Mansion February 2021

Mansion AUSTRALIA

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

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Changing rooms Pool house makeovers

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In the frame

Interiors

Ancestors for sale

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Rising tide

Mornington’s moment

THE YEAR AHEAD

What’s in store for the property market post the pandemic?

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

Issue 40 • February 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

UPPER ORARA VIA COFFS HARBOUR 267 Fridays Creek Road Set on 40.47ha, 104 acres in a private location and surrounded by a wonderful community. 15 minutes to Coffs Harbour, 2 hours to Port Macquarie, 2.5 hours to Byron Bay. Daily flights to Sydney from Coffs Harbour. Architecturally designed home comprising 4 beds, 2.5 baths, gym and office. 9 guest cottages, sleeping up to 40 guests, providing a wonderful income stream, 5 acre vineyard planted with Chambourcin grapes and bottled under the Friday Creek label. Resort style facilities, pool, tennis court, entertainment area with wood fired oven and views. Currently running black angus cattle. Offering the incoming purchasers a lifestyle change with multiple income streams in place.

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 Wednesday, 17th March at 11:00am Cooleys Auctions View Contact agent David Medina 0419 772 233 James McCowan 0418 800 400

sydneysothebysrealty.com

Contents

Horizon, a clifftop mansion at Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula. See page 26

9 L U X U R Y Margaret River estate, Seaforth curves, hinterland mansion hopes 1 2 C O V E R S T O R Y After a year of turbulence, this one is looking good 1 6 D O L L Y L E N Z The tide is turning for the global luxury market in 2021

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1 8 E S T A T E A R T The trend to inject grandeur with gilt-framed portraits 2 0 P O O L H O U S E S The poolside cabana is no longer just a changing room 2 2 E Q U E S T R I A N E S T A T E S Facilities for horses are a big selling point 26 MORNINGTON PENINSULA 34 SUNSHINE COAST

Record sales in the Victorian holiday spot

A beach bungalow makeover driven by nostalgia

3 6 M A N S I O N G L O B A L Emilia Clarke’s sale, Hemsworth hangout 3 9 R E A The huge growth in expensive beachside holiday suburbs 4 3 B A C K P A G E Despite the hurdles, everyone wants a piece of Noosa 4 5 I N T E R I O R S Lessons in the art of decorating from those who know 5 4 H O U S E A clever refurbishment brings new life to a fifties home 5 7 P R O D U C T S La vie en rose: adding warmth with pink tones 5 8 D E S I G N C L A S S I C S Verner Panton’s Flowerpot table lamp

N E X T I S S U E March 13, 2021

C O V E R : Clendon, a luxury home on 2360sq m built in the 1920s on Clendon Road, Toorak. It sold last year for $22.1 million, which was well above its price guide. Photograph by Jules Tahan

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Editor Lisa Allen Contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor Interiors editor David Meagher Art director Samantha Yates Writers Joel Robinson Sam Duncan Sue Wallace Libby Moffet 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 February 13, 2021

Editor’s letter If there’s a central theme running through the nation’s property sector this year, it’s that the prestige end of the market – particularly in coastal and rural bolt-holes – is well and truly continuing to grow in popularity. REA chief economist Nerida Conisbee reveals there has been astounding price growth in key holiday markets, starting with a more than 52 per cent increase in Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast over the past year, while Queensland’s Sunrise Beach has grown 24 per cent to a median house price of $1.055 million in that time. We explore Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and Queensland’s Noosa for the latest summer buying trends.

There’s also more of an emphasis on home renovations. It could be adding to your interior decoration skills through an intensive bespoke masterclass, or building a poolside cabana – all the rage these days. Indeed, the recent opening of the six-star Crown Towers Sydney Hotel has focused interest on cabanas. Crown’s are proving popular with hotel guests, who are happy to fork out $350 or more for five hours poolside overlooking Sydney Harbour, snacking on platters of cheese or fruit. So why not replicate the cabana experience at home?

Contributing editor Jonathan Chancellor explores the idea of building your own cabana, or stepping up to a complete pool house replete with ceiling fans, cane furniture and a wet bar. Some designers, such as Thomas Hamel, reckon a fireplace can anchor a pool house and add drama. Others note that in Europe a pool house is generally an extension to entertaining areas.

Everyone is getting in on the cabana act. Multi-billionaire apartment developer Harry Triguboff has even built a harbourfront cabana complete with full kitchen at his Sydney mansion.

As we continue to hunker down in Australia during the pandemic, there are many ways to make our homes more comfortable.

We hope you enjoy the issue, and as always many thanks to the real estate agents, data analysts, property developers, interior designers and architects who contribute to each edition.

Lisa Allen Editor THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

TAMBAN Amber Hill Estate Amber Hill Estate boasts seclusion and beauty with wildlife and seasonal experiences. Situated on approx 111 acres with most of the land cleared and the pastures improved. The property is well irrigated with large water storage capacity and 2 dams. The Caroline Pidcock designed main home occupies a commanding position with incredible vistas. Featuring high ceilings and 4 bedrooms.

Entertaining is made easy with a north facing deck flowing to pool area, tennis court, established fruit/nut trees and mature forested gullies. The property also includes a 2 bedroom guest cottage, machinery shed and cattle yard. Well located between Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour.

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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For Sale $3,500,000 - $3,800,000 View Contact agent

Tom Jamieson 0425 364 630 Stuart Davies 0400 874 431 sydneysothebysrealty.com

Award Winning Home on Pristine Tropical Beachfront

5A6B8D1E

Escape from the world and step through the gates into this multi awardwinning home which offers unrivalled privacy and luxury on 2432sqm of idyllic tropical absolute beachfront. You’ll have the beach all to yourself, on the doorstep of the magnificent Daintree Rainforest, with the Great Barrier Reef right out the front. This very private mini-resort is made up of two separate houses, creating luxurious accommodation for a large group or extended family and features a 12m x 5m saltwater pool and two double garages.

FOR SALE $4,500,000

www.queenslandsothebysrealty.com

14 Rankin Street Newell

Caroline Yarr 0409 365 261 caroline.yarr@qldsir.com

A Seaforth home with views over Middle Harbour has been listed for the first time since it was built. Rodney Bowry designed the luxury Castle Circuit home, which was completed in 2016, four years after the vacant 1060sq m block sold for $1.35 million. It has a contemporary coastal design, with minimalist lines and sinuous curves, and makes extensive use of natural materials. There are five bedrooms and three bathrooms. The master bedroom is located off the ground-level living area, which features a suspended fireplace and extends to a covered terrace. There’s a guest bedroom on the lower level, next to a home cinema and a second living area, and a solar-heated pool. Stone Real Estate Seaforth agents Chris Elliott and Maria Cassarino have a $9 million guide. Only two homes in Seaforth have cracked $10 million.

SEAFORTH, NSW

PORT DOUGLAS, QLD

A Far North Queensland house that won Queensland Home of The Year in 2007 has been listed for sale for the first time. The Newell beachfront residence, about 25km north of Port Douglas, has been a holiday home for the Melbourne-based vendors for the past 12 years. Queensland Sotheby’s agent Caroline Yarr, who is asking $4.5 million, calls the home a miniresort.The 2430sq m landholding, the largest on the quiet tropical beach, features landscaped gardens with small waterfalls and ponds filled with lotus flowers. The main two-level homestead was designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to take in views of the garden and the Coral Sea. There are three bedrooms and four bathrooms, one of which is in a stand-alone pavilion by the 12m salt water pool. Behind the pool there’s a two-bedroom, twobathroom guesthouse. Yarr is seeking to sell the home fully furnished.

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

NEW FARM, QLD

A contemporary home on one of New Farm’s best streets has been listed for sale. Set on the dress circle Oxlade Drive, the modern 415sq m residence was designed by Craig Channon of Channon Architects four years ago and sold new in 2017 for $3.3 million. Ray White New Farm agent Matt Lancashire has an auction date of February 27. The home’s ground level is dedicated to living, with the open plan kitchen living and dining area, complete with 3m high ceilings, opening to an alfresco terrace with barbecue kitchen, overlooking the swimming pool. An internal lift runs to the next level, where there are three of the four bedrooms, one a master suite with walk-in wardrobe and its own ensuite, as well as a fully equipped home theatre room. Upstairs is the fourth bedroom and a fully fitted custom home office.

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LEGANA, TAS

The historic homestead Freshwater Point, built in the mid-1820s on the west bank of the Tamar River at Legana, north of Launceston, has been listed for the first time since 2003. The home, on Nobelius Drive, was originally built by Tasmanian colonist Jonathan Griffiths on land first named Freshwater Point by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who sailed up the Tamar River in the 1790s. The quadruple convict brick built residence, which has previously been a popular wedding venue, comprises five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms sit in The Folly, an awardwinning Georgian-inspired two-level apartment attached to the main homestead.

The apartment features recycled Georgian windows and doors, and a major structural oregon beam saved from an 1860s Salamanca Place warehouse.

In the 3ha grounds there are three self-contained cottages – Stables Cottage, Elm Cottage and Hayloft Cottage – as well as a number of outbuildings and a solar-heated saltwater swimming pool.

Vendors Peter and Elizabeth Wallis have been producing wine from a pinot noir vineyard planted in the 1960s, and in 2017 their pinot received 97 points from wine doyen James Halliday. Knight Frank Tasmania agent Sam Woolcock is asking $3.5 million for the property.

