D E S I G N C L A S S I C George Nelson’s perennially popular Bubble Light
N E X T I S S U E : September 12, 2020
O N T H E C O V E R Casa Paloma, the recently sold trophy home
of Jennifer Hawkins and husband Jake Wall overlooking Pittwater at Newport north of Sydney. Photographed by Tom Ferguson
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Writers Joel Robinson Sam Duncan Sue Wallace Chief sub editor Deirdre Blayney Picture editor Christine Westwood Advertising Michael Thompson Tel. 61 2 9288 3630 michael.thompson2@news.com.au
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 August 8, 2020
Editor’s letter Gardens have been the big winners of the COVID-19 lockdowns, as home dwellers turned their skills to creating pretty green havens and flourishing vegetable plots while dishing out plenty of tender loving care, according to senior writer Sue Wallace. Victoria-based garden design celebrity Paul Bangay, whose property Stonefields is located between Kyneton and Daylesford, has noticed a huge increase in interest in gardening. In other COVID trends, there’s an increasing push away from inner-city apartment living to country cottages, stand-alone houses and bucolic getaways, with unit-dwellers no longer wishing to share lifts and public stairwells with other multi-storey residents. The popularity of Sydney’s Pittwater and its wholesome lifestyle has proven unassailable during the pandemic, with a surge of city-dwellers looking for a permanent home on the elite peninsula north of Sydney, according to local agents. Peter Robinson of LJ Hooker Palm Beach told Mansion Australia contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor that home buyers are reverting to their traditional “playground” in the search for a relative safe haven, securing their family’s holiday bolthole for years to come. “Considering the general consensus forecast was for a total collapse in the market, the opposite has been true,” Robinson adds. Chancellor explores the $20 million-plus sale of Newport’s Casa Paloma, the trophy home of model Jennifer Hawkins and her husband Jake Wall. Northwards, we take a look at the trendy inner-city Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point, revealing a major renovation of a property on Leopard Street, which is also home to Queensland’s most expensive mansion. We thank our hard-working real estate mates, the property owners who allow us into their mansions, and our developer, landscape gardener and architect friends for their help. Hope you enjoy. Lisa Allen Editor THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
UNIT 1 ‘THE COVE’ NOOSA HEADS
Imagine an outré-luxe residence-size apartment boasting a mega-watt design-forward aesthetic, exalted by Little Cove Beach directly on its doorstep. Blessed with views from here to serenity, watching pods of dolphins in the azure waters of Laguna Bay and the surf breaks of First Point in the Noosa National Park, little wonder this single level sun catcher with private entrance, no stairs, koalas as neighbours, terraces on nearly three sides and an enticing pool taking centre stage, is every family’s idyllic summer escape.
Auction Saturday 5 September 10am Agent
Nic Hunter 0421 785 512
Exclusive Phillip Island Beachfront Estate.
Trenavin Park
746 Ventnor Road, Ventnor, Phillip Island Exclusive Phillip Island beachfront estate on 33.76 ha (approx.) with panoramic ocean views and nestled among gentle rolling hills. The home (c.1923) has formal/informal living, ďŹ ve bedrooms, four ensuites, contemporary kitchen/family zone with superb indoor-outdoor connection. Suit private family or a range of businesses including a wedding venue. With its own chapel, Summerhouse, a renovated three bedroom cottage, tennis court, dams and town water.
Expressions of Interest
Closing Friday 4th September at 5pm
View
By Private Appointment Only
Contact trenavinpark.com
Sean Cussell 0425 787 979 Marcus Heron 0422 822 995
prestigehomes.com.au
FORREST, ACT
A modern Canberra mansion designed by architect Terry Ring and set in 1610sq m of gardens has been listed with $5.995 million hopes. The six-bedroom residence in Forrest is on the tightly held Arthur Circle, which only sees two or three sales a year. Inside the entry is a glass staircase overlooking a central courtyard and entertaining area with pool and spa. The ground level comprises a guest wing, study and billiards room with a bar. The lower ground level has a home theatre and a gym. Upstairs are the other five bedrooms and a deck with views of Mt Ainslie. Peter Blackshaw Manuka agents Mario Sanfrancesco and Andrew Chamberlain have the listing.
OLINDA, VIC
The Dandenong Ranges garden escape Quiddity at Olinda has been sold. It was the home of owner Rosemary Grieve for 24 years. “At any time in the garden there’s something different happening,” she says. “It’s refreshing and regenerating.” The residence, on 4.3ha, was designed by the late American architect Brook McWilliams and influenced by his American and English heritage. Recycled materials were used in the main residence and the self-contained cottage. The living and dining space has an open fireplace. Sydney blue gum from an old NSW pier is used in the kitchen, which opens to a wraparound veranda. The cottage, set away from the home, has two bedrooms and there’s a pool in the lush gardens. Abercromby’s agents Jock Langley and Robert McArthur were marketing the estate with a $2.7 million to $2.97 million guide, after it was initially listed in April last year for $3.5 million to $3.85 million. AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
FLOREAT, WA
Toschkoff House in Perth has sold within two weeks of hitting the market. The Floreat home sold for the first time since it was designed in 1959 by the late Iwan Iwanoff, who plied his trade across Perth after studying architecture in Europe. The minimalist design in Iwanoff’s signature style incorporates stone, timber, glass and concrete, with a solar passive design that was way ahead of its time. It has been kept in pristine condition by its sole owner. The three bed
home on 855sq m, sold through Emily Hiskins at Duet Property Group who had high $1 millions hopes. The Bulgarian-born Iwanoff, who was known for his Brutalist style, moved to Perth in 1950 and settled in Fremantle, where he worked under Krantz and Sheldon. He set up his own business in 1963, and designed around 30 houses and buildings across Perth. Three of them were in Floreat, including his own. MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
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SANCTUARY COVE, QLD
Riverside resort A Sanctuary Cove home designed by building design firm Paul Clout Design has hit the market. It was built around 10 years ago, after the 1170sq m Marine Drive East block on the banks of the Coomera River sold for $1.34 million in 2004. The home is split into two sections. The first stand-alone building comprises three of the four bedrooms, a home office and a home cinema, flanked by a rock garden and ponds. At the end of the first structure is an open plan formal living and dining area and outdoor barbecue pavilion that meets the wraparound resort-style pool. Over a glass bridge with a pond running underneath is the second building, which has a kitchen complete with walk-in pantry, living and dining area, master suite and the main alfresco space, abutting the riverfront part of the pool. By the river is a deck and a pontoon. Ray White Prestige Gold Coast agent Matt Gates has the listing.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA, VIC
Mornington Peninsula landscaper Colin Hyett has been working on gardens at La Serre, his Langwarrin property, for more than a decade. His business, Colin Hyett Design, with more than $1 million in plantings in the nursery, is based there. La Serre’s garden was an entrant in the Australian Open Garden scheme 2012. It has a duck lake, giant plantings, sculptures, and even a beach volleyball court. Also on the 2.4ha property is Hyett’s office and his four-bedroom home, a blend of French 1830s and Australian 1950s style filled with his vast collection of taxidermied animals, art and classic cars. The grand open plan living area opens to a number of alfresco terraces. There are two further living areas, an epicurean kitchen, and a large separate office or studio connected to a display gallery and a rumpus room with bar. The gardens near the home feature a pool and veggie garden. The property has also been used as a wedding venue and function space. It is now for sale through McEwing & Partners Mornington Peninsula agents Liz Todd and Quentin McEwing, who are asking $4.8 million. 10
