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Tag Archives: Australian real estate

I’ll Blame My Dreadful Short Game…

25 Tuesday Jan 2022

Posted by Prue Miller in Australian mansions, Australian real estate, country escape, Golf, Golf Course Houses, Homes, Interior Design, International Real Estate, kitchens, Landscape Design, Luxury Real Estate, real estate

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Australian real estate, Golf Houses, Hot Homes, luxury, luxury property, luxury real estate, Prue Miller, real estate

I coulda’ been a contender! My golf game has crashed from reasonable to just plain turn-your-head-away sad. Age screws some of us really badly. If not – I would HAVE THIS GORGEOUS HOME.

So really the pics tell the tale – as smooth as warm caramel on a spoon, this house is scrumptious.

The name gives it away, Arnold Palmer Drive, this mansion faces onto the 15th fairway of the, you guessed it, Arnold Palmer designed golf course in Queensland’s uber swish Sanctuary Cove. A mere pitching wedge from the pool’s edge to the fairway rough.

However, HOWEVER it’s not all about golf, it’s about a single level home, (more than 90 squares) with stupendous interior design, and more than a bucket of balls of ingenuity and good taste.

Four beds, four baths, and a pool … and a dining /living area with floor to ceiling glass – oh, be still my beating heart – looking onto the lush green landscape of the golf course.

Whoever did the lighting design is a genius, plain and simple – well, pretty much everyone involved in this one is a genius.

Go through the listing and just drool.

Divine. Love it. It’s just come on for the first time with Ray White’s Matt Gates … lucky bugger.

Video is here, listing is here and above. My hopes and dreams can be found hanging in a the closet out the back.

Do they have an octogenarians’ tournament?

Maybe its not too late.

Yes Prue, it IS. Sigh.

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Prue Miller is a freelance journalist with a distinct penchant for architecture and real estate.

Prue Miller is NOT a good golfer.

Bathroom Tiles Are An Art Form – Sometimes.

29 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by Prue Miller in Interior Design, Uncategorized

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Australian real estate, Bathroom tiles, Bathrooms, luxury, luxury property, luxury real estate, Melbourne property, Mosaic, Prue Miller

Perhaps it’s frustration with my old favourite TV show, The Block, which this season is so bad, I don’t even record it anymore. There’s nothing innovative; no plans afoot that make me so curious I have to see how it turns out … just bullshit and drama, and no product information beyond endless sponsor plugs.

I know ‘out there’ ideas that need to be seen. Decorating, interior design, is an art form, it’s a gigantic palette waiting for daubs of character and passion. Some people are Kandinsky, or Warhol, or Banksy, or Monet or Manet or whatever. Not everyone likes everything, but art causes a reaction. Has an impact. Wakes you up. Makes you think.

Extreme developers, which are mostly found in Melbourne it seems to me, are not afraid to venture into into the wild lands of being non-bland.

I use the spectacular 270A Punt Road South Yarra as an example.

Absolutely, boldly exuberant in every aspect – let’s just for the hell of it, check out the tiles. Check out something different. See what money, time and the heart of a gilt lion can give you.

And just when you think there are no tiles left in Melbourne … the indoor pool produces the Big Finish.

You’ll never swim alone

The whole property is wonderfully shocking. Unique. A statement. Video can be found here .

This is a kitchen. No kidding.

Three bedrooms, six levels and, as one does, an exterior video screen. C’mon. Wild.

No words. Oh, hang on, one word. Wow.

Thinking outside the box, or indeed The Block.

This does however bring me back to Season 13 of said series, when the loveable larrikins Sticks and Wombat took some risks, and produced my favourite bathroom concept the series has ever produced.

If only history would repeat itself.

  • Sticks and Wombat from Channel Nine’s The Block, Season 13

Prue Miller is a property journo with too many opinions.

Wardrobe? It has its own postcode – and so does His!

15 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by Prue Miller in Australian real estate, Homes, International Real Estate

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Australian real estate, interiordesign, luxury, luxury property, Miller, Prue Miller, queensland luxury, real estate, wardrobes, waters edge water view

Okay so lockdown has led me down some very shady aisles at Bunnings – then some late night, tequila driven escapades on eBay all in the hope of upgrading my humble wardrobe. Somehow I ended up with a new broom, two new lip glosses and travel alerts on every website known to aviation.

Yep, lockdown is a sad place.

Plus my wardrobe is still pathetic. Not helped AT ALL by this outrageously divine property in Queensland. We’ll get to the other bits and bobs later, because I want to show you these two crazy wardrobes. Clothes throne rooms is more like it, but hell, let’s ogle the obvious.