YALLINGUP, WA

Sundance Lodge, one of the grandest estates at Yallingup in the heart of the Margaret River wine region in Western Australia, has hit the market for the first time in more than a decade. Veteran investment banker John Poynton and his wife, former journalist and marketing expert Di Bain, along with business partners, bought the property in 2009 from former proprietors Richard Doggart and Geraldine Riley. Called Moondance, it had won several boutique traveller awards. Sundance Lodge ceased running as a wedding and corporate retreat and became a weekender for the Perth couple.

Comprising The Lodge, The Residence and two villas, it’s a one-hour helicopter ride from Perth, and has a helicopter landing pad and its own hangar. Stocker Preston Dunsborough agent Tony Farris has the listing, with $7 million expectations.

ELIZABETH BAY, NSW

Harbourside chic The two-level penthouse crowning the 1960s Elizabeth Bay block Billyard Gardens has sold for $10.5 million to a buyer from Hunters Hill.

The apartment was given a makeover with geometric design details in 2011 by architect Alexander Michael to take advantage of its harbour views and has indoor and outdoor living spaces. Entry to the 300sq m apartment is through a foyer with Pietra Grey marble flooring. There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a glass-fronted living and dining area and a separate sitting room or office. The second level features a masterbedroom suite and a second living area that opens to a rooftop terrace featuring a Vergola and a wet bar. Ballard Property agents Clint Ballard and Paul Ephron secured the sale a few days before the beginning of the new year on behalf of Jeff Weeden, chief executive of the boutique funds manager Forager Funds, and his partner, Gareth Bowler. Weeden and Bowler have doubled their money since buying the apartment for $4.7 million in 2012.

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

ST KILDA, VIC

TALLEBUDGERA, QLD

Hinterland high

An award-winning 1880s-era home in St Kilda West designed by architecture firm Kennedy Nolan has been listed for sale for the first time since it was extended. Sustainability was a big focus of the project, with the indoor and outdoor courtyard rooms designed to maximise the home’s northern orientation and crossventilation. Completed in 2013 behind its classic Victorian heritage facade, the York Street home was recognised among the Homes of the Year in the Victorian Architecture Awards. Kennedy Nolan told a trade website its task in designing the home was to accommodate a family on a sloping site, incorporating an existing Victorian house. The design also needed to reflect the owners’ travels throughout Asia. The formal sitting room with towering ceilings has its own gas fireplace and flows to a dining room. The kitchen, with two long marble benches, and family area open to two alfresco spaces, one with an enclosed pool with swim-jet streams and a private courtyard with built-in barbecue and low-maintenance garden, originally designed by Katherine Rekaris. Upstairs are three of the four bedrooms. The Agency’s Michael Paproth has a guide of $6.1 million to $6.3 million, in conjunction with Hockingstuart Holdsworth Albert Park agents Simon Gowling and Max Mercuri.

A mansion in Tallebudgera described as the most iconic to grace the Gold Coast hinterland has been listed by Amir Mian at Mian Prestige, with hopes of fetching a record-breaking $50 million. Bellagio La Villa, a 49ha estate on the banks of Tallebudgera Creek, is a short golf buggy ride to Coplicks Tallebudgera Golf Course and just 7km from Burleigh Heads Beach. The home belongs to Chinese billionaire Riyu Li, who spent some $14.6 million during 2014 to create the fiveproperty compound, with its grand homestead costing $6.2 million. The European-inspired estate has landscaped gardens with manicured hedging and fountains. The main home comprises 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms across two levels.

It features polished marble floors and high ornate ceilings, two kitchens, a ballroom and a showroom-style five-car garage.

There’s also a gym and a heated indoor pool with spa and sauna. All up, there is some 2545sq m of internal space. The grounds come with a caretaker’s cottage, horse stables, a dam and an orchard. The Gold Coast hinterland hasn’t seen such high hopes since 2014, when the 565ha equestrian estate Biddaddaba was listed with $20 million expectations. It failed to sell and, when offered under the executors last year and renamed Wirraway, it went for $8.855 million.

BURRANEER,NSW

Shire aspirations There are hopes that a newly renovated 1960s home in Burraneer will ride on the bull run of prestige sales in the small Sutherland Shire waterfront locale. The four-bedroom home at the end of Matthew Flinders Place, a quiet cul-de-sac, is set on a 985sq m west-facing block, and has full-length glass windows designed to capture views over Port Hacking and the Royal National Park.

There are two open plan living zones, one leading to an alfresco dining area, grassed yard and swimming pool, the other, the main space with kitchen and dining, opening to a balcony with bay views.

Greg Gilbert Cronulla agent Dane Moller suggests it could sell for over $4 million at its February 20 auction. The street record price has stood since 2019, when The Palm, an eight-bedroom waterfront home, sold for $6.5 million. It is one of three homes to have broken through the $6 million barrier, the latest being a renovated 1980s waterfront that sold for $6.25 million last October.

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

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Notwithstanding the pandemic-induced turbulence in national and international economies, prestige home markets across Australia started 2021 with strengthened pricing. No one is saying the year ahead will be seamless, but optimists resoundingly outnumber pessimists among leading estate agents and economists.

For every dark cloud there has been a positive somewhere, as is evidenced by the stunning rise in expatriate returnees filling the space vacated by international buyers.

While Melbourne suffered the harshest lockdown, many of its residents looked beyond the borders to buy luxury retreats on the Queensland coast via Facetime.

Christie’s International agent Ken Jacobs says 2020 was a watershed year that will help redefine the various property market sectors. “I believe the impact of COVID-19 is that, on a very deep level, it has caused people to confront their mortality, resulting in a fundamental change of thinking to act now to improve lifestyle rather than accumulate for the future,” he says. There was nervousness but not financial stress. Jacobs noted excluding war and natural disasters, significant impacts on property in the past have been financial based, while COVID initially presented the world with a health catastrophe and then a hit on the economy.

Jacobs believes that the international events of 2020 will positively affect the Australian market in the longer term, suggesting that once compulsory 14-day hotel quarantining is lifted there will be a sharp increase in listing and sales activity.

He also says political events in China, the US, Britain and Europe have already triggered a significant increase in expatriate and foreign interest in Australia, with the net result to be seen over the coming years. It is logical to assume some international businesses will move to, or be established in, Australia, he believes.

With estate agency offices along the east coast, veteran agent John McGrath suggests COVID has had a material impact on the property market “but perhaps not the one most people would have expected”.

“Whereas some people would have expected a negative impact to the property and financial markets, we have in fact seen a very positive one. As was our 12

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A Hollywood-style home in Ascot, Queensland, which had more than 15,600 views online and was inspected by 107 prospective buyers

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

THE BOUNCE BACK 2021 is looking more positive than most would have predicted after the challenges of last year

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

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

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Below, top row: Exterior and interior of Clendon in Toorak Bottom: Innisfallen Castle on Cherry Place, Castle Cove

experience when the tragic events of 9/11 occurred, many have realised the importance of living life to its fullest in the present, and their home or where they want to live has become more of a focal point.”

McGrath also sees many people realising that working for an organisation and having to commute to its offices every day are no longer the same thing, “It will see thousands of people sell up in the big cities and opt for a sea or tree change,” he says. “Prestige property has been a major beneficiary of these market dynamics and has seen a strong bounce in demand, which has driven up prices and should continue to do so throughout 2021. And this is all without any active international buyers due to border restrictions. 2021 will see a much anticipated surge in overseas buyers waiting at the door.”

The Sydney prestige sector was buoyed by the $95 million sale of Edgewater in Point Piper in September through Sotheby’s International. There is still unsold stock, including the Point Piper home of London-based lawyer Sarah Cooke. The Wingadal Place home comes with a $50 million price tag. The landmark Innisfallen Castle estate in Castle Cove has been listed through Michael Pallier, at Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty, in conjunction with Belle Property, and could take the crown of the year’s most expensive sale on the north shore.

Knight Frank noted that prolonged international travel restrictions were encouraging Sydney’s ultra-wealthy to review, rebalance and grow residential property portfolios to maximise and enhance their lifestyles.

Late last year Sydney saw a quick succession of sales, with four of its top 10 sales occurring from September onwards. Knight Frank statistics show the September 2020 quarter notched up 510 prime property sales – 40 per cent higher than the second-quarter volume.

McGrath says the Melbourne market’s long lockdown in 2020 “wiped out the market for several months”, but it has bounced back and joined the rest of Australia with an upward move in confidence and price.

Michelle Ciesielski at Knight Frank expects Sydney’s prestige property prices to rise 3 per cent this year, while Melbourne prestige 14

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price growth is tipped at 1 per cent – slightly below the global forecast of a 2 per cent rise that Knight Frank forecast.

Melbourne prestige residential will be “playing catch-up, catchup” in 2021, according to Ciesielski. “Not only was Melbourne the last city out of lockdown, it was also the longest and strictest globally at the time, impacting sentiment, population and economic growth. This meant catching the start of the spring property selling season was sacrificed presenting future challenges,” she notes.

There was, however, a strong finish to 2020 for Melbourne’s priciest suburb, Toorak, including the $22.1 million sale of Clendon, the luxury Clendon Road home of Emprise Group chairman Sam Hayward. Selling well above its $18.5 million to $20.35 million guide, the Mediterranean-inspired two-storey home dates from the mid-1920s and was designed by architect Rodney Alsop. Set on 2360sq m, the home was snapped up by financial adviser Michael Heine at a hastily called private auction once demand became obvious to Marshall White listing agent Richard McKinnon.