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SOUTHBANK, VIC
An apartment on the 63rd level of Melbourne’s Prima Pearl residential tower has been listed for sale for the first time since the building was constructed. Abercromby’s agent Jock Langley and Emma Pierson are seeking $15 million. They call it the ultimate Melbourne apartment. The 570sq m apartment was an empty shell when it was bought and the current vendor commissioned luxury home builder Krongold to fit out the space. There are four bedrooms, including a master with a dressing room, a separate walk-in wardrobe and ensuite. The open plan kitchen, living and dining area features a suspended ethanol fireplace. There’s a theatre room with a second kitchen and a study, as well as garaging for six cars. Prima Pearl was designed by Disegno Australia and was completed in late 2014 by the Schiavello group. At 254m high, it is the sixth-tallest building in Melbourne. One of the penthouses is for sale for between $15 million and $16 million and comes complete with a grand Brodmann piano. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
KENSINGTON, NSW
CLAYFIELD, QLD
Queensland revival The award-winning Luigi Rosselli-redesigned Pool House in Kensington has been listed for sale. The project, which saw an organic two-storey pool house addition at the back of a single-storey 1910 cottage on a 690sq m Milroy Avenue block, was completed by Luigi Rosselli and Carl Rutherford in 2013, and won the Randwick City Urban Design Award that year. The wraparound glass mosaic-tiled pool plays the starring role in the home, connecting the old home to the two level extension, which is surrounded by water in the Will Dangardesigned gardens. Downstairs is the open plan kitchen, living and dining room, and upstairs are four of the five bedrooms. The first-floor bedrooms cantilever toward the backyard and are larger than the ground floor living spaces. Linking the old house to the new is a spiral storage stair. In the front of the house, still with its original period facade, is a formal living and dining space, each with their own fireplace, a home office and a fifth bedroom. James Ball and Mark Lowe from Ballard Property Group have a $5.8 million guide for its August 15 auction.
A modernised 1920s Queenslander has been listed for sale in Brisbane’s Clayfield. The Dublin Street property last traded in its original condition for $1.57 million in 2008 before it was fully renovated in 2016 by local architect James Davidson. The Queenslander facade was retained, but the home now flows through the ground level to a modern timber and concrete rear. The traditional VJ walls, decorative breezeways and French doors remain in the 100 year-old-home on 810sq m. The open plan kitchen, living and dining area opens to the garden, which includes an outdoor barbecue area, lawn and swimming pool. Upstairs are five of the six bedrooms, a home office and a second rumpus room. Ray White New Farm agents Matt Lancashire and Hamish Bowman have the listing. The tightly held Dublin Street has only seen one sale a year for the past six years.
TOORAK, VIC
A Marcus Martin-designed home in Toorak dating from the 1930s has hit the market. In recent years it has undergone a contemporary renovation and interior design by local studio Lucy Bock. The Myrnong Crescent home, once dubbed Karinya, last traded in 2016 for $6.45 million before Bock was called in for a minimalist redesign of an extension. “The interior architecture celebrates clean geometries and a boldness of form,” Bock says. “A restrained use of colour punctuates a monochrome palette, while bespoke joinery and selected fixtures show a dedication to craftsmanship.” The project was shortlisted for the Australian Interior Design Awards 2020. Comprising three levels on 870sq m, the home is designed around the central kitchen and living space, complete with herringbone floors. The steel doors open to a rear terrace overlooking the pool. The lower level has a games room, wine cellar and a three-car garage. Abercromby’s Toorak agents Sam Goddard and Jock Langley have a guide of $7.55 million to $8.3 million for its private auction on August 24. The tightly held Myrnong Crescent has only seen two sales in the past two years. Last year a five-bedroom 1930s home sold for $6 million and in 2018 a late-1920s home fetched $6.715 million. AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
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T Cover story
he popularity of Pittwater’s wholesome lifestyle has proved unassailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Local agent Peter Robinson says that home buyers are reverting to their traditional playground when seeking a relative safe haven or bolthole, securing a holiday retreat for their families for years to come. “Considering the general consensus forecast was for a total collapse in the market, the opposite has been true,” Robinson says. “Underpinning the strength is a surge in the number of permanent home buyers looking at the Pittwater area as a prime place to live. Many have now tried working from home and realise that this can be achieved and that they only need access to the CBD on occasion. Therefore they would prefer to enjoy the lifestyle benefits of the Pittwater area.” He says that buyers are taking less time to make a decision. Kathryn Hall from Kathryn Hall Real Estate says she’s had stronger buyer inquiry in the last three months than in the previous 12. She says strong, qualified buyers are making faster decisions and appear to be in a buying mood. “They want an escape now that overseas travel is restricted,” Hall concludes. Ten suburbs overlook Pittwater, some of them only accessible by water, with Scotland Island holding its own in the middle of a picturesque, boat-filled paradise. The biggest sales on Pittwater in 2020 have been in Newport. Model Jennifer
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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Poolside at Prince Alfred Parade, Newport, sold by vitamin king Marcus Blackmore. Opposite: The home’s exterior and the view over Pittwater
SAFE HAVENS Pittwater in Sydney’s north has become a magnet for buyers in search of space, tranquillity and a healthy lifestyle with no sacrifice of civilised comforts BY J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR
AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
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Clockwise from left: Lisa Keighery’s Palm Beach retreat; construction site, living area and rear of Jennifer Hawkins’ trophy home; and rear of the Keighery property
Hawkins and her husband Jake Wall sold their trophy home Casa Paloma for $20 million-plus in June this year. They built the house from scratch in 2017, commissioning go-to architect Koichi Takada to design the west-facing, glass-swathed fivebedroom residence with a no-expense-spared budget. Sandstone, walnut and American oak and honed Turkish marble have been used throughout. The home, which won a Master Builders Award, also features a four-car garage, an internal lift, temperature-controlled 600bottle wine cellar and a whole-level parents’ retreat. The interiors are by Sarah-Jayne Marriott and Hellen Pappas. Outside, there’s a bar, pizza oven, heated pool, sunken lounge, lawn, boathouse and slipway. The house sits on 3360sq m of absolute beachfront that was 14
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formerly the Wentworth Estate, owned by the late Liberal politician Bill Wentworth. Hawkins and Wall bought adjoining blocks in 2014 for $4 million, aquiring Jacaranda Cottage and the lesser Blois Cottage, through LJ Hooker agent David Watson. Christie’s International agent Ken Jacobs secured the sale of Casa Paloma in late June, some eight months after its listing. No price or buyer have yet been revealed, but if the vendors’ ambitious expectations were met it would be the first $20 million-plus deal outside of Palm Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches since 2002. That’s when Finisterre on Avalon’s Stokes Point was bought by the Oatley family for close to $20 million. Newport has been arguably the hottest market of 2020 on Pittwater. Earlier this year, Melody Lane, the Newport home of Pandora Jewellery founder Karin Adcock, sold to Elizabeth
