Well Houston, we have a problem. This house is so outstanding there is a good chance I shall gush adjectives like a nervous schoolgirl.
For a start, it’s big. From the street, it’s just monumental, and wonderfully curvy and absolutely anchored to the location that offers a view that … hang on. Before that, you go through well-trodden gate threshold, and are welcomed by lawn the quality of broadloom surrounded by leaf perfect landscaping.
The path is wide and winding and takes it’s time reaching the staircase up to the front door (bypassing the pretty entrance to the lower-floor living quarters), and then, there it is; THAT view.
It’s a showstopper. The breadth of the view, the interest within it, deserves easy and ample viewing opportunities, indoors and out, and this gracious home delivers on all fronts.
Even the spacious veranda tessellation is flawless. The owners have taken no shortcuts in delivering a home is extraordinary condition.
The entry foyer? It sure feels like a ‘12ft ceiling’ height, lined in a rich and intricate cornice, up-lit from the stained glass laden front door. Picture rails, archway corbel, subtle paint pick out … this is a how you did a hallway when making an impression was more than having a busy Instagram account.
As is the norm in this vintage, formal spaces are given room to breathe, with a seriously large lounge (even the current piano seems small here) leading to the front veranda, and a nearby formal dining room with a glorious, dark marble mantle. Kitchen? Another 10/10, with a massive servery to another, Jacaranda shaded, terrace.
The hallway beckons to its conclusion – the parents’ retreat.
It would seem this expression is often misused, because this, dear readers, this is what a retreat should be; 20sqm or more chic bedroom, accessorised by an ensuite and wardrobe, but also with shuttered French doors that open to more broadloom lawn and the mosaic tiled pool and tiered garden – with a ridiculously glamorous staircase up to the four-car garage. To the GARAGE no less.
Not ONE leaf out of place. I swear.
Down the carpeted stair and voila, a two bedroom entirely separate apartment with an exposed stone bedroom that is just, oh my gosh, divine. And be assured this lower level living space is still tops when it comes to sharing THAT view. It’s inspired and inspiring.
Ray White – Lower North Shore has the listing.
This story was originally published in the Mosman Daily, scribed by my good self.