That sale came shortly after the $25 million-plus sale of the Toorak home of Australian Finance Group co-founder Malcolm Watkins and his husband Peter Kerr. Developer Mark Casey took the keys to the 2019 designer-built Myvore Court home, sold through RT Edgar agent Sarah Case.

A Linlithgow Avenue, Toorak home, listed with $10 million to $11 million expectations, sold on New Year’s Eve. It last changed hands in 2012 for $5.25 million. Also in December was another big off-market sale, a trend of note through Melbourne’s top end, when an Arts & Crafts-style Linlithgow Avenue home sold in just seven days through RT Edgar Toorak agent Antoinette Nido. The 1920s home is one of the world’s best remaining examples of the “butterfly design” – a concept that separated the home into distinct wings either side of a central hall. Nido says despite the flurry of

sales post lockdown, there are still streams of buyers wanting to buy family homes in Toorak and South Yarra in good locations and on large allotments. “There’s not enough stock – but it’s property specific and buyers are discerning”, she says.

Down on the Mornington Pensinsula, there was barely a pause.

And RT Edgar’s Warwick Anderson, who works in up-market Melbourne and the peninsula, sees the pre-Christmas prestige sales trend continuing into the early to middle part of the year, but says beyond then, “who knows?”. Much like Jacobs and McGrath, he believes more expats will want to return permanently.

Expatriates have helped the resurgent Brisbane prestige market. Adcock Prestige agent Jason Adcock says confidence in that market is at an all-time high, with just a 28-day average for prestige listings and the number of expat buyers increasing.

“Given Queensland has escaped the worst of the pandemic, many are eyeing a return home sooner rather than later,” he says.

According to Henry Hodge of Brisbane based Henry Hodge Real Estate, when COVID first hit, many buyers were convinced there was a GFC-like crash coming, but the market just flattened, gave people time to realise their existing home wasn’t right for them, and then by the middle of the year there was possibly the biggest upsizer-boom in Australian property history.

Last December, in what is typically the start of its seasonal slumber, Brisbane agent Matt Lancashire secured seven of his eight auction sales at the one event. They ranged from $1.75 million to $9.91 million. “It was by far the most amazing day we have ever experienced in real estate”, he says.

The home that failed to sell, but did within three days, was a Hollywood-style Ascot home. The five-bedroom Kitchener Road home on 1695sq m came with a soaring hotel-like foyer with a Maria Theresa 84-lamp chandelier. The home had more than 15,600 online views and 107 inspections by prospective buyers.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

One Chance, 15 Wharf Street Port Douglas Oceanfront

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Set between tropical landscape and the Coral Sea is one of Queensland’s most iconic beach houses, 15 Wharf Street. The oceanfront four bedroom home has multiple living areas - inside, outside, and poolside - to be relished as an exquisite holiday home commanding premium rates or a year-around residence. Timelessly designed, its understated architecture epitomises style and sophistication creating a cocoon-like sanctuary. Designed for modern living with uninterrupted views across the turquoise sea to the mountains.

FOR SALE Expressions of Interest closing 9th April 2021

www.queenslandsothebysrealty.com

15 Wharf Street Port Douglas

Barbara Wolveridge 0418 760 004 barbara.wolveridge@qldsir.com

Dolly Lenz

Local aspect

WITH JENNY LENZ

TOM OFFERMANN REAL ESTATE

Rebekah Offermann In 2021, Noosa’s luxury market will continue to grow strongly, fuelled by low interest rates, historically low numbers of properties for sale, and an abundance of buyers seeking a seachange lifestyle. This influx is mostly from the eastern seaboard, along with local buyers who want to invest and move into the area. Many have brought forward plans to retire to a less densely populated or lifestyle location, or to finally buy that “one-day” property to enjoy as a holiday base while international travel is off the cards. There is little scope for additional residential property being created due to Noosa’s tight planning restrictions, which create a population cap. About 90 per cent of Noosa Shire is waterways, national parks and reserves, a factor that also underpins property investment. For the same reasons people want to buy in Noosa, owners are holding on tight to their properties, and this imbalance of supply and demand will continue to drive prices higher. A lot of properties are sold to people who are just wanting to keep pace with the market.

PRESTIGE HOMES OF VICTORIA

Sean Cussell

A property on the market for $US15.995 million in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood, just above The High Line.

2021 FORECAST

Things are looking up In no uncertain terms, 2020 was a year most people would like to forget, with a pandemic shutting down countries across the globe and bringing rising economies to a halt. Fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic affected every industry, and had a significant impact on markets at home and abroad.

Still, while last year was certainly one to forget for luxury real estate, there are many things to be optimistic about in 2021. With positive signs on the horizon and an end to the pandemic within reach, we see a handful of factors poised to dramatically influence luxury property markets in the year to come.

The most impactful forthcoming event, and the subject of much discussion, will be the delivery and distribution of a vaccine. An effective vaccine is the key to a return to normality, which is what real estate and the overall economy really need to bounce back.

Luxury markets simply cannot operate efficiently with continued shutdowns, bans on in-person showings and closed borders. While virtual tours and other digital means were introduced as a stopgap to keep sales going, they cannot replace the experience of being able to see, touch and feel a property.

The market did see a few bright spots, including an uptick in first-time homebuyers. However apart from a few headlinegrabbing sales, luxury property really lagged because of the shutdowns. A vaccine is the gamechanger that will open markets, allowing luxury buyers to resume their in-person real estate shopping safely, confidently and en masse.

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Coinciding with a vaccine, we also foresee a great re-entry of buyers and sellers to the market within the new year. Last year was filled with record levels of uncertainty and a constant barrage of negative news that caused even the most steadfast consumers to take a pause and hold off on many real estate moves. Bolstered by the vaccine, renewed optimism and historically low interest rates, those people who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the waves of uncertainty to subside will most certainly jump back into the market with both feet.

In New York City we are already seeing evidence of this, with 27 contracts signed for luxury property priced over $US4 million in the first week of the new year, a time that in years past is generally quiet due to the holidays. Clearly the smart money and savvy buyers are itching to make deals.

While we are only a few weeks into 2021, the excitement in the industry is palpable. The ability of consumers to freely travel and safely view properties will have a demonstrably positive impact on markets, and a confident consumer base should bolster the volume and activity needed to get real estate back on track. Thankfully, 2021 is gearing up to be a banner year for luxury real estate.

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

Now that overseas travel is restricted again for 2021, and we have record low interest rates for another year, we are expecting the Melbourne market to show some uplift in prices as people look to upgrade where they live. Coastal homes have already shown this trend, with exceptional prices achieved on the Mornington Peninsula from Portsea to Flinders. High-end sales were sparse in 2020. Melbourne was in lockdown for a large part of the year, with very few vendors going to market.

Less than a handful of high-end homes sold in 2020. The restrictions on the real estate industry were lifted very late in 2020 in Victoria, so it really didn’t give vendors a clear run to sell in 2020. There was quite a fair bit of pent-up demand, with a number of cashed-up buyers pouncing once the restrictions were eased. We definitely lost sales that would have proceeded if overseas buyers were able to inspect. Ultimately we are in the relationship business, and 2020 was an important year for agents to stay in touch with their clients. Online auctions and Zoom auctions were a standout change in 2020.

RICHARDSON & WRENCH DOUBLE BAY

Michael Dunn The three factors that will influence prestige property market activity and prices in Sydney’s east in 2021 are continuing low interest rates, stock availability and the COVID effect. Record low interest rates make this an attractive time to upsize or upgrade, particularly for families. Scarcity of stock has always been an issue in the eastern suburbs, with their proximity to the harbour, beaches and CBD, and this has been more evident in recent times. Increasing competition inevitability leads to increased prices. With restrictions on travel freeing cash that people may have set aside for overseas trips, and the prospect of working from home long term now a reality, moving to a larger house or upgrading has become a priority.

The market at the end of 2020 has been as strong as I have seen in my 43 years in real estate. While it is difficult to predict how long these conditions will last, the signs remain positive.

Of course, a major concern is the prospect of another wave of the pandemic. However with the rollout of a vaccine imminent and better controls, the future looks promising.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

h Trends S U E WA L L AC E

Borrowed glory

JANE DEMPSTER X 2

Gilt-framed portraits are becoming a decor thing – even if their subjects belong to someone else’s family tree

Historic portraits, resplendent in ornate gold and silver frames, are being used to gild the family tree, providing “instant relatives” with an impressive pedigree. The trend adds some grandeur and theatrics for those keen to embellish their familial heritage and it’s not so uncommon, according to several art auctioneers in Melbourne and Sydney.

The historic estates of the well heeled are often gold mines for these portraits, which blur the lines between authentic family heritage and a cheeky auction purchase.

Colin Vickers of Vickers & Hoad Auctioneers in Waterloo, Sydney, has recently sold six imposing portraits. He says there is a demand from decorators, collectors, and those who are after instant relatives to add to their family tree.

“The demand for these regal portraits has bubbled away for years and we have sold quite a few these past few months,” Vickers says. “A family was downsizing in Bowral and selling several of these portraits and we had six to eight phone bidders, all keen,” he says. It’s those elaborate frames and the formal poses that appeal, conveying as they do a sense of occasion with their subjects exuding great presence.

“The portraits are inclined to get a reaction from people, such as ‘My God, look at their relations’, and they’re impressed,” Vickers says.

