Theres a touch of the 1940 film Philadelphia Story about this elegant property writes Prue Miller

Fabulous Grant and Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story 1940

It would seem fitting to see Katherine Hepburn lounging by the pool colonnade, with Cary Grant sprinting across the perfectly level lawn.  Without doubt this is a home for romantics.

Set near the end of the prestigious Castle Circuit the original developer kept this one block, the cherry on the cake, for himself. Found at the end of a long private driveway, lies a single level, low profile and private home that looks out to a remarkable view of waterways and bushland.

The house is long, with most rooms taking on the view through immaculately maintained original, wood framed, windows and doors. Visitors enter into a small foyer and walk into the large combined living area, the floor covered in a highly polished parquetry timber, with rarely seen inlaid patterns.

The ceilings are not high, and the undercover and expansive patio beside the lake sized pool is similarly low. The effect of this wide screen illusion is that when you step beyond the patio the view seems to explode before your eyes.

The most breathtaking room is perhaps the  master bedroom; super sized and surrounded in glass and affording absolute privacy the room is positioned at just the right angle to have a view that reaches up the waterways and over headlands to Sydney Tower.

Owner and former finance industry CEO John Barnes speaks adoringly of the property. “We were very lucky to spend twenty years there,” he said from his new harbour side apartment in Birchgrove.

“Plus we had access to our own mooring, and our kids were always water skiing ,” he recalled. The Barnes family had their choice of homes, but while Mosman and Clontarf had attractions, they did not offer the privacy and peace the family desired. “There wasn’t anywhere that could quite do this.”

For the Barnes family this is their True Love, and my, she is yar.

Prue Miller is a journalist with News Local. 

Its inexplicable why a narrow windy road makes an address seem more exclusive, but in this case it’s well earned.

75 Chisholm Ave is at the end of the road, 20 steps from Angophera reserve, deep within the rocky folds of the peninsula. The level walk from the carport is flagged by the first of many enormous wooden sleepers (rescued from a long dead railway), and skirted by dramatic and magnificent rocks.  As you enter Qantas pilot Peter Kingsford’s, home you are immediately drawn into this open, though cosy space, aware of the sandstone coloured polished cement floors and the panorama of bush within easy reach thanks to open spaces, and bird life, everywhere.

A seriously big fireplace, surrounded by artisan-crafted stonework warms the whole house thanks to hydronic space heating and in a design sense it anchors the living area.

Not a conventional home in shape or material, it has different levels and ceiling heights, blackened wood next to caramel oregon timbers, aluminum framed windows shedding dappled light onto weathered timber tables. It is a home that feels rich in texture and confident in design, and absolutely part of the natural terrain as it steps down into the forest, the rocks a strong and ever-present feature.

The land has been in Peter’s hands for 14 years, but it was only three years ago that he began to build,  designing around a collection of signature materials and ideas he had been collecting for the duration, influenced in part by his Asian travels.

Off the mid level living area is a bathroom with a double width cavity sliding door – reminiscent of shoji design – and as for the Japanese bath off the Master? Opening up to the virgin bushland? An inspired idea.

“I’ve had enough time in cities while travelling overseas,” Peter said. He wanted to create a sanctuary while, as he put it, “doing the site justice”. Without doubt he has fulfilled his wish on both counts.

This story was featured in the Manly Daily May 2012