Property of the week: 23 Barr St, Balmain
An extraordinary warehouse conversion in the inner west delivers in spades on luxury living
3 min
Artist Sandra Leveson is known for her luminescent paintings and prints, embracing vibrant colours and abstract textures in her work. So it comes as no surprise that her private home and studio of the last four decades has been a grand converted warehouse brimming with natural light and oodles of open space.
The one-time chemical warehouse in Sydney’s inner west is an extraordinary urban transformation blending a raw industrial palette with a savvy floorplan to create a unique work-from-home experience. Simultaneously a home, a studio and a gallery, Leveson’s Balmain bolthole is a testament to her artistic legacy and creative mind.
Selling agent Danny Cobden of Cobden Hayson, who is taking the property to market with a $7 million price guide, said the rare listing is an opportunity for a buyer with vision.
“It’s such a truly unique offering for Balmain. Warehouse residences do come up, but they’re pretty rare and this particular one hasn’t been to market in about 40 years,” he said.
“This is certainly very liveable as is, but it’s also an extraordinary blank canvas for somebody new to come in and put their own stamp on it.”
Measuring 535sqm of internal living space, the residence sits on a 573sqm block incorporating ample room for outdoor entertaining, storage and parking. The former atelier features a striking 29m-long facade with a dramatic sawtooth roofline providing spectacular double-height vaulted ceilings and plenty of floor space. Elevated steel-framed windows, exposed steel beams and a contemporary mezzanine upper level layout are reminiscent of Manhattan’s coveted lofts but rarely seen in Sydney.
The vast open plan ground floor space is anchored by a huge L-shaped entertaining gallery and living room punctuated by a central fireplace. While the high roof line and cavernous space are showstoppers in themselves, the piece de resistance is the 11m by 3m pool and private sundeck sitting at centre stage in a rooftop terrace visible from almost every corner of the property. Under the pool, there is hidden storage, as well as a laundry.
The commercial-grade eat-in kitchen has stainless steel surfaces and appliances and the ground floor also houses one bedroom with an ensuite, plus a self-contained one-bedroom apartment.
Up on the second level, two open plan bedrooms overlook the gallery space with two bathrooms, a dressing room and a second living area.
Additional amenities include a secure lock-up garage with a 3m clearance and loading bay, off-street parking and a lush tropical entry garden. The quiet cul de sac position tucked behind Darling St is close to Ann Cashman Reserve.
The Balmain warehouse has a price guide of $7 million and is on the market with Cobden Hayson via expressions of interest, closing September 25. For more information contact Cobden Danny Cobden on 0411 144 210.
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Built as a forever home, Corazón combines wellness, luxury and architectural flair in one of New Farm’s most ambitious residential projects.
4 min
Although Corazón was meticulously built to be the Smout family’s dream home, the glamorous Brisbane residence is now seeking its next custodian.
The luxury New Farm property named Corazón, the Spanish word for heart, was always meant to be the Smouts’ forever home.
Becky, a teacher-turned-design specialist, and her property developer husband Francisco bought a pre-war timber home on the 810sq m site back in 2022 for $2.625 million. They then painstakingly transformed it into a luxury 21st-century residence.
The laborious process included a full year of negotiations with Brisbane City Council to secure approval for the now six-bedroom, nine-bathroom architectural landmark at 563 Lower Bowen Tce.
Plans for the family of five are taking another direction, and on June 13, Corazón will go under the hammer, marketed by Matt Lancashire and his team from Ray White Collective Luxury.
“This is the most incredible house I have ever seen. The quality of the build, the finish, this family poured their heart into this home for three years, and it shows in every single detail. There is nothing else like it in Brisbane,” he said.
Since the house is headed to auction, Queensland regulations prevent agents from publicly advertising price guides.
However, according to Cotality records, the current price record for New Farm is $25 million, set by a renovated home at 17 Julius St that sold for $25 million in 2025.
The top figure paid on Lower Bowen Tce was set in 2023, when a contemporary 503 sq m property at number 603 sold for $6.2 million.
Lancashire added that demand for luxury Brisbane property had never been stronger, as more cashed-up buyers seek designer homes close to the CBD.
Just this month, Lancashire and his colleague Josh Brown set a new suburb price record when Governess, an 1860s-era home in Paddington reimagined by local builder-developer Graya, sold for an undisclosed sum reported to be “more than” $12 million.
Corazón is an example of how the Australian prestige market is currently reflecting the high-end tastes of high-net-worth buyers.
Vanessa Rader, Ray White head of research, said the nation’s wellness economy – now valued at $141 billion and representing 7.8 per cent of GDP – was actually reshaping buyer expectations.
“The most significant transformation in luxury real estate is happening behind the walls,” Rader explained.
“Intelligent wellness design is no longer coming; it has already arrived in Australia’s premium property market, redefining luxury for a generation that values optimisation.”
Today, the spacious three-storey New Farm home has 963sq m of internal and external living space, crafted for Queensland’s long summers and laidback lifestyle.
Standout design features include a dramatic double-helix spiral staircase, 3m ceilings, curved glass and steel, off-form concrete surfaces, Venetian plaster walls, and a show-stopping solid marble travertine bathtub carved from a single block of stone.
The ground floor is an entertainer’s playground with a vast open-plan living and dining zone anchored by a sleek kitchen complete with a long eat-at island bench, a hidden buyer’s pantry, plus Miele, Gaggenau and Pitt appliances.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls peel back to reveal a paved terrace featuring a full outdoor kitchen and an integrated Beefeater barbecue.
A heated magnesium-filled pool sits next to a grassed courtyard and fire pit, with an added wellness retreat space housing a sauna, an ice bath, and a bathroom.
The entry level also houses a separate media room, a wine bar, a guest bedroom with an ensuite, a mudroom-style laundry and a home office with built-in desks.
A private lift serves all floors, including the accommodation level, which has five ensuite bedrooms, as well as a first-floor retreat and study area. In the primary suite, there is a huge dressing room, strategically placed skylights and a lavish bathroom with a double shower.
As an added bonus for the kids, one bedroom has its own rock-climbing wall and suspended net cubby.
One more level up, and the rooftop lounge with a kitchenette has sweeping city skyline views and a grand terrace.
Security features at the home include facial-recognition entry, perimeter cameras, and a comprehensive internal and external alarm system. There is also a Crestron smart home system with Dali lighting control for more than 400 fittings.
Corazón has a three-car garage with a gym and parking for up to three more cars behind the security gates. The Lower Bowen Tce home is approximately 200m from New Farm Park, 400m from Merthyr village and 2 km from the Brisbane CBD.
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