He recently had a call from a client wanting to downsize who asked him to look over his collection of household goods. “I came across some historic portraits he used as decorative pictures in his restaurant that were 18

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| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

AARON FRANCIS X 3

Clockwise from below left: Vickers & Hoad Auctioneers director Colin Vickers; Olivia Fuller, head of art at Leonard Joel; and elaborately framed historic portraits

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

purchased in the UK in the 1980s,” Vickers says. “He moved them to his garage after his wife passed away and we came across them crated and covered in dust.

We moved them to our Sydney rooms and have since sold them to decorators and collectors.”

Vickers’ advice to those considering a portrait investment is to make sure you like the look of the person staring back at you from the wall. “You don’t want to be stuck looking at someone who gives you the creeps, no matter how stately they look – you need to be able to live with that person in the portrait,” he says.

Olivia Fuller, head of fine art at Leonard Joel in Melbourne, says some people like to purchase large historic portraits to hang in dining rooms and hallways to create the impression of ancestry. There’s a perception that someone who had their portrait painted must have been prosperous and important, she says.

Fuller says there is an interest in these elaborate works, and some buyers are also keen to know the history of the sitter and the artist who painted them.

“We always like to research who the person is in the painting and the history attached to it if we can, but some people don’t worry and merely purchase these paintings for decorative purposes,” she says.

“Then there are those who see a portrait and just have a connection with the person staring back at them, while others may read about the history of the person and feel it’s a good fit for their interests. Collectors may also follow a particular portrait artist and will seek out their work.”

But it’s one thing to purchase a hefty portrait and another to hang it. Some weigh a tonne, and therein lies one of the problems for some owners. Often a painting needs to be anchored to a wall due to the weight of the frame.

Fuller says these portraits are frequently handed down through generations, which is fine if you have the room to display them, but they are definitely not a good fit for apartment or beachside living. “We get people who really don’t know what to do with them and don’t feel any family connection to their ancestors so are happy to put them up for auction,” she says.

She suggests that before buying an old portrait you should check whether you feel an emotional response when you look at it. “Spend some time really peering at the portrait and see how you feel,” she says.

Portraits reveal a lot about social history, including the customs and manners of the times, Fuller adds. “In many cases they are a record of a certain period, so take a close look at any military decorations and things such as the dress and jewellery, which will reveal a lot about the fashion of the day.”

Another tip is to always check if anything is written on the back of the painting as that too can tell a story.

Sydney University art history lecturer Mark De Vitis says Australia is one of the few countries with a dedicated National Portrait Gallery, a reflection of how well received the genre is in this country. “Artists such as Tom Roberts really established an interest in portraits and contributed to portraiture becoming a respected national art genre,” he says. “You only have to look at the popularity of the Archibald Prize today to see how there’s a keen interest in portraits.”

De Vitis, who is an expert in the field of portraiture history, says that in a littleknown European custom highly specialised artists were commissioned to paint just the face and hands of a subject while other, less skilled, artists filled in the gaps.

These were called drapery artists and would paint robes and dresses.

“Faces and hands are the most difficult to paint accurately and the most expressive, and it was an accepted practice,” says De Vitis.

Asked about the appeal of portraits, he says they have a kind of magic about them in that someone who is absent is present. “In the days of limited travel and contact, portraits were given so the person would be remembered, and they lived on after the subject’s death – they were also a talisman. People connected with portraits as they were familiar with the human form rather than with other genres.

They are still very powerful and outrun death in their own way.”

According to the National Gallery of Australia, Richard Read senior, a convict who arrived in 1813, was the country’s first portrait artist, capturing the faces of settlers in watercolour and miniatures. His talent was passed on to his son, Richard Read junior, a free settler who painted small portraits, while Augustus Earle painted Australia’s first full-length grand portraits. They included NSW Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane in Government House, Sydney, and a pair of large portraits for the colony’s then richest man, John Piper – one of Piper and the other a group portrait of his wife and children.

So if you see a portrait hanging in a stately dining room, don’t assume it’s from the family’s colonial lineage. Maybe the owners picked up great great grandmother Violet O’Shea, with her ramrod back and pearl choker in an elaborate gold frame, from a gallery auction. Perhaps great Uncle Jimmy with a diamond pin under his chin and a snowy white beard, peering from his ornate silver frame in a wallpapered entrance hall, isn’t a member of the family tree at all. No matter – it makes for good dinner conversation.

Let’s face it, portraits, once described as “gossip on canvas”, do tell unique stories regardless of whether they are passed down through generations or purchased as pretty room adornments.

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

Close to home Upmarket pool houses are growing in popularity as home owners discover their value for much more than winter storage

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| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

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Far left: Avoca pool house by Greg Natale. Clockwise from top left: Portsea pool house exterior and interior Main Ridge pool house inside, and outside

Interior designer Thomas Hamel says pool houses are among his favourite design projects. “There are so many images we can show clients in order to excite and inspire them,” he says, citing Babe Paley’s well-documented 1950s pool house in Jamaica, immortalised by photographer Slim Aarons. “It has everything we want and admire – open floorplan and louvres/shutters at the windows, expressed timber beams in a pitched ceiling shape, cane furniture and upholstery, ceiling fans, and spaces for dining and lounging.”

Another iconic pool house is billionaire fragrance businesswoman Aerin Lauder’s more recent endeavour in the Hamptons, which even serves as an office.

Hamel suggests that pool houses can include a fireplace to anchor the room and add drama to a feature wall, and they can be handy when the weather turns cold. “Pool houses were originally intended for summer use, but we find our clients now want yearround usage,” he says, while adding that range hoods and similar details for cooking in the space “takes away the romantic feeling”.

In recent times, the pool house has become a must-have at prestige homes both in capital cities and regional locations. The cabana is not enough, and besides, a pool house is now much more than a changing room. They have become large spaces used for family chilling and can even include guest sleeping facilities.

“Previously pool houses were afterthoughts,” interior designer Greg Natale says, suggesting they were once mainly used to store poolside furniture in winter. He says homeowners are now taking advantage of valuable space in their gardens by using them as additional enclosed entertaining areas. “A great pool house should feel like an extension of the main house. And it’s very important both the pool and pool house are sympathetic in size to the house.”

Natale created a luxury pool house at Avoca, on the NSW Central Coast, as part of a full home renovation. “It has a Cape Cod feel and features a lounge room, shower and powder room,” he says. In Europe pool houses are generally used as an extension to entertaining areas, although in the US they commonly function as self-contained guest retreats, Natale says.

That was the view of the Toorak-based Healey family, who built their Portsea pool house with extra accommodation in mind.

They located it at the far corner of the near-3000sq m block, well away from the main home, which was designed in the 1960s for the Trumble family. The pool house comprises a bedroom, ensuite, living room with fireplace and a galley-style kitchenette.

The home, on Macgregor Avenue, had 16,000 views on realestate.com.au and sold on the first open through Peninsula Sotheby’s agents Patrick Sinn and Rob Curtain, for $7.3 million – at the top end of their $6.8 million to $7.3 million price guide.

The Healey family are set to emerge as the buyers of Antony and Stefanie Catalano’s redundant Portsea weekender.

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

Hamel notes that these days pool houses in Australia require more thought in their design, compared to the ones he designs for homes in the US and Europe, “because of our strict (understandably so) Australian pool-fencing regulations.

“A great deal of consideration is required to make the pool house flow with the swimming pool area itself. Once this flow is established and confirmed, we would then typically tuck away the powder room and cooking areas behind the pool house structure.”

As Hamel notes, designing a pool house in NSW involves regulatory consideration. Well-known pool certifier John Dennon stresses that the rules of the NSW Swimming Pools Act of 1992 essentially prevent any poolside entertaining facilities, be it an outdoor kitchen, bar or pool house, being located inside the pool’s gated barriers. “They are deemed to be a distraction from supervising young children in a pool,” he says.

The enclosed pool area commonly features a 1200mm high glass fence and self-closing gate between the pool and pool house.

The Melbourne designer Stephen Akehurst reckons a great pool house is the perfect destination, set away from the house and enabling an almost separate life. “People have them almost as a destination in the garden,” he says. “This is a place to go, spend the day, near the pool, cooking there and eating there. Almost the same philosophy as when you go camping to get away from the house and you have everything you need.”

Akehurst designed the striking barn-like pool house at Patterdale, the luxury home of milliner Justine Gillingham at Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula. Gillingham paid $2.825 million for the 3ha estate, which includes an 1890s original limestone cottage that has been extended and renovated over the years to create a country-classic homestead. Across its one-level footprint are four bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Akehurst’s pool house actually covers half of the 20m lap pool.

The ground level includes a spa and gym. Upstairs was marketed as having the potential to be used as a home office or guest accommodation, complete with vaulted ceilings and a luxury climate-controlled wine cellar.

The estate’s original worker’s cottage is another feature, by the edge of the more natural water feature. Rebuilt and now fully selfcontained, it is used as an arts studio, and sits in a man-made wetland garden with yabbies, native fish and turtles. There’s also a veggie garden, greenhouse and chook shed, and an orchard with citrus, stone fruit, apple, apricot and fig trees. Twenty-five oaks harbour black truffles that are ready to be harvested.

Rob Curtain and Danielle Vains at Peninsula Sotheby’s had an $8.2 million to $9 million guide for Patterdale, which went under offer within a week of its listing last month. It attracted more than 17,000 online views at realestate.com.au.

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

21

Equestrian

Stables at Rivermead Estate in the Gold Coast hinterland, below.

Right, from top: Rivermead’s pool; Piralilly; paddocks at Piralilly; the pool at Mindaribba House, and the kitchen, dining and living area

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

Greener pastures Equine facilities are top of the list for many tree-changers With Zoom now the default mode for many business meetings, people will increasingly choose to live in more affordable lifestyle locations rather than pay exorbitant big city house prices, veteran agent John McGrath noted at the end of 2020.