Fang-Xu Dai, who heads the medical device manufacturer Beijing Demux, for $8.9 million. And last month vitamins mogul Marcus Blackmore snappily sold his Newport trophy home in the $8 million range. Blackmore bought the prime 605sq m Prince Alfred Parade block back in 1995 when his company was breaking into the Singapore market. A keen yachtie, he swapped his home in Manly with a friend so he could be closer to the water. Architect Rowan Stewart transformed the four-level home, which was built in the 1980s. During Blackmore’s ownership he added an inclinator and swimming pool. There’s also a home theatre and a wine cellar. Down by the water there’s a self-contained boatshed, while Blackmore’s luxury cruiser Ammonite sits at the end of a private deep water jetty built over the sandy beach. Blackmore and his wife Caroline are staying at Pittwater, having recently finished a rebuild of Sandgate, the Bayview home they bought for $9.25 million in 2016. LJ Hooker Mona Vale agent Lachlan Elder, who sold the home, says the Pittwater market is the strongest he’s seen in 35 years. It’s been his best June and July on record. “The whole COVID thing has made people realise that working from home is doable, and if this becomes the norm the northern beaches is the place to be,” Elder says. He adds that low interest rates and a lack of stock is also a major driver in the market. Robinson says new listings are not replacing the numbers sold, so they now have a shortage of property to sell. “That is what will cause a hiccup in the process of the market moving forward,” he says. The priciest current offering is the Iluka Road, Palm Beach retreat of Lisa Keighery, who has it listed with $17 million hopes. A sale at that price would top the exclusive street’s record, which has stood since Uncle Toby’s founder Doug Shears spent $15 million in 2007. Overlooking Pittwater from its prized Snapperman Beach location, the five-bedroom home has been designed by architect Alexander Roth, with interiors by Marco Meneguzzi. The open plan Carrara marble kitchen, living and dining area, complete with a Turkish limestone fireplace, opens to an entertainer’s deck and lawn that runs to the water’s edge. McGrath agent William Manning has the listing. “It is the epitome of beachside luxury and style,” he says. The recent listing follows two land value only sales along Iluka Road at $9 million and $10.35 million respectively. LJ Hooker Palm Beach agent David Edwards says the money being spent in the area is astronomical, suggesting local buyers generally top out at $4 million to $5 million. “On the upper Northern Beaches, Palm Beach and Whale Beach, the little beachside cottage has given way to large multimillion-dollar architectural interpretations of a beach house,” Edwards says. “This trend is moving south, generally on waterfront and beachfronts, but the off-side in Avalon and Newport is still primarily the domain of the northern beaches weekender.” Local agent Kathryn Hall noted a preference on Pittwater’s western foreshore for modern renovated properties rather than ones that need work. She says deep-water frontage is always in strong demand and there is never enough, and describes Palm Beach as a “different scene altogether”, with the primary focus on trophy homes. There was a recent record-equalling $3.3 million sale at Great Mackeral Beach, the highest price paid at the boat-access only strip since Warwick White, the former managing director of Coca-Cola Amatil, bought nearby for the same amount in 2006. The highest price paid in the interim was $2.7 million in 2009. Edwards says that stock levels are so low that many agents are selling their spring stock as “secret listings”. He has just two publicly advertised listings but 12 properties privately listed for qualified buyers only. “Buyers are starting to notice this and are actively seeking out agents that specialise in quiet sales”, he says. Time on market during winter in 2019 was 182 days. Over winter 2020 it is just 95 days. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Dolly Lenz
Local aspect
WITH JENNY LENZ
CHRISTIE’S INTERNATIONAL
Ken Jacobs
Following the post-lockdown easing of real estate restrictions on open homes and onsite auctions, there has been a notable shift in the city and weekender market, with more buyers looking for something a little closer to “the end of the road”. There are two sub-groups: those who want to be removed from urban centres, and those who have deep urban roots but want an escape with recreational options. There is a growing escape mentality, with several suburb and regional records recently set. The working-from-home experiment has made these properties all the more appealing, with a permanent lifestyle trend distinct from the traditional thinking around a rural or beach retirement/weekender. COVID-19 has created a seismic shift in priorities. For many it has meant a focus on mortality and reassessment. Life balance is the clarion call. The trend is an increase in demand for downsizing luxury urban options balanced by upscale luxury non-urban residences. From an international perspective, it is not a matter of urban versus non-urban but country versus country. BELLE PROPERTY BOWRAL
Di Dixon This property outside New York City features a professional basketball court, below, among its impressive amenities HOME & AWAY
A foot in each camp Months of coronavirus shutdowns have given luxury consumers plenty of time to reflect on personal housing needs and reassess their real estate wish lists. As business throughout the world’s top luxury markets slowly comes back to life, the initial demand and data from the first few weeks of reopening suggests a completely reimagined list of priorities for buyers across all price points. In New York, in-person real estate viewings were permitted to restart in late June and with that we saw an almost instant shift in what consumers were coveting most. Inquiries for more efficiently sized city apartments – 3000 square feet (279 sq m) or less, and country and beach retreats loaded with outdoor amenities yet close to the city, have skyrocketed, with the majority of these consumers looking to buy both and conducting parallel searches. As a result of continued work-from-home policies, consumers are now able to spend more time away than ever before. They still want the energy and culture only available in the city, but they also desire a place to retreat to when they need a break. To that end, savvy city buyers are dividing their budgets and prioritising smaller, less expensive apartments, leaving an opportunity to acquire a second home in the country. Outside the city, the wish list has primarily focused on properties that offer resort-style living with expansive space and elaborate outdoor amenities. In the past, second home buyers have shied away from expensive home amenities and large properties as they need constant upkeep and maintenance. However, with so many travel restrictions in place and annual vacations cancelled, buyers are now trying to recreate that resort experience by seeking out second home properties with large pools, private tennis courts, chef-level outdoor kitchens and spacious grounds. Recently we relaunched a 20,000 square feet country estate just 50 minutes outside of NYC and have seen an incredible response from buyers drawn to the property’s extensive amenity offerings which include a resort-style pool and spa, golf practice 16
