oooohhhh myyyyyy gaaaawwwwdddd!!!!!
I finally went to check out the amazing looking house at 2 Charteris Drive, Ivanhoe East on Saturday and I was pretty blown away. Although in a sad state of disrepair externally, the house has lost none of its regal splendor inside.
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| View from East facing terrace through to formal living area |
As you climb the bluestone crazy-pave steps to the entry, your eyes are drawn to the glazed entry, blurring the boundary between inside and out with a buried window frame that makes the garden appear to extend inside. The indoor plants are presided over by what I guess is a custom made glass chandelier. You pass a shag carpet covered staircase and through to the formal living area (pictured) with waterwall. Here a central timber clad bar divides off the formal dining area. Servants or the host can discreetly slip from here through to the kitchen - complete with its own sunny hollywood style meals area.
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| Double height formal living area - and view to the Dandenongs from the Mezzanine |
Also to be mentioned downstairs is the glorious yellow accented powder room and green metallic wallpapered bedroom, opening - of course - onto the pool, again oozing hollywood style.
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| Ground floor bedroom with amazing wallpaper & pool view |
Upstairs on a mezzanine style level is a large parents retreat carpeted in orange striped shag!
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| That orange shagpile on the mezzanine retreat! |
The master bedroom has one of the best walk in robe/dressing rooms I have ever seen - soooo many drawers, all with crystal knobs. The ensuite, while not exactly masculine, has the most amazing lilac tiles. Not sure if they are glass or Marblo but they appear to be individually glazed, and they match the hob bath and basins perfectly.
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| Amazing Ensuite oozing Hollywood glamour! (All photo's courtesy Mile Real Estate) |
Designed and built for former Mayor of Melbourne Ralph Bernardi and his family by L.U. Simon (the founding Professor of the School of Building at The University of Melbourne no less!), this house is not only an amazing time capsule of the era, but would make anyone building their own home today covert the floorplan and design.
Okay, must dash and buy a lottery ticket!!
You are so funny Renae! If we ever extend here I'll bring you in to look at my place - nowhere near as flash as this but also built in the 50s/60s. Love from Miss Rosanna x
ReplyDeleteI will hold you to that Miss Rosanna!
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ReplyDeleteHi Renae, I visited this house today to collect some wonderful mid-century modern pieces that I had purchased from the vendor at auction. The auctioneer, David Freeman, who was handling the sale of the contents and I go to chatting. He said that he thought that the new owner was planning a major renovation (which it needs), and that the house was NOT going to be demolished, as I had feared.
ReplyDeletealistair@secretdesignstudio.com
Hi Alistair,
DeleteI drove past the goods auction yesterday and wished I could have stopped to go in! Such good news that this house has sympathetic new owners - I actually didn't even consider that it might be demolished as it has such a workable floor plan, garden, pool etc but it does need a heck of a lot of work and money to bring it back to its former glory.
Yay!