“This will see thousands of people sell up in the big cities and opt for a sea or tree change to a preferred and indeed more affordable lifestyle,” he predicted.

Regional markets across the country are seeing escalating prices as they enjoy their time in the sun, having outperformed the capital growth of their usually stronger capital city counterparts over 2020. Regional dwelling values rose 6.9 per cent over the year, compared with 2 per cent for the combined capitals, CoreLogic’s data revealed.

Amir Mian at Mian Prestige says there’s “incredible energy” among buyers in the Gold Coast hinterland. “We are seeing an unprecedented number of inspections as people desire the tree change lifestyle,” he says.

Kollosche Prestige agent Rob Lamb says a high proportion of overall Gold Coast hinterland enquiry is from Sydney and Melbourne, with families and retirees looking to relocate, motivated by lifestyle and better value.

Lamb, with Michael Kollosche, has the listing of Rivermead Estate in the Gold Coast hinterland, one of Australia’s finest equine estates. The sprawling 21ha Guanaba property once belonged to the 1985 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer John Meagher. He sold it a few years ago to the Mermaid Beachbased Tim Gordon, of Melbourne’s Gordon development family, and wife Karin. The estate had been the Meagher family’s pre-training and agistment farm, having previously been home to the Gold Coast Polo & Country Club. It was once owned by the Swiss-born winemaker Nicolaus Hahn.

The property features a main three-level, six-bedroom plantation-style homestead with its own cinema, billiards room with bar, and a massage and yoga room with spa. The tennis court sits away from the homestead, as does its modern equine facility featuring stables and a dressage arena.

There have been nearly 270 enquiries since the property was launched in early December, with a number of offers already lodged. There were also a few phone calls received from parties 22

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

attending the Magic Millions horse sales and racing carnival last month, Lamb says.

Given the push to the hinterland along the east coast, there are refreshed hopes the Noosa hinterland record will be set this year with Piralilly, a multi-award winning luxury estate at Cooroy Mountain. The property, then known as Beauty Falls, was in the hands of Melbourne bookmaker Mark Read and his wife Shari before it was sold for $3.3 million in 2012. The current home was completed in 2019 and won the Sunshine Coast House of the Year award.

Described by Tom Offermann agent Cameron Urquhart as a new-age country dwelling, the home gives a nod to mid-century modern architecture with the use of dark brick and horizontal lines. The paddocks have been used for cattle breeding and fattening, but as it was originally a horse property it could easily be re-established as a dressage estate, Urquhart says.

Sydney’s regional areas are also seeing a gallop in interest from Sydney buyers. Jurd Real Estate Cessnock agent Cain Beckett says the market in the Hunter region, around 120km north of Sydney, is “as good as it’s been in 30 years”. His buyers, typically from Sydney or Newcastle, are seeking space and privacy.

“Many of the weekend homes being purchased have shown years of exceptional returns from being used as short-stay accommodation, and those returns have exploded with the closing of the state and international borders.

“Weekend home buyers are the largest part of the market, driven both by lacklustre returns on cash, for those buying with cash, and cheap money from the bank for those leveraging their purchases,” Beckett says, adding that there’s also a push from buyers moving to the Hunter permanently. “Most are taking advantage of flexible work arrangements in an effort to upgrade their home and decrease or wipe-out their mortgages.”

Beckett has just listed the 1885 property Mindaribba House, a country estate on the banks of the Paterson River north of Maitland that has been a popular wedding venue in recent years.

Set at the end of a tree-lined driveway, the four-bedroom home blends a double-brick heritage section with a modern slabtimber wing. There’s a sunken firepit and a large stone outdoor bathtub on the riverbank of the 3.1ha property.

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| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

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Mornington Peninsula J OE L ROB I N S ON

Riding the wave

A perfect storm of factors has spurred a buying boom in the Victorian holiday playground

Every month was a record month last year on the Mornington Peninsula.

That was the case in Peninsula Sotheby’s office, with principal Rob Curtain dismissing any suggestion of an extended break over Christmas. “There has been no break down here since April,” he said.

In late December, Curtain’s office sold a two-bedroom timber shack on Balnarring Beach for $5.5 million. There was also a suburb record in McCrae and a quick sale in Sorrento, where a modern four-bedroom home sold 24 hours after going online and asking for offers in the mid-$4 millions. And just one week into the new year the agency broke its January sales tally. One of its bigticket sales was Amalfi, a Sorrento trophy that looks like it belongs in the Mediterranean. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom villa in 3035sq m of Paul Bangay gardens sold toward the top end of its $11.8 million to $13 million guide.

“The COVID factor affecting travel has inventory levels at record lows and huge buyer demand on the Mornington Peninsula”, Curtain says. “Throw in cheap money and strong equity markets and it’s the perfect storm.”

Kay & Burton Portsea agent Liz Jensen agrees. “Against all odds and pessimistic fears around COVID-19 and its macro and micro economic impact, 2020 became one of the greatest years for real estate transactions on the Mornington Peninsula,” she says. Kay & Burton agent Gerald Delany handled a whisper-quiet $25.5 million sale at Sorrento toward the end of last year. The clifftop property was sold by Just Jeans co-founders Roger and Christine Kimberley, with developer Michael Gannon its unconfirmed buyer.

This year got off to an ambitious start with the listing of Horizon, a clifftop Flinders estate with $30 million expectations. Rob Curtain, who calls it the finest new home ever offered for sale on the peninsula, was responsible in 2017 for the sale of the Besen family’s Miramar, for $17 million. It was a concrete boomerang designed by Woods Marsh, with two curved wings connected in the middle.

Curtain and colleague Danielle Vains are telling Horizon’s prospective buyers that the 6-star energy rated home was five years in the making on its 5060sq m holding with 100m of oceanfront. Monolithic on its cliff edge, the home was designed by architect Bruce Henderson with interiors by Mim Design, and built by local peninsula craftsmen Williams Group with extensive use of concrete and glass.

With views across Bass Strait, the 2000sq m home sits off a cobblestone driveway amid coastal landscaping by Fiona Brockhoff and Heath Landscape. The floor plan was designed to allow zoned single-level living.

The elevated first level has five ocean-view bedrooms, each with an ensuite, a central kitchen with its own scullery and three living spaces. A lift runs down to the lower level, where there’s a gym, sauna, cinema room, wine 26

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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

Clockwise from top left: Kirwood Street, Blairgowrie, exterior and pool; Horizon at Flinders, and its interior; Amalfi in Portsea, and its garden

room, and a second kitchen that services an alfresco spa terrace where there’s a suspended 20-person spa. The terrace leads down to an 18m pool.

The project was undertaken by the luxury developer Brooke Starbuck, who was part of the syndicate that secured a larger holding from the family of Magpies legend Jock McHale.

Jensen senses that with overseas travel still way off, the trend of the local holiday home market will continue to see fresh buyers. She has secured the sale of a Portsea home on Wildcoast Road after asking between $8.85 million and $9.7 million. The luxury seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom home had more than 41,000 views on its realestate.com.au listing.

She and her colleague Lorna Duffy have listed a Blairgowrie home designed by architect Kerstin Thompson. The five-bedroom Kirwood Street home, set on 5260sq m amid Moonah trees, indigenous gardens and lawns, was designed in two wings to optimise natural light and cool summer breezes.

One wing houses guests and children, the other has the master suite and the living areas. Connecting the two is a central breezeway and an indoor-outdoor room framed by sliding perforated steel doors. There’s a sixth bedroom in the pool house, which opens from its own deck to the pool.

Jensen and Duffy have a $4.5 million to $4.95 million guide on the Blairgowrie offering, which would set the suburb high following a recordbreaking $4.25 million sale of a 2019-built beach house last year.

Blairgowrie has 27 properties on the market, with recent sales putting its median house price as $1.09 million. Sorrento has 30 properties for sale with a $1.5 million median, according to realestate.com.au. Based on five years of sales, Sorrento has seen a compound growth rate of 12.2 per cent for houses.

There are just two for sale at Flinders, where the median sits at $2.5 million, equal with Portsea, which has 19 listings. The busiest prestige patch right now is Mt Eliza, where there are 54 properties for sale. Based on five years of sales, Mt Eliza has seen a compound growth rate of 9.3 per cent for houses.

Such is the demand outside the capital that veteran RT Edgar Toorak agent Warwick Anderson has been busy down at the agency’s Mornington Peninsula office, which he says is seeing a major upturn in the market that he hasn’t witnessed for many years. He puts it down to pent-up demand since the lockdown ended, compounded by a shortage of supply, as people decide to live permanently on the Peninsula while keeping a townhouse in Melbourne.

The lockdowns didn’t put a dampener on Keating International, with principal Michael Keating saying that many of their sales are to buyers who rarely view properties personally anyway. He set the 2020 record when asking $40 million for Morningstar, which was dubbed the Downton Abbey of Australia. It was bought by Chemist Warehouse tycoon Mario Verrocchi.

Keating is expecting a bumper year of interest from buyers overseas, including the wide expat community. “This is to a degree pent-up, but we are anticipating a ‘flight to safety’ asset wise,” he says. “With record gold prices and increasing cryptocurrency exchange rates, 2021 is already looking like a year of great uncertainty, both economically and geopolitically, and smart money is already advanced in its plans. This means higher prices and strong international demand for premium Mornington Peninsula properties, which are seen as a very safe haven to protect your capital.”

