Moving to the bush without leaving the city

COVID-induced lockdowns might be over but our love affair with regional centres continues, with one small caveat. Most of those contemplating a move would prefer to be within two hours of a major city centre.

This property at 22 Benjamin Road Mount Kembla, just a 10-minute drive from Wollongong CBD offers all the comforts of regional living with the convenience of city living. The four-bedroom, three-bathroom architecturally designed home has distinct mid century design vibes but with contemporary open plan spaces set over two levels.

The spacious, but manageable 696sqm block is surrounded by trees, offering a ‘living in the treetops’ experience from the upper floor, while large picture windows and sliding glass doors ensure the house is flooded with natural light.

Well-placed eaves, louvres and awning windows contribute to the passive solar design of the house, creating cross ventilation and thermal comfort indoors.

An ideal home for growing families, the block also includes a lap pool and lawn with abundant room for play equipment.

Offered for the first time in almost 20 years, the house has a price guide of $2m to $2.5m.

Address: 22 Benjamin Road, Mount Kembla

Price guide: $2m to $2.5m

Open for inspection: Saturday, May 13 10am-10.30am

Agent: Jordan Andonovski, The Agency Wollongong 0410 347 443

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is selling his Northern California estate, which was listed Monday for $24.5 million.

Located in Atherton, an extremely affluent town northwest of Palo Alto and about 30 miles south of San Francisco, the 3.36-acre property is made up of three parcels that Schmidt acquired over the years, according to public records and Compass, who has the listing.

Schmidt, 69, and his wife, businesswoman Wendy Schmidt, purchased the main home in 1990 for $2 million, according to public records accessed via PropertyShark. They remodelled the 1969 home in 2007, and at that time, bought a neighbouring parcel of land, allowing an expansion of the main house and the addition of a guest house, according to Compass, who holds the listing. A third parcel was later acquired, on which the Schmidts added an English garden house and landscaped grounds overlooking the Eastern Hills.

“Finding three contiguous parcels in Atherton is rare. Even rarer are those with views of the Eastern hills,” said listing agent Katharine Carroll of the reSolve Group at Compass. “The location of this residence is ultra private, at the back of a cul-de-sac with the main house built into a hillside that provides privacy and very good security.”

Across the estate, there are five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and six half bathrooms.

The 5,265-square-foot main house also offers a number of private outdoor spaces on its upper level, including a large terrace off the primary suite, another large terrace off a secondary bedroom, plus a third smaller terrace and two balconies.

Behind the main house is a patio with a pool and spa. For even more outdoor space, there’s an entertaining pavilion, an open lawn and an outdoor fireplace area near the guest quarters.

The grounds themselves are also a standout feature, with an array of mature plants and specimen trees. The upper portion of the property’s landscaping is designed around an Amdega-designed conservatory, which was imported from the U.K. Around the greenhouse, there is a garden of raised beds and fruit trees, Carroll said.

“From the moment you step onto the grounds, it feels as if you’ve been transported to a private botanical sanctuary,” she said.

Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, and then became the company’s executive chairman until 2015. He could not be reached for comment.

This article first appeared on Mansion Global

Moving to the bush without leaving the city

You don’t have to travel far from this idyllic bush setting to be in the central business district