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The level of inquiry has been intense since restrictions on property showings were loosened. I have always had good winter sales, but this is really off the dial. The number of people looking for a Southern Highlands escape/retreat is definitely higher than before. Several have said they decided with the COVID-19 lockdown to give it a go living down here rather than have a weekender, with companies open to flexible office hours. A lot of young couples have been looking to scale down the size of their Sydney commitment in the hope of securing something in the Highlands while keeping the city connection. They are hedging their bets. Then there are retirement-age buyers who want to completely escape the city lifestyle and live in proximity to a “village”. The demand for acreage properties is very high; mid-sized 20, 30, 50 acres are much in demand and there are very few properties of that size around. There’s even a shortage of 100 acre properties. People feel for the first time that they can try the country lifestyle and not miss out professionally. RAY WHITE RURAL & LIVESTOCK
Stephen Nell
area, professional basketball court and frontage on a private lake. Wish lists for luxury real estate consumers have been known to shift dramatically as certain properties and features go out of style and market conditions change However, ownership of both city apartments and amenity-laden country retreats will continue to be at the top of any real estate list long after the pandemic is over. Such an aspiration is no longer limited to the ultra-rich, with consumers across all price points set to drive the multiple property trend well into the future. Dolly Lenz heads New York-based Dolly Lenz Real Estate and last year sold more than $US500 million worth of luxury US and international homes. Jenny Lenz is managing director of Dolly Lenz Real Estate. dollylenz.com
The tree-change market was already gathering momentum before COVID-19 started. People who want a country retreat will look [at properties] up to three hours from a major city centre and at least 30 minutes from amenities, but it always depends on the property. Demand right now is unbelievable and it’s coming from everywhere. It’s not just people from other areas, it’s often locals who are upgrading. In my opinion it has always been the ambition of a lot of people to have a country estate and a bolthole in the city. What has changed since Covid-19 is that people recognise they don’t need to be in the city to do their work as they can be productive anywhere. I believe many Australians would love a big weekender in the country but they will always be chasing value; that has never changed. There have always been people who want to run their own hobby farm and plant a vegetable garden, and that’s not changed. Developers will need to rethink their inner-city unit stock as many downsizers do not want to live in an apartment block full of students. They want to live in the same suburb they downsized from, or be near the beach. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Kangaroo Point LISA ALLEN
GLENN HUNT
R Renovating one of few remaining historic homes – a ramshackle mansion built in 1892 by a coal merchant atop high cliffs overlooking the serpentine Brisbane River – was a labour of love for Lindar Butler, but it was not without challenges. Over two decades, Butler transformed her late Victorian mansion Rockfield, in the trendy inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point, into a stunning home with outstanding views of the city’s CBD, including from its prized widow’s walk. The mansion, in Leopard Street, Kangaroo Point, is just up the road from Brisbane’s most expensive house at 1 Leopard Street, which last sold for $18.48 million. Butler bought Rockfield back in 1997 for $455,000 and has spent more than $1 million on its transformation. The works included replacing the street-facing outside stairs with an internal timber staircase, opening up rooms to the river breezes, renovating the four fireplaces, creating a new kitchen, and wainscoting and wall-papering the downstairs rooms. The interiors are by Brisbane-based interior designer Leigh Boswell of Highgate House, who says it was wonderful to work with clients who had such an appreciation of finer details. “Lindar’s brief was she wanted classic design that was sympathetic to the era of the home yet with a modern edge to it,” says Boswell. “She loves greens and she was happy to be bold with her colour choices,” she says, adding that it was an absolute pleasure to work on a home with such character. Butler, previously a high-profile staffer for former Brisbane Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson, bought the house with her former husband and they lived in it for a couple of years, masterplanning the changes and hiring a heritage architect. “We wanted to retain the beautiful aspects of the house and we combined the classic and the contemporary,” says Butler. “We felt a responsibility to take it back to the heritage of the home, to be able to pass it on. It turned out we have brought it back better than its former glory.” Upstairs, the house has a library, kitchen, living and dining
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rooms, bathrooms, and an ensuite and walk-in robe leading off the master bedroom. Downstairs there are more bedrooms, and a bathroom, laundry and cellar. There’s a third-floor attic and the widow’s walk – a railed rooftop platform frequently found on 19th-century coastal and rural houses. The name is said to come from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses’ return, often in vain as the ocean took their lives. The project hasn’t been an easy one. “We had to move out briefly while we performed open-heart surgery on the house to install an interior staircase and redo the verandas,” says Butler. “There were a lot of heritage restrictions. We tried to preserve the aesthetics of the front of the house and so we extended the veranda out to allow for modern-day dining. We had to duplicate the cast-iron lace. There was talk about using different paint colours like black-painted lace instead of white, but at the end of the day we were allowed to use the paint colours we wanted.” Views of the entire reach of the Brisbane River, from the Story Bridge to Southbank, were once one of Rockfield’s biggest assets. That was until the city’s most expensive house, the aforementioned 1 Leopard Street, was built and its two-level design knocked out Rockfield’s views of the Story Bridge. In any event the contemporary mansion was bought four years ago by a Chinese couple for $18.48 million. They recently returned it to the market and it is presently for sale. Nearby, developers have also just launched a new residential apartment tower project in Kangaroo Point, with ambitious plans to create an $80 million development of 13 full-floor opulent apartments. But Lindar Butler and her family of three teenage children are staying put. “I remember both our families hyperventilating about what we could do when we first bought Rockfield. We both had terrific jobs, and on reflection we did well. When we bought it I hired the movie The Money Pit [a 1986 Tom Hanks comedy about a couple who attempt to renovate a recently purchased house] for a laugh, but it was actually in quite good condition.” THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Lindar Butler on Rockfield’s veranda
GLENN HUNT
Saving grace
RIXRYAN PHOTOGRAPHY X 3
A neglected mansion’s makeover retains its classic beauty and adds a contemporary edge
AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
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Toorak
Clockwise from top: Apartment on Grange Road; the kitchen-dining area of the Palais Toorak penthouse; exterior of the building
J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR
Shifting values
Known for its prestige houses, Toorak is now embracing the luxury apartment
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Two of Toorak’s priciest apartments have been listed for sale. Property developer Stephen Ariss is hoping for more than $14 million for his lavish ground-floor apartment on Grange Road in Toorak. The 900sq m, four-bedroom abode in the 2013-built Hemingway complex, has a 300sq m, six-car garage and is marketed as a “place of worship for car enthusiasts”. The apartment, in a block of five, has been listed through RT Edgar’s Warwick Anderson in conjunction with Kay & Burton’s Gerald Delany. Anderson says it is the best-finished apartment ever offered in Toorak. “During my 45-year career selling highend property I have not seen an apartment to rival its sheer opulence, quality, detail and authentic Art Deco revival,” he says. On the other side of Toorak Road, the recently completed Palais Toorak penthouse on Mathoura Road has been listed.