Keating says buyers for high-end Mornington Peninsula properties come from all corners, but most local buyers come from the usual leafy inner-Melbourne suburbs. Rob Curtain estimates 50 per cent of his stock is selling to fresh buyers.

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

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Sunshine Coast

Clockwise from below: Genny and Chris Lee in their home at Peregian Beach; the pool area; al fresco dining; the house’s unusual exterior; a vintage Kombi Van

LYNDON MECHIELSEN

S U E WA L L AC E

Endless summer

Nostalgia for the carefree holidays of the past inspired this beach bungalow makeover Greek gods inspired the name of a luxe vacation home perched above Queensland’s sun-soaked Peregian Beach and owned by entrepreneurs Genny and Christopher Lee. “I wanted a name that reflected a sense of calm as well as the wonderful sunny weather, so we named it Helia House, after the daughter of the Greek sun god Helios and a goddess of the sun,” says Genny.

“The name captures what we set out to do – create a very special holiday place with an endless summer feel.”

The couple run the national boutique car-buying and finance service Red Plum Automotive, and have a “side hustle” importing fully restored vintage Kombi Vans from Brazil.

“The idea of the beach house followed after we established the Kombi business – there is something very nostalgic about a Kombi and a beach holiday – a bit like fish and chips,” Genny says.

They spent nearly two years searching northern NSW, including Byron Bay and Lennox Head, for their dream holiday home, then headed to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

“We wanted a single-storey coastal home that referenced the design of beach shacks from the ’60s and ’70s with coastal views, either in original condition that we could renovate or already renovated that we could add our personality to,” Genny says.

“A beach bungalow feel, where you could go barefoot and 34

MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

soak up the sun and that wasn’t at all fussy is what we wanted.”

As soon as they saw the Peregian Beach property, they knew that it was perfect.

Built in the 1980s on a 1000sq m block, the bungalow was extensively renovated in 2019.

Queensland architect Rohan Jackson of Blackburne Jackson, along with designer Brooke Marsh, reworked and opened up the interior spaces to improve the flow and allow more natural light into the home.

“We love that it is positioned at the back of the block, opening outwards to lush lawns and gardens across the extensive 40m frontage that draws the eye to Noosa National Park and ocean views,” Genny says.

“It has a nostalgic beach house aesthetic with a modern, timeless design.”

The four-bedroom house features an open plan kitchen, study, two bathrooms, and lush outdoor spaces with a large rectangular pool, garden shower and fire pit.

The living area features a soaring cathedral ceiling, a Scandinavian combustion fireplace, and eclectic artwork by Sydney photographer Akila Berjaoui and the Brisbane artist Claire Stening.

Genny and Chris, who live in Brisbane, selected a white, grey-

green, sea foam and rust decor to evoke a sense of calm using natural fabrics, jute rugs, and leather and timber trims.

They rent out Helia House on Airbnb when they’re not using it and it has been booked out.

“We really thought about what we want when we rent a holiday place and we included everything that we could think of,” says Genny.

Her favourite room is the open plan living/kitchen/dining area, which has retracting glass panels that lead out to the deck and pool.

“While it is a series of rooms, it reads as one and seamlessly connects the inside of the building to the outside, creating this easy-living beach house.”

Genny has renovated several homes in the past and loves taking on the challenge.

“I am a big believer in starting with a good architect and building a team around that,” she says. “I don’t have a design background but I have a good sense of design.”

The couple are great fans of Peregian Beach, which is 10 minutes south of Noosa Beach.

“It’s a beautiful coastal village with a true community spirit – it is perfect for a beach holiday where you are serenaded by the ocean at night,” Genny says.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

Cut-price crown jewel

‘Thrones’ star sells English actress Emilia Clarke has sold her two-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Venice, Los Angeles, for $US4.4 million ($5.7 million), according to the listing agency Douglas Elliman. The Game of Thrones star bought the home in 2016 for $4.64 million. It was first listed last August for just under $5 million but the price was cut twice, landing at the asking price of $4.5 million in November. The gated residence was completed in 2009 and designed by California-based architects Abramson Teiger. Set up for seamless indoor-outdoor living, the glass-encased living room opens to a front patio on one side and an interior courtyard with a 9m pool and a covered veranda on the other.

The manicured grounds include 80-year-old olive trees. The living room boasts 4.5m ceilings, a fireplace and built-in bookshelves that take up almost all of one wall. The ground floor includes a kitchen with soapstone counters and custom cabinetry, as well as a den and office area with additional access to the courtyard. Upstairs, the primary suite offers a dressing room and ensuite with a bathtub and stand-alone shower. There is a second bedroom on this floor as well. Juliette Hohnen of Elliman and Ruby Fay of Pinnacle Estate Properties shared the listing.

Clarke, 34, who is best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, will soon lend her voice to the animated fantasy The Amazing Maurice, due out in 2022.

VL HENDRICKSON

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Once one of the most expensive homes on the market, with a whopping $US180 million ($233 million) asking price, the Los Angeles megamansion known as Owlwood has sold for a heavily discounted $88 million. The Italian Renaissance-style spread traded hands in a hush-hush deal just before Christmas and sold in three parcels. Though it’s undoubtedly a bigticket deal for what has been dubbed the “crown jewel of Holmby Hills”, the sale price is some $92 million less than the estate was shopped around for when it emerged on the market in 2017. Spanning nearly 4 private hectares over three lots, Owlwood is the largest compound in Holmby Hills, according to the listing with Tomer Fridman of Compass and Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland. The mansion at its centre, built in 1936, has nine bedrooms, grand living spaces, and a list of former owners that reads like a who’s-who of Hollywood’s heyday, including actor Tony Curtis, duo Sonny & Cher and Joseph Schenk, the founder of 20th Century Fox, who hosted Marilyn Monroe in the guesthouse. The “exceptional compound” also includes rolling lawns, a tennis court, a pool and a pool house.

LIZ LUCKING

Hemsworth haven The Hemsworth brothers have sold off a modern Malibu home they owned together for $US4.25 million ($5.51 million). The four-bedroom white-stucco home is at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains and the three actor brothers – Liam, 30, Chris, 37, and Luke, 40 – used it as a peaceful vacation spot. From its inland perch, the contemporary hacienda-inspired house overlooks both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean and has access to nearby stables, according to the listing with Eric Haskell of The Agency. Little is known about the buyer. The Hemsworths bought the property through a trust in 2016 for $3.45 million and listed it in September last year for $4.9 million. Amenities befitting a trio of Hollywood heart-throbs include a home theatre that could be repurposed as a family room, a 750-bottle wine cellar, and an open kitchen with restaurant-grade appliances and quartz countertops. While the 427sq m home boasts an open floor plan, floor-to-ceiling sliders in the kitchen can separate it from the dining room. Other contemporary design details include polished concrete floors, marble bathroom finishes and tall walls suited for displaying artwork, according to the listing. An outdoor dining area boasts dramatic views across the 1.3 acres and over the mountains. The brothers have been riding out the pandemic in Australia, particularly in Byron Bay, where they reportedly own multiple properties.

BECKIE STRUM

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

e p a c s E Pure Rocky Point

K A N G A R O O I S L A N D, S O U T H AU S T R A L I A Spectacular and iconic Rocky Point is without peer. Majestically jutting out into the sea with jaw dropping views, it dissects 7 kms of sublime beach. A legacy oceanfront retreat in one of Australia’s premier locations in the natural world.

With freehold title to the mean high-water mark, Rocky Point is positioned on a rare 365 metres of North facing, beach and clifftop frontage. It sits atop 5.21 hectares or 12.87 acres with planning consent granted for further sophisticated extensions, if desired. Built in 1908 and last sold in 1918, the meticulously maintained limestone residence offers six bedrooms, two bathrooms, a modern kitchen with pantry, living and dining rooms and two cellars. Rocky Point boasts a rare beach-front boathouse, as well as a separate boatshed for two or more boats, plus an offshore mooring, and a two car garage.

expressions of interest close 9 MARCH 2021 at 4pm AEDT If not sold prior. Inspect strictly by appointment only.

Address available on request.

Get the complete story at www.rockypointki.com

DEBORAH CULLEN 0401 849 955 deborah@cullenroyle.com.au

Prestige Market Update NERIDA CONISBEE

Architect-designed home on Wildcoast Road in Victoria’s popular Portsea

Holiday home rebound

Rather than being ditched during the downturn, the vacation retreat is more valued than ever Holiday homes are usually among the first property market victims during an economic downturn, but in 2020 they were the beneficiaries. With overseas vacations on hold and interstate travel restricted, having a holiday home by the beach is particularly attractive right now.

It is not surprising, therefore, that some of Australia’s most expensive holiday destination beachside suburbs saw incredibly strong growth in 2020.

The beachside destinations with median prices over $1 million that experienced the biggest price increases in the 12 months to the end of December 2020 were mostly located in NSW. South of Sydney, two Wollongong suburbs feature, highlighting the economic changes occurring in the area.

Austinmer experienced a jump of 40 per cent to reach a median price of $1.6 million, while East Corrimal was a newcomer to the $1 million-plus price category in 2020.

North of Sydney, parts of the Central Coast also sustained some big jumps.

Copacabana and North Avoca, not traditionally noted as luxury holiday home destinations, saw price growth exceeding 40 per cent, making it into the $1 million-plus club.

There are now five suburbs on the NSW Central Coast with FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

| THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

prices over $1 million, with Copacabana and North Avoca joining MacMasters Beach, Avoca Beach and Wamberal.

