Contemporary Brighton home transformed by design doyen
Once home to Australia’s kitchenware king, this Brighton residence is now on the market with a $15m–$16.5m price tag.
2 min
Alex Schiavo, James Driver and Jia Teresa Wizel of Kay & Burton Bayside, have listed the contemporary Brighton residence and are asking for expressions of interest by 5pm on September 16.
Brian Davis, founder of the Decor Corporation, lived at the Wolseley Grove home until his passing in 2021. Davis built his humble homewares company from the ground up in the late 1950s, eventually securing lucrative contracts with Coles and Woolworths.
He then went on to sell his award-winning designs around the world and was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame in 1996.
After his estate was sold in 2022 for $8 million, the current owners engaged Frank Macchia of Macchia Design Studio to inject some Byron Bay je ne sais quoi into the then four-bedroom mid century modern house.
Today, the reimagined five-bedroom home on a grand 1630sq m is a private retreat with all the mod cons expected of a 21st century beachside home.
Beyond the double entry doors, the expansive ground floor has been created for quiet contemplation and meaningful gatherings.
The open plan footprint flows via seamless bi-folds to the outdoors, with the layout centred around a reading and conversation space featuring integrated seating and inspired planting.
There is also a fireside sitting area, window seats and a banquette dining zone next to the unique limestone kitchen with its vast island bench, Wolf appliances and large butler’s pantry.
Macchia’s modern touch has introduced Tongue & Groove oak floors, sand-laced wall render, fluted windows, custom made concrete basins, designer lighting and bespoke joinery throughout.
Additional entertainment areas on the lower level include a separate media room and the north-facing landscaped backyard complete with a family-friendly heated pool and spa. There is also a decadent outdoor spa, self-contained poolside pavilion and gym with a space for a sauna.
While four bedrooms with ensuites and a dedicated study space sit on the entry level, the first floor is home to a palatial suite with a lounge area and bedroom featuring a yard-facing balcony, walk-in wardrobe and a twin-basin ensuite with multiple skylights.
The new-look Brighton residence also has a big wine cellar with tasting table, a large laundry, an attic storage space, reverse-cycle heating and cooling, comprehensive camera security, bore-water irrigation, a substantial wine cellar, a lower-level powder room, and undercover parking for at up to three cars.
A unique Brighton property, the Wolseley Grove house is close to Church and Hampton streets, sought after schools, Sandbelt fairways, city trains, the Bay Trail, and Brighton Beach.
Listed with Kay & Burton Bayside, 3 Wolseley Grove is on the market via an expressions of interest campaign closing on September 16.
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After half a century in the same hands, The Palladium blends Art Deco heritage, cinematic history and beachfront living in one extraordinary offering.
3 min
In Sydney’s Northern Beaches, there are plenty of homes with a multimillion-dollar view and an enviable position close to the sand.
This unique listing has all that, but it has also earned its page in the local history books.
After 50 years in the same hands, The Palladium in Palm Beach—once a famed dance hall, then a restaurant, a private residence, and an artists’ studio—is now back on the market with a price hopes of $13.5 million through BJ Edwards and David Edwards of LJ Hooker Palm Beach.
Positioned in a rare corner spot where Ocean Rd meets Palm Beach Rd, The Palladium has been front and centre observing the famous sandy stretch for almost a century.
Built in the early 1930s, the Art Deco building was originally conceived as a vibrant community dance hall; the “it” place to be for young folk during Sydney’s thriving interwar period.
Often the dances were held to raise money for the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and newspaper reports of the time told of rowdy parties lasting until the early hours, bootleg liquor arrests, and where shorts and sandals—or even pyjamas—were scandalously worn by “both sexes”.
Over the decades, The Palladium has worn many hats.
By 1943, the original owner, Joseph Henry Graham, had defaulted on his loan, and a mortgagee sale reportedly sold the building for £1550, which translates to about $137,000 today. It later became a dining space and a general store run by the Milton family. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the property was also home to the Blue Pacific Restaurant.
The current owners acquired the keys in 1976 when it began its next chapter as a creative hub. One of today’s vendors, filmmaker David Elfick, who has been a filmmaker and producer on such films as Newsfront and Rabbit-Proof Fence, has told stories of a free-spirited creative hub that has been used for film sets, to store numerous movie props, as editing rooms, to hold countless parties and has even hosted visiting members of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
From its famed beachside soirees to its grassroots film club nights, the venue has become woven into the cultural fabric of Palm Beach.
Today, that rich history has been reimagined into a coastal home that honours its past while embracing contemporary beachside living.
Built in a unique architectural style known as streamline moderne, the aeroplane hangar-like building reflects the era’s fascination with air travel, mass transport, and modernity. The facade is defined by a sweeping curved roofline and subtle nautical cues.
The main residence features a vast central living space framed by a number of bedrooms and sunrooms, as well as a front dining room and kitchen. In total, there are four to five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a powder room adjoining an upstairs loft space.
Big, broad windows draw in loads of natural light and provide iconic views, plus the sounds of the beach just across the road.
Many of the original elements remain, most fittingly the polished floors of the former dance hall. In the additional building at the back of the block, there is a separate, self-contained studio with its own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and laundry. From its elevated deck, the outlook stretches across the full sweep of Palm Beach.
Outside, the expansive 1151sq m land parcel also features established gardens with veggie patches and standalone decks for quiet contemplation.
Sitting just across the road from the beach, the property is also within walking distance of local cafes and the surf club. Palm Beach Rock Pool is at one end of the beach, with the Palm Beach Golf Club and the water airport at the other end of the peninsula.
The Palladium and Palm Beach Studio at 16 Ocean Rd, Palm Beach are listed with BJ Edwards and David Edwards of LJ Hooker Palm Beach via a private treaty campaign with a price guide of $13.5 million.
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