Inspired by New York’s cutting-edge Style Modern and infused with enduring Parisian Art Deco undertones, the luxurious twolevel, three-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse comes with a private pool and city views. The boutique residential offering on the edge of the Toorak village was conceived by Craig Easton of Easton Projects, with collaboration from architect Rob Mills, the SJB Interiors director Andrew Parr and garden designer Paul Bangay. It will have four hours of concierge attendance daily in a block of seven residences, which took two years longer than expected to create. Kay & Burton listing agent Ross Savas has the penthouse priced at $15 million, with an international expressions-ofinterest campaign under way. Toorak has been long known for its prestige homes, but there has been a surge in construction of luxury apartments over the past decade or so. Even so, apartments make up just 15 per cent of the market. Prices can range anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000 per square metre, depending on size, location, orientation and obviously position. Stonnington Council’s three-storey planning rules make it harder to create the density some developers need to make projects work. The suburb had its first double-digit sale in 2018 when the penthouse at 29 Washington Street sold for $14 million. Developer Orchard Piper initially hoped for $20 million for the 1000sq m third-floor space boasting a pool, yoga room, sauna and 1300-bottle wine cellar, plus a lift from its four-car garage. One of the six residences in the building is now for sale at $6.38 million through Jellis Craig, having been bought off the plan in 2014 for $4.295 million. The 29 Washington Street penthouse sale almost doubled the previous record of $8.26 million at The Springfield, 19 apartments on the corner of Springfield Avenue and Orrong Road designed by K2LD Architects’ Tisha Lee for Chapter Group. Before that, in 2015, there was a $6.15 million sale on the third floor of the Douglas Street Art Deco-inspired Le Nouveau. Savas says the buyers of Toorak apartments are downsizing to low-maintenance and highly secure properties. “We are also finding a lot of expats are coming back and buying apartments as they have been used to living in cities such as London, New York and Hong Kong,” he says. Savas pinpoints Oxford and Cambridge, by Sam Tarascio of Salta Properties, on St Georges Road, as leading the shift to whole-floor triplex luxury around 15 years ago. Industry veteran Delany recalls that until the late 1960s, apartments were restricted primarily to low-rise two storey blocks and were not what is now considered luxury. “The late ’60s and early ’70s saw the emergence of luxury apartments,” he says. The 13-storey Greenways at 512 Toorak Road, alongside St John’s Church, was marketed in 1967 as offering “quiet opulence.” Moore & Hammond Architects went onto design the luxury project at 99 Spring Street, Melbourne. Kilpara, on the corner of Toorak and Orrong Roads, was designed by the late Barry Patten of Yuncken Freeman. He kept the penthouse, whose fitout was photographed by Wolfgang Sievers in 1971. The apartments, on the site considered the highest in the suburb and with city views, were priced from $42,000 in 1970. Barridene, at 546 Toorak Road, was marketed in 1972 as Melbourne’s most eminent and luxurious high rise. It had a display apartment by interior designer Peter Watson and half the building had been sold on completion. It quickly became one of Melbourne’s first residential towers of power. “These units offered a new style and standard, with the extensive use of sandstone and marble,” Delany notes. “Over the past 10 years we have experienced a new renaissance of luxury apartment buildings that have been primarily built in close proximity to the Toorak village. As would be expected, over the past six months we have not seen the commencement of projects. There are, however, sufficient planned and proposed projects to satisfy demand.” Savas is not so sure. “Over the past couple of years projects have been cancelled due to a tighter credit environment because of the [banking] Royal Commission,” he says. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Albert Park J OE L ROB I N S ON
The quiet achievers
Buyers are finding a way into this most desirable of suburbs
Aspects of the Ashworth Street stables conversion, a garden sanctuary
AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
Beachside Albert Park, one of Melbourne’s most active prestige suburbs, kicked off 2020 with several big-ticket sales and it’s been busy ever since. But local agents say things are a little different now. “It seems business as usual from a sales point of view, but just in a most unorthodox way,” says The Agency Albert Park agent Michael Paproth. “The market has gone underground. The top end of $4 million-plus has gone off market, which suits both buyer and seller as it gives privacy to these transactions that both sides appreciate.” In March the suburb saw a $9.01 million sale when Lawler House, complete with its own tower outlook, sold for the first time in nearly three decades. The Page Street residence, built in the 1880s and renovated in 2008, secured more than $600,000 above its $8.4 million reserve. It was sold by Greg Hocking Holdsworth after the death last year of estate agent John Holdsworth. A few doors down there was an off-market sale of a 1910 home for around $7.4 million, and then in May the 1860s-built Windermere sold for at least $9 million, again through Greg Hocking Holdsworth. Warwick Gardiner, who sold Lawler House with Simon Gowling, says demand always outstrips supply in Albert Park and that has never been more so, with record low levels of available properties. “With few on the market and buyer demand high, we haven’t seen much of a drop in prices, if any,” Gardiner says, adding that low supply and huge demand has been the trend since the start of the year. He is optimistic about the rest of the year. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I saw a mini spike in prices and activity when our latest restrictions are lifted in mid-August,” he says. “We saw evidence of this in mid-June, when the first rounds of restrictions were eased.” Paproth says the new norms will stay for the rest of this year. They include a more personable selling environment, limited open homes and inspections by appointment. He says sellers will need to price their homes based on 2020 sales, not the peak of the market, although he says we’re not far off that. “The reduced volume of available homes will ensure pricing remains at or around current levels.” Paproth is marketing a stables conversion that was sold for $7.25 million last December. In a sign of the strength of the market, he is asking $8 million for the private garden sanctuary on a 705sq m Ashworth Street block one row back from the beach. The twobedroom home with retreat fuses rustic original character with modern design. The living and dining room with its soaring ceiling opens through French doors to the garden with pool. There are $6 million to $6.6 million hopes for Valor, a four-level home in Kerferd Road designed by Matyas Architecture. Built by Fili Property with interiors by Zunica, it has five bedrooms and five bathrooms, and a lift from the basement, with its cinema and exercise studio, to the rooftop, which has a hot tub. Kay & Burton Toorak agents Darren Lewenberg and Ross Savas have the listing. MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
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Gardens Gardens JULIAN JULIAN KINGMA KINGMA
S U E WA L L AC E
“To surround yourself with beauty in your garden is as good as sitting by a beach in Greece.”