As expected, the northern NSW towns of Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads and Bangalow made the list. They were already sustaining very high views per listing on realestate.com.au at the end of 2019. The Hemsworth effect has been driving popularity in the Byron Bay area for several years , but COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions accelerated growth even further in 2020.

There are now six towns in Richmond-Tweed with a median price over $1 million and it’s likely Pottsville will be next.

Closer to the Queensland border, Pottsville is so far relatively sleepy compared to many other beachside towns in the northern NSW part of Australia.

South East Queensland’s growth was a feature trend of 2020, and Minyama and Sunrise Beach have made the list.

While borders between Queensland, NSW and Victoria were locked down for large parts of last year, it didn’t stop property seekers from Melbourne and Sydney looking at the Sunshine Coast on realestate.com.au. Anecdotally, search activity resulted in buyer activity, with some purchases made sight unseen.

Nerida Conisbee is the chief economist with realestate.com.au

Top growth beachside holiday suburbs ($1 million-plus) 12 months to December 2020 Suburb

Median Price

% growth

Copacabana, NSW

$1,278,000

52.1

North Avoca, NSW

$1,377,500

43.7

Austinmer, NSW

$1,627,500

40.3

Byron Bay, NSW

$1,870,000

36.3

East Corrimal, NSW

$1,110,888

30.7

Bayview, NSW

$2,275,000

28.2

Brunswick Heads, NSW

$1,325,000

26.2

Minyama, QLD

$1,405,000

25.4

Bangalow, NSW

$1,200,000

24.4

Sunrise Beach, QLD

$1,055,000

23.9

Source: realestate.com.au

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RETIRE IN RICHMOND Artist’s impression Resident Private Dining Room

49 Devonshire Lane 7

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’Ard Rudah c1870’ is a property that takes you to a world all of its own on 6 acres approximately. Refined and restrained, yet unforgettably spectacular. Gardens acknowledged as amongst the finest in the country.

Meadows of turf, a lawn tennis court, romantic paths, ferny creek pools and trout filled ponds create memorable first impressions and establish perfect privacy. The residence was recently refurbished under the guidance of Stephen Akehurst with beautifully appointed reception rooms, a billiards room and light filled family room/informal dining which incorporates an open-plan kitchen. Stables, cellar/store rooms and tennis pavilion by Paul Bangay are additional attractions. In one of Mt Macedon’s blue chip positions conveniently close to village and schools. A mere 55 mins from Melbourne CBD and approximately 25 minutes from Tullamarine airport.

EOI: Closing Friday 12th March at 5.00pm View: By Appointment Video Journey: vimeo.com/480542975 Contact: Jock Langley 0419 530 008 Simon Curtain 0405 385 285 Office 9864 5300

abercrombys.com.au

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

Noosa’s stunning Main Beach, which abuts the national park

Paradise at a premium One of Noosa’s biggest assets is its stunning natural environment and the internationally recognised author, poet and conservationist Nancy Cato was a huge contributor to preserving it. The prizewinning author, best known for the novel All The Rivers Run (made into a mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters) died last year aged 83. She had a keen interest in the conservation movement around Noosa and fought hard for the environment.

The northern end of the Sunshine Coast, some 120km to the north of Brisbane, is characterised by stunning sandy beaches, dramatic mountain peaks, and a remarkably healthy river and lake system. Indeed, while Noosa Shire comprises just 1.4 per cent of the total area of South East Queensland, it contains 39 per cent of the region’s ecosystems. Integrated development designed to be at one with the landform has been the long-term aim.

Much of the so-called Noosa Style is the product of awardwinning local architecture that suits the subtropical climate and lifestyle. Ensuring that its low-key, leafy village feel is maintained is important to the Noosa community, and the resulting limit on new stock has big consequences for the near continual property price escalation.

Tom Offermann sold Noosa’s first million-dollar property, a shack on the beachfront in Webb Road owned by an Englishman, in 1989. In 2017 Noosa broke through the $10 million barrier for the FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

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first time, with a waterfront mansion at Noosaville and a Noosa North Shore beachfront property. Then in 2018 Offermann resold the Webb Road home, by then a modern seven-bedroom, eightbathroom mansion on 3595sq m, for $18 million.

These beachfront homes, canal homes, low-rise apartments on Hastings Street and hillside villas adjacent to the National Park are being snapped up in record time, with Brisbane buyers competing with escalating interstate interest, more from Melbourne than Sydney.

Even before the COVID-19-triggered surge, Noosa had registered an average compound capital growth rate of more than 9 per cent for houses over the past three decades, according to REIQ research – the highest of any shire in the state.

Prices can fall, however, and that fact was highlighted when Cintamani, the redundant 35ha Noosa hinterland retreat of USbased music producer and songwriter Mike Chapman (who famously helped pen Tina Turner’s hit song Simply the Best) sold for $4.25 million in 2017. Chapman had bought the property for $8 million in 2007.

Cintamani had been built by Austrian tennis champion Thomas Muster in the mid-1990s and featured a championship tennis court, a replica of centre court at Flushing Meadows in New York, home of the US Open. Muster had paid $1 million for

the parcel in 1994 and sold his newly built home for $7.6 million in 2002 to Stephen Walker, co-founder of the debt collection agency Collection House, and his wife Sue. Cato’s death coincided with the approval of Noosa Plan 2020, which dictates the planning scheme for future development over the next 20 years. The last plan was done in 2006, and the latest one acknowledged an imbalance between relatively lowerpaying employment opportunities, such as in the retail and hospitality sectors, and relatively higher housing costs. This reality “will cause specific problems for the Noosa Shire if not addressed”, the plan concluded.

Noosa Shire’s current residential population of 56,000 swells during holiday periods to well over 70,000 people. Its high visitor numbers and dispersed, low-density settlement pattern puts distinct pressures on local communities.

Over the next two decades, the population is expected to rise by some 9500 on the 2016 census, to about 63,000. Around threequarters of the additional residents will settle between Tewantin and Peregian Beach, with the balance in the hinterland, mostly in the villages of Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran, Kin Kin and Boreen Point. By 2041, the proportion of residents aged 65 years and over is predicted to be about 30 per cent. And perhaps likewise its billioniares’ component.

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43

Mansion

Follow the leader Interior designers share the love

Fifties revival

A modernist makeover

First blush

Rosy tones to warm the space

STYLE MASTERS

Interior designers are sharing their knowledge in classes that cater to homeowners wanting to create their own beautiful spaces 48

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L I BBY MOF F E T

Interior designer Thomas Hamel in his showroom in Sydney’s Surry Hills, and Megan Morton, founder of the The School, above right

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NIKKI SHORT

BOB BARKER

t

Design

The concept of a stylish day out is taking on new meaning as a growing number of Australia’s design and style maestros throw open the doors of their homes and studios for bespoke masterclasses.

Offering a rare insight into the work and ideas of industry leaders, the classes also feature beautiful settings and gourmet meals, creating a memorable experience for style enthusiasts.

Acclaimed interior designer Thomas Hamel, who will hold his first class in his new Sydney studio this month, says the trend towards masterclasses follows growing interest in interior design imagery on social media platforms, as well as a year of COVID isolation that has made people more houseproud. “It started with Facebook, but then it was Pinterest and Instagram – there are so many ways of researching interiors nowadays, but you’re not getting an explanation,” he says. “You’re just seeing pictures and you’re wondering ‘how do I achieve this?’, so (classes) go into more depth.”

Geared towards design professionals and limited to 15 participants, Hamel’s masterclass will discuss global and local design trends, with participants enjoying a lunch with the designer before exploring his extensive library of international materials and fabrics.

In Brisbane, interior design queen Anna Spiro is preparing to host a series of intimate eight-person workshops and lunches in her new Art Deco apartment in New Farm this year. It follows the success of her first masterclass in 2018, which “went nuts”. Spiro says participants include homeowners and trainee designers who are keen to understand her work and seek her input on their own plans.

“I just love to help people learn how to do things beautifully,” says Spiro, who’s also considering hosting a workshop in Melbourne, where she’s opened a new office. “I think these days are about offering people another perspective. I think people want to learn and want to have a lovely day with like-minded people who have an interest in their home. It’s just growing our mind and our experiences,” Spiro says.

Interior stylist Steve Cordony says he was overwhelmed with the feedback from his inaugural masterclasses, held at his central NSW property, Rosedale Farm, last October, and is planning up to 10 classes this year.

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NIKKI SHORT TOM FERGUSON

Above: Photographer Abbie Melle (left) and stylist Georgia Ashdown. Right: Interior stylist Steve Cordony at his home, Rosedale Farm

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While Cordony’s Instagram styling stories proved very popular during last year’s COVID lockdowns, he says the masterclasses enabled him to create a bespoke experience for participants and share more of his knowledge in real time.

Cordony explained the renovation of his Georgian homestead and staged multiple styling demonstrations during his classes, while also hosting a long lunch in Rosedale’s garden as well as a champagne and cheese session in the afternoon.

“There was beautiful food, scents and music – it was a 360-degree sensory experience,” he says. “I wanted to give people as much as possible to take away from it in terms of knowledge, but also to take away that they had a great day.”

Stylist Megan Morton launched her styling school in 2012 after witnessing the popularity of her “how-to” styling stories in magazines.

“I thought it would be nice to have a group of people in the room who all want to learn the same thing and we could really delve deep on things that go beyond the Pinterest page,” Morton says.