This is just for the Her of the house … even a coffered ceiling – hooley dooley

So this is just for madame … I just LOVE those islands full of drawers. Probably a drawer for silk scarves, a drawer gloves, a drawer for perfumes that start with C. I mean, I dunno how you fill these things because I do not have the weighty problem of too much stuff.

Plus, you get here by walking down a sexy curved stairway from the ensuite.

The stairway is just off to the right beside la tub.

On a different level, on so many ways, is then His throne room.

Oh my ….

C’mon – this is gorgeous, is it not?

The rest of the property is drop dead too – though I for one, am not a fan of grand pianos. Something cold about those suckers.

Check out the living areas and okay, last OMG for this listing, the sunken lounge at the waters edge is just beyond.

This property is with Ray White Gold Coast Prestige, price unknown, but location is the very swish Sanctuary Cove.

Such a long, long, long way from my life in aisle 29 at Bunnings.

Prue Miller is a property journalist, but that’s just an excuse to look at other people’s homes.

Making it on the Outside

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by Prue Miller in Australian mansions, Australian real estate, country escape, Homes, International Real Estate, Luxury Real Estate, real estate, Uncategorized

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Australian real estate, Hot Homes, luxury, luxury property, Prue Miller, real estate

38 Burwood Road, Whitebridge NSW Australia

Okay so maybe lockdown lunacy is getting to me but homes with space, room, fresh air, nature well, they are really appealing right now.

And this one, this fab home near Newcastle in NSW has managed to deliver up the ideal mix of ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, with the out being just GORGEOUS.

Sure decks and patios and terraces are nothing new – but so often those outside spaces have ceilings that are appallingly low – they make you feel like a cheese and ham croissant squashed into a sandwich toaster.

However the very clever folks at Anthrocite Architects in NSW have created the most spacious, open outside zone, that there is an almost cathedral-esque feel, worshipping the two and a half acres of grassy, sunny, leafy land upon which is resides.

That sentence ran on a bit – but I’m all gushy about this place; from the perfect brick choice, to the heated floors, the exciting shapes and levels. It’s a great property from every perceivable angle.

Near the coast, not far from Newcastle city and a couple of hours to Sydneyh, it is a great spot to enjoy life. At the time of writing the property if for sale through Walkom Real Estate with a guide price on it of between $AUD 3.9-$4.2m

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMI-h2DF3Y

Listing link

Prue Miller is a property and architecture journalist, but just writes this for fun.

The Mews is Delicious, Delightful and Delovely says Prue Miller

30 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by Prue Miller in Australian mansions, Luxury Real Estate, Uncategorized

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542-544 Moss Vale Road, Australian real estate, luxury, real estate, Southern Highlands real estate

Auntie Mame (1958) Directed by Morton DaCosta Shown: Rosalind Russell

In the words of Auntie Mame …

“Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

The wonder dog and I hit the road this week, for a property inspection in NSW Southern Highlands. The pics on line had grabbed my attention, and while my column in the Saturday Telegraph is more often than not about Dream Homes of a certain style, 542 Moss Vale Road pretty much crossed those boundaries. But I cared not one tit. It looked delicious, rich, lavish and more to the point, interesting.

The Mews - Foyer

PRINT_5The floorplan is single level, but the decor is another level all together. Murals, amazing murals, which the agent estimates would cost a million dollars to replicate, illuminate spaces – the dining room?

The Mews - Dining

The design of this room could only encourage the most retiring  guest to add full throated opinion to discussion, adding to the enjoyment of lucky guests seated around a large and inviting table.

The living areas are more salons than rooms – the furnishings  (much of which may be negotiated as part of the sale) are silk and brocade and guilt and perfect for these most wonderful spaces.

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PRINT_f2What I wouldn’t give to have been lucky enough to have attended a big ‘do’ here as a guest of the former owner who I am reliably told just loved to have folks over.

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The pictures tell so much of the story – I mean look at that Teppenayaki kitchen/dining bar, it opens onto the INDOOR POOL!

PRINT_19

The master bedroom, a study in pink, includes a sunlit sitting area, and measures a staggering 50sqm. The word ‘palatial’ came to mind again, but I may have been influenced by all the guilt furniture.  The ensuite does not exceed expectations despite columns around the sunken bath, a flawless marble statue, and a shower encased in etched glass.

PRINT_13

And the gardens – oh my giddy aunt! Three acres of towering conifers, swathes of rose beds and winding paths that tke you past waterfall endowed ponds surrounded by gnarled and bountiful weeping cherry trees.

PRINT_f16

Amazing, I could have wandered the halls and pathways for another hour or more, but the wonder dog was giving me that look from the front seat and it was time to go.