Living sanctuaries
The garden has come into its own as a vital extension of the home in these testing times, with even purists embracing the idea of the indoor outdoor ‘room’ 26
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G Gardens have been the big winners during the COVID-19 lockdown, as many home dwellers turned their skills to creating pretty–– green havens and flourishing vegetable plots while dishing out plenty of tender loving care. Those who once couldn’t tell a petunia from a peony or a marigold from a Monks Hood have found gardening websites and books to nurture their virgin green thumbs and turn them into devotees. At Bunnings Garden Centres, often swamped by wannabe gardeners, vegetable and flower seedlings became almost as scarce as loo paper at the height of the pandemic. The result is a gardening resurgence, prettier flower beds and bountiful vegie gardens. Victoria-based garden design celebrity Paul Bangay, whose property Stonefields, located between Kyneton and Daylesford, showcases his talents, says he has noticed a huge increase in interest in gardening. “People have fallen in love with their gardens all over again, if they were not before,” he says. “I think it’s due to the fact we may now not be travelling overseas for a while, or indeed interstate. To THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
surround yourself by beauty in your garden is as good as sitting by a beach in Greece.” Bangay has seen his Instagram account numbers spike to more than 74,300 during the past months, a development he attributes to people having more time to be inspired about gardening. “We have noticed a huge increase in followers, especially after posting small videos on the garden at Stonefields. I am sure that, like me, many people were stuck at home constantly looking at Instagram in the search for new and exciting content.” Bangay says he believes many of those new to gardening discovered its joys during isolation. “Peace and calmness come from gardening, and during this intense period of anxiety this has been invaluable to many,” he says. “I have heard many times how much joy gardens have been to people. I know in my garden I have taken to the vegetable plots and find this incredibly relaxing. Just nurturing plants and being able to touch them and the soil, whether it is on a small balcony or 20ha, derives the same response.” Another spin-off from spending more time at home is the increased interest in creating indoor/outdoor rooms in which nature stars. Celebrated Sydney-based interior designer Thomas Hamel has long been a strong advocate for indoor/outdoor living, which he says suits the Australian climate and lifestyle. “With the current post-COVID need to spend more time at home, these additional outdoor rooms are godsends for those who are lucky enough to already have such spaces,” he says. “The current mandate for entertaining small groups outside adds to the appeal, and I think interior design for the outdoors will become more and more popular.” American-born Hamel says that in Sydney the harbour can often dictate the architectural design and room layout, and with such commanding views, outdoor spaces that take advantage of this asset can be just as important as the indoor ones. “In Melbourne, where there is an absence of water views, gardens play a key role, and outdoor terraces and verandas become important living spaces from which to fully enjoy the outdoor garden settings,” he says. “In cities like Brisbane, people can spend as much time in their outdoor rooms as in an indoor formal living area, such is their year-round temperate climate and more casual way of living and entertaining.” Outdoor firepits and fireplaces also play a key role in enjoying entertaining areas year-round, according to Hamel. “For many years I have said that Australia has led the way around the world in this design trend, while places like California and warmer parts of the US only later emulated it. In Australia, outdoor living is truly part of our DNA.” Hamel advises that designing a natural flow from the indoors to outdoors through wide or concertinaed doorways is important, but he also likes to create interior spaces outdoors. “The increased popularity of and demand for these outdoor rooms – now more than ever as we shelter and work from home – has seen a flow-on demand for such products as outdoor fabrics and outdoor rugs, lighting and furnishings. The selection and choice today are quite impressive.” Bangay, who has not always been a fan of the indoor-outdoor room concept, concedes it is a way of getting people into the garden. “For a long time I was sceptical of the outdoor room or extension to the house syndrome,” he says. “Being a purist and a plant and garden lover, I felt the outdoor room was diluting peoples’ interest in the garden itself. By adding full kitchens, TV’s and fireplaces, it just didn’t feel like a garden space to me. “I have now come to realise that anything that lures people into the garden is a good thing.” His designs often locate these rooms a small distance from the house so as to immerse people in the garden. Bangay is pleased that more people are discovering the joys of gardening. His advice for novices discovering the delights of flowerpower is encapsulated in his well-used mantra: keep it simple. AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
CHRIS WARNE
Opposite: Victoria-based garden designer Paul Bangay Right: Interior designer Thomas Hamel
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Master negotiator A LEGEND IN PRESTIGE PROPERTY CIRCLES, ONE AGENT HAS CARVED OUT AN EXTRAORDINARY CAREER
Bill Malouf, is a specialist when it comes to Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Consistently setting new sales records, he is the market leader in selling waterfront properties and prestige holdings, and believes in telling clients how it really is. He has been LJ Hooker’s top sales person globally 19 times since the mid 1980s and in 2006 entered the company’s Hall of Fame. Knowing that success comes from listening rather than talking, Malouf has a clear understanding of the economy-driven fluctuations affecting the market. “Not only do you learn more about what the client wants and what buyers are looking for, but also what the market place is saying,” he says. That’s never been more relevant than during this unprecedented time. “There is no doubt there will probably be an adjustment in the market place due to COVID-19,” he says. “But the reported expectations of 20 per cent I don’t believe will occur in the eastern suburbs.” “The reason is the availability of genuine stock in the market has dropped by about 47 per cent compared to what was around to three years ago.” It’s his passion for water that has largely driven his greatest successes in real estate — properties on Sydney Harbour’s waterfront. “Any free time I may get throughout the year, I love to spend on or close to the water,” he says. The family man is proud of his unbeatable track record in selling prestige property. Selling more than $45 million of real estate from 1991 to 1992 — at a time when the property market was in one of its biggest downturns — Malouf’s career highlights include selling the Bang & Olufsen house for the highest price achieved for a waterfront home at the time ($24 million); securing the national price record ($29 million) for a single home, a Point Piper harbourfront mansion; the off-market sale of a Point Piper waterfront property for $40 million; and the recent sale of Potts Point clifftop mansion, Bomera, for $34 million. Q
BILL MALOUF
PRESTIGE PROPERTY EXPERT
LJ HOOKER D O U B L E B AY G R O U P
MORE THAN 35 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Con n e ct a t:
EXPERTS IN SYDNEY’S EASTERN SUBURBS
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FOUR OF THE TOP SEVEN SYDNEY SALES IN 2019
Prestige Market Update NERIDA CONISBEE
The splendid Burradoo House in the NSW Southern Highlands
Country style Forget the coast: some of our biggest luxury property hotspots are inland Australia is home to some of the most pristine beaches in the world so it’s no surprise that luxury locations outside of capital cities are often close to the ocean. However, being near the water isn’t for everyone. Analysing inland Australia, we can identify the areas that are particularly attractive to luxury buyers. In the NSW Southern Highlands, one of the most popular regions on realestate.com.au, Burradoo is the town that captures buyers’ attention. Large luxury homes on acreages are the main reason for its attraction. The recent sale price of the upgraded 1920s Burradoo House is undisclosed but it is likely to have set a record for the area, particularly when the standing record was set by the same property when it sold in 2017 for $5.38 million. In Victoria, the most expensive inland area is Lake Wendouree in Ballarat, with a median price of less than half that of Burradoo. While Ballarat is generally far more affordable than Melbourne, it is hard to find a bargain in this suburb with the median price sitting at $915,000. Queensland’s beautiful Toowoomba is the second-biggest inland city after Canberra, and Middle Ridge is the most popular suburb in town. To get a luxury home with a view, you are looking at well in excess of $1 million. It’s no surprise that the wineries are the main attraction for those looking to buy in inland South Australia. Williamstown in AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