Nine years on, she runs regular classes on the science of styling as well as conducting international style-focused trips. She will offer four one-day classes in Sydney and Melbourne this year, each featuring a “delicious lunch” as well as seven hours of learning.

Morton says that while a stylist’s knowledge was once regarded as consisting of “trade secrets”, she welcomes the growing number of masterclasses and says they will enable quality information to rise to the top.

“The more people talk about style, the more it normalises it,” she says.

Magazine photographer Abbie Melle says she was encouraged to launch her first workshops with friend and stylist Georgia Ashdown in October last year following growing demand from her Instagram followers. Six more classes are slated for 2021.

Held at Bunya House in NSW’s Southern Highlands, the inaugural oneday masterclasses attracted people wanting to pursue a career in styling and photography, as well as those simply keen to indulge in a retreat.

“There was a lot of beauty in the day, which I think people were craving and enjoyed,” Melle says.

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

All measurements are internal and approximate. This plan is a sketch for illustration.

Margate, Hobart Tasmania 55 Esplanade

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4

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$2.85 Million Inspection by Appointment Agents Hans Waldhoff 0419 124 867 Martin Waldhoff 0422 426 065

PRD HOBART 141 Murray Street

Unrivalled waterfront property with sweeping panoramic views over North West Bay and just 20 minutes south of Hobart.

This absolute waterfront position offers seamless access to the beautiful waterways of Southern Tasmania with the picturesque D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Bruny Island on your doorstep. It is a paradise for the boating enthusiast, featuring a private jetty, with its own floating pontoon, two moorings and a power boat included.

A sleek, contemporary residence from acclaimed Tasmanian designer Mark Linardi, designed with clean, fluid lines and a close connection to the outdoors. A northerly aspect with walls of glass framing the uninterrupted water views from the spacious open plan kitchen and living areas with high calibre fixtures & fittings.

Wonderful functional automation throughout, presents low maintenance living, along with the sense of effortless luxury.

With four bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms, the master bedroom also features a large dressing room, a study or fifth bedroom with stunning views, media/cinema room, wine cellar, a water’s edge outdoor entertainment area with it’s own BBQ kitchen. In addition there is garaging for three cars along with ample storage.

All this and more from this exceptional private waterfront retreat.

(03) 6231 0400

prdhobart.com.au

hanswaldhoff@prdhobart.com.au

martinwaldhoff@prdhobart.com.au

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

atlas.com.au

Atlas by LJ Hooker

The Enchanted Garden

61 - 63 Grange Road, Toorak Designed by Drew Cole Architects on a sprawling 4236sqm of land, this 6 year old generously proportioned solid brick home with lift, comprises multiple formal and informal living rooms, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, study, separate home office, six car basement garage, gym, cinema, cellar, second basement/studio and high tech features. The luxurious parents’ suite includes a fitted dressing room and marble ensuite. Unforgettable enchanted garden provides a show-stopping introduction to this magnificent family estate in iconic Toorak location close to the village. Featuring a swimming pool and tennis court, large garden pavilion for all-year entertaining and rolling lawns with orchard.

Expressions of Interest

Closing Friday 19th March

View

By Private Appointment Only

Contact

Sean Cussell 0425 787 979 Marcus Heron 0422 822 995

grange-road.com prestigehomes.com.au

PLAYING IT COOL This refurbishment sought to update and refresh an iconic 1950s house to meet the present owner’s needs while paying respect to the original design Stor y by SAM DUNCAN Photography by FELIX FOREST

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| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

w Palm Springs, California, was the inspiration for the styling and landscaping that was part of the refurbishment

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When interior architecture practice Richards Stanisich first looked at this house designed by renowned architect Harry Seidler – regarded as one of the leading exponents of modernist architecture in Australia – and built in 1958, it was far from in its original state.

“The exterior was in decent shape but the interiors had all changed,” says the studio’s co-director, Jonathan Richards. “The deterioration, however, didn’t conceal what an incredible house it was.”

The house exemplified fifties modernism in Sydney, which Richards says was the beginning of cool, expressed in elegant proportions and beautiful colour. “Miles Davis recorded his iconic album Birth of the Cool in the fifties and it’s a phrase that perfectly describes the best of that decade’s architecture and design,” he says.

Richards’ overarching intent with the commissioned refurbishment and extension was to work with the original building. But he also looked to Palm Springs, in the Sonoran Desert of southern California, for inspiration with the styling and landscaping.

Located in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, the building stands out as a low-slung, single-storey residence in an area dominated by boxy twostorey houses. “Revel in the magic of mid-century modern,” was the brief to Richards and his team. “Create a space for the client to practise

her pottery and ceramics; extend the house to meet the garage so that there is a continuous covered passage; add a pool; have fun.”

The house, positioned on a street corner, has a beautifully modest sense of scale. The long street elevation is remarkable: simple shapes with low-slung proportions. The floor-level is raised off the ground by six steps, creating a sense of arrival, with the balustrade adding a graphic design element.

Inside the house, the lounge and family areas are open to the northern garden, where Richards positioned the new pool. The southern part of the house contains the bedrooms and a lush courtyard. The new extension connects the original house to the garage with its pottery studio.

Richards started with the history of the building to understand its inception and how it arrived in its present condition. Above all, he wanted to listen to the client and work with the building.

“The original interior planning was a beautifully rational modernist layout,” he says. “Our design started with reinstating a modernist plan and developing interior concepts that respond to the era.”

A key element of the house is the walnut-lined wall that connects all areas. It is the spine, says Richards, wrapping around seamlessly from MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU

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The use of colour references midcentury style and lush, sculptural gardens balance the built forms

the kitchen through to the pottery studio. On occasion, the panels open up to reveal colour – as in the green-patterned wallpaper of the powder room. “We were inspired by mid-century colours and the way they were often used in strong blocks set against natural timbers and crisp whites,” he says. “We shared with the client a love of green terrazzo and pink tiles: the colours are an exuberant celebration of the mid-century era.”

One of the few remaining original interior elements was the basketweave herringbone parquetry floor.

“It’s magnificent,” says Richards. “In reconfiguring the floorplan and extending on to the house, we extended this parquetry pattern to make more of it.”

There was another element to the brief, he says, that the client insisted upon as just as important as anything else: a leopard-print rug given to her by a grandmother. “We installed it as a carpet in the open wardrobe, and it is perfect. It is surrounded by walnut joinery and connects with the pink tiles of the ensuite – a surprisingly dynamic marriage of materials.”

The gardens, designed by creative landscape practice Dangar Barin Smith, are an essential element of the whole. Typical of many great modernist houses, the balance between the crisp architectural forms and lush sculptural gardens is a major part of the house. “Every interior space has a beautiful connection with the internal gardens, and indeed the exterior relies on the succulents and palms,” says Richards.

As for the exterior walls, for many years they had been no more exciting than plain white. Richards looked to archival photos and worked with Porters Paints to reintroduce the original colours – including the buttermilk yellow front door.

“I think the clients particularly love the little mid-century modern world we have created,” he says. “The house feels very private and insular – in no way is it over-scaled and vacuous. It’s a gem of a building and the house feels very cool and very them.”

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| FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

Etc. S A M YA T E S

1.

2.

4.

5.

3.

6.

In the pink

1.

4.

2.

5.

LIGHTING Boris Klimek’s Lasvit Lollipop pendants in hand-blown glass.

Available in four sizes and seven colours, from $6705. livingedge.com.au LOUNGE CHAIR Fredericia Furniture special edition Spanish Chair by Børge Mogensen, in deep red saddle leather, $11,950. greatdane.com.au

3.

DINING CHAIR Pedrali Tribeca 3665 outdoor dining chair in salmon pink, $480. robertplumb.com.au

FEBRUARY 13-14, 2021

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SIDE TABLE ‘TOMO’ by Yokozeki Ryota, crafted from polypropylene made from recycled waste.

Available in two colourways, $195. papaya.com.au CUSHION Better World Arts cushion by Damien and Yilpi Marks, $75. koskela.com.au

6.

LOUNGE Kartell Largo Sofa with right ottoman in cardinal red velvet, $8640. spacefurniture.com

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Flowerpot table lamp V E R NER P A N T O N

Design classics DAVID MEAGHER

&Tradition’s Flowerpot table lamp comes in a wide range of colours, and in the standard corded version as well as a new rechargeable model

V

erner Panton is considered something of an enfant terrible of Danish design for his radical use of materials, techniques and colours in the objects he created. His designs went in the opposite direction of most of his Danish colleagues, who were strongly influenced by traditional crafts.

After graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Panton went to work with the renowned Danish architect and furniture designer Arne Jacobsen, before establishing his own studio in 1955. In 1960 he created a revolutionary single-form injection-moulded plastic chair – now simply known as the Panton Chair – which has an organic shape that echoes the curves of the human body and came in a range of bright colours. The chair is arguably his most famous design and was synonymous with the flower power movement of the era.

As was the aptly named Flowerpot collection of lights. The light, which was designed in 1968, comes in a pendant or table lamp and is made from two half-spheres that face each other.

The lamps are now produced by the Danish company &Tradition and come in an updated wide range of colours.

As well as the traditional corded lamp, there is a new portable (rechargeable) version – an innovation that is making its way into a lot of classic lamp designs. $660 for the corded table lamp, $375 for the portable table lamp.

From Cult Design. cultdesign.com.au

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ACCOR Logo horizontal JOB : 19J3103E Date : 13/02/19 Scale : Size : Fabrication :

C0 M0 Y0 K0 WHITE