Property of the week: 1 Edzell Avenue, Toorak
A rare riverfront position is just the start to the luxury offering at this Melbourne trophy home
A rare riverfront position is just the start to the luxury offering at this Melbourne trophy home
Only four properties on coveted Edzell Avenue reach the Yarra River waterfront, so the arrival of this newly rebuilt residence at number 1 is a prize catch. So rare is the riverfront position, and the unique redesign by Andrew Parr of SJB Architects, that Marshall White Stonnington has listed the Toorak trophy home with a head-turning price guide of $50 million to $55 million.
The prestige property will be firmly placed in the top residential price bracket for Melbourne, but is still far from the giddy heights of the Victorian capital’s benchmark of the $80 million spent by crypto king Ed Craven on his Toorak pile in 2022.
A complete transformation of an original 1920s house, this stately home still holds much of its old world glamour but also showcases the best of what money can buy a century later.
And that cash comes from an owner who knows a little about renovations — title records reveal the period property was bought in 2013 by Sarah Laidlaw, wife of former Mitre 10 boss Mark Laidlaw. After purchasing for $6.1 million, the Laidlaws’ transformation has injected a sophisticated aesthetic complementing its glamorous historic facade.
The river sits centre stage with an uninterrupted outlook from most rooms of the house, as well as the private jetty and rare Melbourne boathouse, capturing Burnley golf course and the city skyline.
Beyond a stately reception hall the living areas have been carefully remastered on a grand scale with a choice of entertaining spaces opening to the great outdoors.
The palatial dining and living rooms have fireplaces and aged–bronze archways framing the river panorama and an expansive north west–facing stone terrace with pergola, barbecue kitchen, heaters and an outdoor fire. A media room and bar also spill out onto the landscaped gardens and for further entertaining the cantilevered heated infinity pool and spa seemingly hover above the Yarra.
In the state-of-the-art kitchen there are Pilbara marble benches, Gaggenau appliances, an integrated Sub-Zero fridge/freezer, wine fridge and a butler’s pantry.
Up the curved marble staircase, or via the private lift, the accommodation level includes three bedrooms with ensuites and built–ins plus a palatial primary suite complete with a gas fire, indulgent dressing room, deluxe marble bathroom and balcony overlooking the water and golfing green.
Down on the lower level, the property also features a gym, temperature-controlled wine cellar and executive home office with and independent street entry.
The rare piece de resistance for the riverside residence is the large river deck with a self-contained timber–lined retreat with kitchenette and ensuite. Below that is a personal boatshed with a slipway, one of only a handful of privately–owned jetties in Toorak.
Additional five star features include Control4 home automation, an alarm with CCTV and a video intercom, as well as hydronic heating, reverse-cycle air-conditioning, ducted vacuuming, full irrigation and a four-car lock up garage.
The Toorak residence is listed through an expressions of interest campaign closing at 1pm on November 11 via Marcus Chiminello, Nicole French and Alan Crawford of Marshall White Stonnington.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
Spring Hill Enviro-Cottage is the ultimate fairytale of old meets new, an architectural marriage of two distinctly different eras that seamlessly come together in 21st-century Brisbane.
The Isaac Street home is one of Spring Hill’s original workers’ cottages that in 2010 was expertly transformed into a uniquely sustainable home with all the modern-day must-haves and plenty of boxes ticked on the wish list too.
While preserving the classic Queenslander, the 286sqm property has been reimagined to deliver an innovative and eco-friendly address.
Kitchen joinery has been crafted from reclaimed timber, there is environmentally friendly paint, a suite of energy efficient appliances, solar power, underground water storage, and an Eco Plunge Pool.
Although the charming period facade remains, the rear of the house has an ultra contemporary backdrop of patterned Corten steel privacy screens that minimise heat and create dappled light across the interior spaces. At night, the unique partition’s geometric laser-cut design provides a star-like feature in the main bedroom suite.
The considered passive design principles extend to the strategically located louvres, doors and windows that draw in cooling breezes, while a vast skylight over the dining area and kitchen allows for plenty of natural light in winter. Burnished concrete floors keep the ground cool and grand walls of glass peel back to reveal a seamless flow to the outdoors with a grassed and landscaped private courtyard.
Although the ground floor has been designed for everyday living and entertaining, the multi-purpose front room with ensuite is an ideal guest retreat or even a perfect ‘work from home’ space complete with a separate entry via the front patio.
Upstairs, a mezzanine lounge provides another breakout area for families, and the two first floor bedrooms open out to the traditional full-width balcony overlooking the street. These bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and desks with a shared family-friendly bathroom.
At the rear of the footprint, a freestanding two-storey pavilion features yet another living space next to the pool with an integrated bar. Above the space the top floor main bedroom has an ensuite and walk-through wardrobe.
A long list of bonus features include ceiling fans in all bedrooms and living areas, a thermostat-controlled whirlybird to extract excess heat, a 5kW solar system with a SMA Sunny Boy inverter, a 20,000L rainwater tank, a filtering and UV disinfection system and a solar hot water system with 450L storage tank.
Although there is a lock up garage, this city-fringe home is within walking distance of Roma Street Parkland, Roma Street Station and Victoria Park. Brisbane Central State School is also only two streets away.
In keeping with Queensland consumer law, properties going under the hammer cannot carry advertised price guides.
This Brisbane home at 32 Isaac St, Spring Hill is on the market with Ray White New Farm with an auction date set for November 30. For details contact agent Samuel Angus on 0411 044 949.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.