the Barossa Valley is hotly sought after, being ideally located between the Barossa and Adelaide. The changing Tasmanian economy has put Hobart on the radar of many buyers looking for affordable luxury. But if Hobart is out of reach, it may be worthwhile looking at Launceston. At the time of writing, the historic Glenfruin had an asking price of $3.54 million – well in excess of the $465,000 suburb median. The most expensive in-demand inland areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory show that it isn’t always beautiful homes in lifestyle locations driving the trend. Somerville may be one of the most expensive, in-demand inland regional towns in Western Australia but it is unlikely to be on the radar of many luxury buyers. The popularity of another luxury product, gold, is partly what’s behind a surge in demand for housing in Kalgoorlie and Somerville is its most popular suburb. While you might get more home for your money in a treechange area than in a sea-change spot, affordability isn’t what’s driving buyers inland. Peace and serenity – hard to find in beachside locations such as the Gold Coast, Noosa or Portsea – can be found in towns like NSW’s Burradoo and South Australia’s Williamstown, and that’s what’s driving their popularity. Nerida Conisbee is the chief economist with realestate.com.au
Most expensive in-demand inland regional towns Town
State
Median House Price
Burradoo
NSW
$1,822,000
Lake Wendouree
VIC
$915,000
Middle Ridge
QLD
$620,000
Williamstown
SA
$412,500
Somerville
WA
$440,000
Launceston
TAS
$465,000
Braitling
NT
$450,000
Source: realestate.com.au
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MANSION GLOBAL Originally published on mansionglobal.com
VILLA LAS VEGAS Billionaire casino mogul Steve Wynn is looking to cash out on his lavish Las Vegas mansion after listing it recently for $US25 million ($35.76 million). The palatial European-style villa, located on the city’s so-called Billionaires’ Row, has been in Wynn’s hands since 2018, when an entity linked to the tycoon bought the home for $US13 million. Spanning more than 13,500 square feet (1254 sq m), the property has six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, and recently had a $US16 million-plus renovation, according to a news release from listing agency Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nevada Properties. “The current owner completely reimagined the space, creating a timeless experience with incomparable finishes and museum-quality art protection and display,” listing agent Ivan Sher, principal of The Ivan Sher Group, says. Wynn, 78, is a well-known art lover whose personal collection reportedly includes works by Picasso and Monet. The house is fitted with a state-of-the-art media room, a family room with a wine closet, a games room and a caretaker’s wing. The master suite has his-and-her closets and bathrooms, including a custom shower designed to resemble a luxury yacht. “No detail has been overlooked,” Sher says, “including gilded doors, plush silk carpeting and mohair fabric walls.” LIZ LUCKING
SCULPTURE PARK This carefully restored former terracotta factory is perfect for a city dweller looking for a change of pace. The two-storey villa, on the market for €4.9 million ($7.99 million), is in the heart of Italy’s Chianti Classico region and offers plenty of open space and greenery. Its vast windows and covered terraces have stunning views of the Chianti mountains. Inside are large rooms for entertaining, a basement office, and a separate apartment for guests or staff. There are 65,000 square feet (6039sq m) of landscaped gardens, with an infinity pool and gazebo. The villa’s wine cellar can be stocked with world-class selections from the surrounding vineyards. “La Fornace is one of the most striking properties I have seen in Tuscany,” says Jelena Cvjetkovic, a director at Savills Global Residential. “Its vernacular style and architecture blends with the landscape, and then once inside you are struck by the floor-to-ceiling windows, rarely found in a property in this area.” Brolio Castle, where the recipe for chianti is said to have been created, can be seen in the distance. “The owners have sympathetically restored this former terracotta factory and have created a comfortable modern home while retaining a nod to its industrial heritage,” Cvjetkovic says. “The old kiln, for example, would make a wonderful media room.” PORTIA CROWE
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LONDON MANOR A Grade II-listed manor house in south London that was once part of the Beaufoy & Co vinegar distillery has hit the market for £12 million ($21.548 million). The seven-bedroom detached Georgian home, in Vauxhall, has a lavish interior, a two-bedroom detached annexe and landscaped gardens. The fully renovated home was part of a factory built by vinegar distiller and philanthropist John Henry Beaufoy in 1812. Caron Place, as it is known, is not what you expect to find in inner London, said selling agent Keir Waddell of Knight Frank, which is handling the sale. “It is a private Grade II-listed house with a country house look that is grand in both volume and size,” he says. CLAIRE CARPONEN THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Phillip Island J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR
Magnificent cypress trees line the driveway leading to the historic Trenavin Park mansion
Echoes of history The historic Trenavin Park at Ventnor, on the western side of the tourism mecca Phillip Island, has been listed by Prestige Homes of Victoria agents Sean Cussell and Marcus Heron, with a price guide of $7 million to $7.7 million. The double-storey homestead with 1920s Arts and Crafts styling was built by A.K.T. (Albert Keaston Trenavin) Sambell, the the island’s first shire president. It sits just above the original site of the homestead of the pioneering McHaffie brothers, the island’s first settlers. At the end of a driveway lined with cypress trees, the residence is built from locally made bricks and set under a Welsh slate roof. It features cosy formal rooms with timber panelling and fireplaces, and a craftsman-built timber staircase leads to its five bedrooms. There’s also a restored 1900s chapel, originally the San Remo Catholic Church, that was transported to the estate more than three decades ago. The non-denominational chapel has previously been used for weddings. The 34ha estate, made up of gentle hills, fertile land and a secluded beachfront, has views across Western Port Bay towards Flinders. It last traded in 2009 for $4.25 million, having previously been sold for $600,000 in 1993. Phillip Island recently saw another prestige mansion change hands when the Grollo concreting family listed Woolamai House. AUGUST 8-9, 2020
| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
Set on 1.76ha on the opposite side of the island, it sold for $3.2 million, after almost four decades of ownership, to Simon and Samir Abdelmalak of the Samma Property Group family. The seven-bedroom Italianate mansion, built by colonial hotelier Captain John Blake Cleeland, came with the more recent addition of an award-winning extension – in concrete, naturally – designed by Robert Simeoni. The Cleeland family sold their reduced holding to the Grollo family in 1985 for $232,000. Overlooking Cleeland Bight, the historic 1860s home, whose walls were decorated with images of horseracing greats, had sat on an estate that once occupied almost a third of the island. Captain Cleeland owned the 1875 Melbourne Cup winning horse Woolamai, who was trained on the island. Only 26km long and 9km wide, Phillip Island became a tourist destination in the 1920s with the creation of an access track to the penguin colony, and later with the Australian Grand Prix being run on its unsealed roads. The racetrack is owned by billionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, whose grander plans to build a $300 million resort in 2008 failed to secure approvals. The first tourist bus registered in Victoria, a Chevrolet, arrived on the island in the 1930s to transport visitors from Cowes to view the nightly parade of little penguins.
