Betts best bet

I have just been reading some 'junk mail' including Betts (shoes) latest catalogue. It has a spread entitled 'In Suburbia' and besides the shoes, it features the most swoon-worthy Mid-Century house! I'm trying to uncover where it is (I'm guessing it in Sydney?).

www.betts.com.au

 You can see more of that amazing house on video here and check out the rest of the catalogue here ('In Suburbia' is on pages 2-3).

Charteris Drive

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.

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.

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. 

Ground floor bedroom with amazing wallpaper & pool view

Upstairs on a mezzanine style level is a large parents retreat carpeted in orange striped shag!

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.

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!!

Potential potential

Achh okayyy, I've been slack with Banyule Modern lately. 'Busy-with-other-things-slack', but slack all the same! To be honest, I didn't really think anyone was reading this but my husband and maybe my mum occasionally, but lately I have had some awesome interactions with BM readers and so I feel a bit guilty about going off the air for a coupla weeks. I have not been doing right by the potentially fabulous mid-cent homes in the greater Banyule area!!

So back to it today, and the next week and the week after etal...

Kicking off with a potentially full of potential house at 422 Lower Plenty Road, Viewbank. (Anything that just has one picture and is slated for development usually gets my heart racing). It doesn't seem to be open for inspection but I might just check it out...

(Image courtesy Hocking Stuart Ivanhoe)

Alistair Knox 'Twins'

Two impressive properties are currently up for sale designed and built by the late, great Alistair Knox. While not strictly falling into the 'Mid-century Modern' category, the use of natural or 'raw' materials and response to site have a relationship to the principles of Modernist design. These two homes are so similar - each with overscale timbers, recycled brick floors, mudbrick walls and generously proportioned spaces. You can read more about Alistair Knox here.

19 Eucalyptus Road, Eltham

(All images courtesy Morrison Kleeman Real Estate)

8 Yarra Braes Road, Eltham

(All images courtesy Morrison Kleeman Real Estate)

Lovely Locksley

I have trawled through the RE pages today and there is just not much on the market in the Banyule area that exhudes 50's / 60's style :(

I did however find this little beauty at 6/53-55 Locksley Rd, Ivanhoe. It is pre-modern as it was built in the 1930's but it has great character about it and an interesting garden.

Mad about those green splashback tiles! so 'Heath Ceramics'!

(All images courtesy Miles Real Estate)

Such Great Heights

I went for a ride yesterday and took some of snapshots of my two favorite houses in my immediate area. Unfortunately(and possibly typical of me) they are both completely run down and over-grown 60's shacks with skillion roof. Embarrassingly, I think I thought they were the same house until a couple of weeks ago (they are one street apart and in roughly the same position) when i twigged that they were actually different colours.

The White House

Things I love about the White House: Great Chimney, Skillion Roof, Eave lining boards, Window proportions, Pergola over Entry, Recessed position on Block

Yellow House

Things I love about the Yellow House: Chimey, Skillion roof, Covered Entry (Hard to see much else!)

It just breaks my heart to see these two potential beauties fall into a state of disrepair. They could be the most modern houses in Heide Heights, if only I could get my little mits (and some serious cash) on them...

RBID blog launch

In a fit of insanity, last week I started a new blog for my business - RBID. This new blog is going to showcase more of my work and serve as a more creative outlet for me. You can follow my adventures here...