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Di Jones Southern Highlands has the listing, and its looking for around $AUD3.9m

Prue Miller is a freelance property and architecture journalist in Sydney Australia.

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prue@pruemiller.com

 

HOLLYWOOD FOUND AT 9 STANTON RD – PRUE MILLER

26 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by Prue Miller in Luxury Real Estate

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Australian real estate, luxury, Miller, Prue Miller, real estate

2013923752_8_pi_171012_064648-w435-h652

Is there a better way to experience the world of design? A fountain head from Paris, a chandelier from Spain, a circular staircase that’s origins stretch back so far, we just know it came across the seas before careful records were kept. And all housed in in one of Australia’s most valued suburbs.

Well-travelled owners owners  have done more than curate and display here, they have re-visioned the entire property, and enhanced it into a bespoke experience.

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The front door opens to a soaring foyer, and a swirling, almost sensuous staircase, bordered custom made wrought iron balustrade all of which set the scene for drama set across three floors which are a mix of creamy travertine and contrasting clouds of pristine carpet.

The clever couple extended, and to be honest draped this home in so much care, expense and attention that each room is a study in elegance, style and grace and is reminiscent of luxury one only finds in the best hotels. In fact there is a distinct spa feel to the book-matched marble bathroom in the main suite. Who would have thought in-shower lighting could be so divine?

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Here is a tale with the romance of a Hollywood hideaway, with the impact you feel when you first see a masterpiece in person – whether it’s a Norman Rockwell or a Zhang Xiaogang. Both of which, by the way, would be totally at ease in this elegant re-vision of a 1930s Mosman mansion.

The kitchen, with its walk-in crockery pantry, has a flawless Statuario marble island, and a very private, ceiling-high aspect out to the tiered orchid and gardenia beds created by the owner. I don’t think I have ever seen an orchid terrace – which now that I HAVE seen one, seems crazy. They offer a superb outlook.

2013923752_19_pi_171012_064929-w964-h643

But I must say, the lounge room, nicknamed the Langham Lounge after the famed London Hotel, is a perfectly proportioned room, currently decorated with Roslyn’s perfect touch in deep floral tones, set off with equally rich Macassar cabinetry.

Though rarely mentioned, I just have to mention the window treatments. If you love drapery, or if you have never seen how superb drapes can be, the good news is these silken window ball gowns are included in the sale. Trust me, they are sublime.

2013923752_24_pi_171012_072919-w850-h567

And finally, the terraces; the stunning, travertine terraces that link and meander and bring you that much closer to the soaring heights of Sydney’s elite landscape.

The lovely Gayle Walker of Sotheby’s has this listing.

There is simply not the space to describe further, but be assured, if you are searching for a home that has been created by people who have never settled for second best in anything, and have exquisite taste, get a contract couriered over. Now.

(Prue Miller is a freelance property warrior , and former co-host of Sky News Real Estate http://www.pruemiller.com)

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Australia, we need more lakes and less Lycra – says Prue Miller

16 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by Prue Miller in International Real Estate, Luxury Real Estate

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Australian real estate, lake house, luxury real estate, Prue Miller

Buchanan Boatshed
Buchanan Lake
Buchanan top shot
Buchanan upstairs
Buchanan Front

Call them dams if it helps, but what we’re missing from the laid-back, luxury property market down under is that chilled out, ever so still, LAKE.

Because what follows is the lake house. The Golden Pond potential (and if you haven’t even taken the time to see this movie, then frankly you don’t DESERVE a lake house) of a Scrabble led family retreat, and rediscovery. (As an aside, I have to say I think Jane Fonda is even better in Grace and Frankie than she was in Golden Pond. But I digress…)

Ocean view homes, the ones right on the water – are also majestic – but there’s so much going on. And worse still, people in all their Lycra loudness surge like a coconut scented tide for at least half the year. No, give me serenity with a glass-like finish and the security of a tree lined fiefdom.

Sothebys have a beautiful one for sale in Nashville at the moment.

A Main House, and a Guest House (it’s my blog so I can use upper case at random), plus the de rigueur Boat House can be found on the aptly named Kentucky Lane – overlooking Kentucky Lake. God, I’d buy it just for the address.

The house is aimed squarely at the lake; the great room a centre piece with what could only be called a glass altar, where the lake is praised, and cocktails (one hopes) partaken.

Four beds, four baths and lots of lovely land for the very reasonable price of $USD2.35m.

Yep, let’s get some of them thar lakes for down under. I need a Golden Pond moment or two.

LINKS:

The Lipman Group Sotheby’s International Realty

https://www.wellcomemat.com/embed/m3n7e356f0b7sep/

 

 

 

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