Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A French gem in suburban Sydney...

I'd have to say realestate stalking is an Australian national pastime and with the age of the information super highway it's taken it to a whole new level. I remember as a child it was an occasional sunday ritual to go with my parents and grandparents for a boring drive around the streets admiring all the pretty houses. Now as an adult I LOVE to do just that and I'm also a regular visitor to display home villages just for the fun of it. I too now drag my kids along lol.
I know alot of you do the same as evident in wonderful driveby posts such as this from sweet Melissa of The Inspired Room and This from lovely Joni of Cote de Texas.
I still haven't found the guts to actually photograph my drivebys but I'm sure that confidence will come soon. In the meantime my other stalking passion is via the net.
My latest find is a dream come true. This home is in a lovely old suburb of Sydney with plenty of traditional homes and only 30mins from the city centre. The land blocks are massive, well suited to a large home compared to the itty bitty size blocks of land people purchase for their McMansions today. Stunning mature gardens, large room sizes, minutes from a beautiful reserve, plenty of privacy.
I love the high pitched roof and the long pebble drive to the garage at the back, through the perfect hedging and pergola.

This formal diningroom is absolutely stunning! The only thing I would change are the lights. I'd have to hang a chandy in there. Oh and perhaps a painting over the buffet in front of the mirrored wall. The beautiful arched french doors leading out to the parterre garden are spectacular. I would host the most fabulous dinner parties in this room lol ;)

I also love the way the dining room flows through the arched walkways from the living room and as you can see, still admire the garden from within this room.

I perhaps would have kept the timber floors flowing through the living room instead of the carpet with some exquisite oversized aubusson rugs for warmth and definition. I would make the walls and ceiling a little more ornate and of course another chandelier.


My french settee sofas would be white linen and the ottoman would be tufted. My scatter cushions again would be pretty aubusson tapestries. The fireplace would be stone and I'd have venetian mirror above.


The kitchen has a great layout and lovely size, however I think it's a little overdone. Mine would be more rustic with a lighter island counter top. I'm madly in love with the windows and the french doors leading outside.



Who wouldn't want a bedroom this size? Look at those romantic doors leading out to the stunning ornate juilet balconies! Of course the walls must change to duck egg blue, perhaps a wallpaper feature wall behind the bed and where's the chandelier?! ;)

Another aubusson rug and a sumptuous sofa would look great in here at it would soak up the mass of floor space.


What an immaculate garden! Thats my dream swimming pool right there.



I could never tire from that view. what a perfect space to entertain or simply relax and forget about the world. Who'd need to go on holidays?!
And Finally, wait for it....



A spot of tennis anyone? ;)



As you can see from the floor plan this home is almost too big (well for my family anyway). Ample space yet not ridiculous. OOh I could live VERY happily here lol.




All photo's are from realestate.com




13 comments:

Oliveaux said...

Realestate.com has come up with another winner. What a stunning house (mansion). I absolutely love the garden too!!! Amanda

Porchlight Interiors said...

This is fabulous! It would be hard to use all that space but I would love to give it a good try.

mondocherry said...

Wow!
I definitely agree that a chandelier (or ten!) is needed, but otherwise I can quite see myself living here. With five kids I think we could almost fill it!
Clare

lily-g said...

what a gorgeous house and how beautiful are the gardens, love the beach house too

MaryBeth said...

OH MY STARS, that is so lovely, each picture got better and better. I want to move in right now. I noticed it was price upon request, any guess how much this would cost? I will be flying from the States just for a walk through. I wonder how hard it would be to have my furniture shipped. haha.
MB
By the way love the Peter Gabriel song.

Unknown said...

This home is soooo gorgeous! I love the first photo of the home. The landscaping is wonderful- sp Pretty! Daisy~

Celia said...

You see?? I am pretty sure I could decide to have more kids living in a house like that!, lol...

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Look at you, you stalker! Internet stalkers are the scariest kind! LOL!

Love this, such beautiful rooms!

Happy day (in the thick of wedding set up, sorry to be scarce!)

xoxo

Kathy said...

The exterior is downright ga-ga gorgeous!

Villa Anna said...

Marybeth I would guesstimate this home will fetch around 2 - 3 million.

Anna :)

Villa Anna said...

Celia you hit the nail on the head lol. If I had that kinda money and that home I would probably have more kids too.

Anna :)

Things That Inspire said...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the exterior of this home. It is SO beautiful! I studied the floor plan, and it is so unusual.

That piece of property is incredible!

Anastasia said...

its just beautiful...the homes in that part of Sydney are great in that they are all individual in appearance and so spacious - love that!!
i wish I could find my ideal home in Earlwood where we live - there is nothing on the market that excites...we've been looking for months...sadly we dont want to move to any other area!