Shire president Sambell developed the Summerland golf course and housing estate – both now gone so as to ensure the survival of the penguin colony. Elaine Sambell, Sambell’s youngest daughter, and her husband Dr Alexander Reith faced opposition to their plans for the golf course and attached farm, Lammarwells, through the 1960s and 1970s, with the family eventually selling to the Hamer Government in 1979. The first conservation measure had been the donation of a 10acre (4ha) parcel to the state around 1950 by estate agent Spencer Jackson and his wife Alexandrina. Decades of strident conservation demands by local activists, aided by officials including Philip Opas QC and Dr Bill Carroll, as well as Victorian premier John Cain and his minister for conservation, Joan Kirner, resulted in the peninsula being returned to a wildlife habitat, complete with safe breeding grounds. Their endeavours were acknowledged in 2019 in a New York Times article “To Save Tiny Penguins, This Suburb Was Wiped Off the Map”, which highlighted the fact that Australia’s tourism sector relied heavily on wildlife. It is estimated that more than 32,000 penguins now live in the colony. Attracting 3.5 million visitors each year, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Australia. Luxury cruise ships have long included Phillip Island as a port of call. MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
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Mansion
Sense of place
A home in harmony with its unique site
Shape-shifting
Curved or angular, go with the flow
Thought bubble
When George Nelson saw the light
AUGUST 8-9, 2020
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Solid ground This house does much more than make a virtue of its site’s massive sandstone outcrop. It embraces it so completely that the two forms seem to have been made for each other S to r y by SA M D UNCA N P h o to g r a phy by TOM F E RGU S ON 38
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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Clockwise from above: The house seems to float over the monolithic rock at the rear of the block. Right: Two red gums along the site’s axis (top) divide the two wings (bottom)
n
Named after Seaforth Island, an uninhabited land mass off the rugged west coast of Scotland, leafy-green Seaforth on Sydney’s Northern Beaches is fringed by national parks and overlooks the blue waters of Middle Harbour – the site of some of Sydney’s most luxurious homes. It’s here among the red gums, with the resident kookaburras, that clients of architect Bronwyn Litera of Stafford Architecture purchased an overgrown block and decided to build a retreat from the world atop a rocky sandstone outcrop. Upon visiting the site and “experiencing its magic” and “the incredible sandstone ridge”, Litera says her team could not imagine building on top of such a significant feature and cutting into it, as the development approval proposed. Her clients agreed and a new design philosophy was created. “We wanted to celebrate the rock and float the house lightly over it, while also connecting with it at key moments internally,” she says. “We worked hard to maintain the rock as ‘untouched’.” Structural connections are as minimal as possible, services are concealed within the voids of the existing sandstone, and the loose boulders have been repurposed among the landscaping. With several significant red gums framing the views and enfolding the site, Litera says it was important for the house to “intertwine itself” and “create a language” with the features of the existing site. Externally, the architecture speaks to the landscape, with nods to the existing red gum trees and a grace and connection to the rock. Strong volumes, screening, and angular forms respond to the corner block, creating privacy and protection for the inhabitants and giving back sculpturally to the neighbourhood. The house feels weightless and airy, something of a “treehouse” floating in the canopy, meeting the heavy rock with floating structural steel elements and glass, which delicately connect. A pool deck extends over two massive red gums that grow along the site’s axis, separating the two wings of the house. The trees, rising through openings in the timber deck at pool level, provide additional functional space with ample shading
The bright, spacious interior; light-filled kitchen; brass handrails and balustrades; the bathroom with its greenwall; the entry and its copper cladding
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and a feeling of close interaction with the beautiful eucalypts that define the site. A concrete blade wall acts as the spine of the building, separating the grounded private wing that hugs the site, and consists of garage, bedrooms and the white-screened private ensuite to the first-floor master suite. The communal wing hovers lightly above the rock and is screened for privacy by vertical spotted gum battens that mimic the rhythm of the trees while allowing ample sunlight to penetrate. The spine of the house and the main central staircase tie together the private and communal spaces, maintaining a constant connection. There are minimal doors to close off spaces; instead, Litera has used changes in levels to define spaces. This gives the home a strong sense of connection with its inhabitants and with the surrounding landscape. A sharp-edged roof accent highlights the home’s sensibility to the rock below and draws the eye up to the tree canopy. The entry to the home is marked by a boardwalk and copper standing seam cladding, drawing the visitor in and up to the internal living spaces. Gentle curves in the joinery, brass details and warm timbers soften the interiors, and in combination with the architecture make it feel safe, secluded, homely and intimate. The interior is bright and spacious, using a natural palette of raw materials, off-form concrete and oak timber boards for floors and ceiling. The surfaces of the copper standing seam cladding change over time, developed externally by the weather and internally where touched and highly trafficked by the inhabitants. “We like to refer to the brass handrails and balustrades as ‘home jewellery’,” says Litera. “The brass in key spaces creates a moment of interest, a glint that catches the eye, while still maintaining the honesty of simple materials without ‘decoration’. “There wasn’t a lot of fuss added to this home. Like the materials, everything was simple and honest.” Litera says a beautiful gong pendant in the entry creates one of her favourite moments, making use of the double height in the space and drawing the eye up to the brass balustrade timber catwalk bridging the entry. The bath, she says, is also a standout feature, with the green wall and open ensuite behind, plus stunning special-finish tapware. THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
Etc. S A M YA T E S
1. L I G H T
DOMO Chiles floor lamp, $295 domo.com.au
2. Q U I L T
Ackland quilt cover, from $369.99, Ackland pillowcases, from $89.99 pair Ackland European pillowcases, from $79.99 each sheridan.com.au
1. 2.
3. L A M P
Anglepoise Type 75 desk lamp, $400 cultdesign.com.au
4. S T O O L
Stellarworks blend bar stool from $590 livingedge.com.au
3.
5. C H A I S E
B&B Italia Landscape chaise designed by Jeffrey Bernett. Steel frame and removable cover in fabric or leather, and adjustable headrest, $7525 spacefurniture.com.au
6. R U G
The Grid hand-knotted 100 per cent wool rug, woven in India using traditional methods, $2290 designerrugs.com.au
7.
7. T A B L E
Cappellini Bong coffee table in faux marble with lava stone finish, from $2100 cultdesign.com.au
4. Keeping it low
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5.
Bubble Lamp
Design classics
GE ORG E N ELS O N
DAVID MEAGHER
The ever-popular Bubble Lamp, now made by Herman Miller, comes in several shapes and sizes in both freestanding and pendant forms
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n 1947, industrial designer and architect George Nelson (above) opened his design studio in New York City. When it came to furnishing his office, his thoughts kept returning to a Swedish wire-frame pendant light covered in silk that he had seen. When he eventually located one, he found it was way too expensive for a fledgling business. But then Nelson remembered a newspaper photograph he’d spotted showing a fleet of ships being sprayed with a self-webbing plastic for preservation during storage. “Whammo!” he later wrote of this epiphany. Within 24 hours he had crafted a spherical metal frame and tracked down the maker of the spiderweb-like plastic to create a translucent covering for the frame. One of the first domestic uses of the light was by Charles and Ray Eames for their ground-breaking house at Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, built in 1949. The house received a great deal of press coverage, with the large pendant light front and centre. That kicked off an enormous demand all over the US for the affordable light fitting, which went into production in 1952. Today Nelson’s Bubble Lamps are made by Herman Miller and remain as popular as ever, thanks to the soft, diffuse light they generate. Bubble Lamps come in an assortment of shapes and sizes. Priced from $690 from Living Edge. livingedge.com.au
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MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| AUGUST 8-9, 2020
BELLEVUE HILL ’Oculus’ 73A Victoria Road This Bellevue Hill home is a testament to the collaboration of renowned architects, Tzannes Associates, landscape architect William Danger and Arent & Pyke Interior Designs. ’Oculus’ is a triumphant revitalisation of the original 1960’s iconic Frank Fox house, set on 942sqm approx of land, adopting the original footprint and designed with a strong circular geometry. Featuring a lift, retractable curved glazing, open plan living/dining flowing to an entertainer’s balcony, designer kitchen, master suite with built-ins and ensuite, spacious rumpus leading onto a level lawn, garden and pool, secure parking for up to 6 cars, ample storage, internal laundry and video intercom. All information contained herein is gathered from sources we deem to be reliable. However we cannot guarantee its accuracy and interested parties should rely on their own enquiries.
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Auction Saturday, 22nd August at 10.30am Onsite View Thurs & Sat 10:30am - 11:00am
Michael Pallier 0417 371 522 sydneysothebysrealty.com
