Blog

A sunken lounge offers a sense of arrival. Picture: Katherine Lu

Church Point on the Northern Beaches is renowned for its picturesque views, and this steep block down to a deep water frontage was certainly in a prized location.

The old timber cottage that stood on the site may have been purposeful as an occasional holiday home, but one savvy couple saw its potential for so much more.

Engaging architectural firm CHROFI (the name is taken from partners John Choi, Tai Ropiha and Steven Figherato) to design their new home, the purpose was two-fold. The owners could use a section of the property as their residence on the ground floor, while the floor above could serve as a bed and breakfast.

The house at Church Point slowly reveals itself. Picture: Katherine Lu

Either way, the empty nesters would have plenty of room to welcome family and friends.

CHROFI associate architect Fraser Mudge says the steep 800sq m site’s views were extraordinary.

“Obviously it’s a beautiful part of the world with amazing views, and the first thought is, ‘How do we make the most of those views?’,” says Fraser.

Fraser and his team designed a dwelling which is split in two, connected by a sunken lounge dug into the earth.

The living space enjoys breathtaking water views. The owners have plans for a bed and breakfast. Picture: Katherine Lu

The owners had spent some time in New Zealand and South Africa and wanted their new home to reflect that.

“It’s a very difficult thing to articulate, but it’s a sense of who they are and the design should reflect that,” says Fraser.

“They also had a strong desire to work with off-form concrete, so materialistically we used that as a starting point.”

Concrete and timber have been used extensively in this project. Picture: Katherine Lu

The land, which slopes dramatically to the shore, would make the build challenging. But the design process was also hampered by mature spotted gum trees with deep roots.

Council allowed some of the trees to be removed, but others required a workaround.

“We did remove a couple of larger ones but one of them that had to stay was not located in the most appropriate position,” says Fraser. “Nevertheless, it made for an interesting design — the suspended driveway curves around the tree.”

The carport has also been left open from the street, allowing passers-by to sneak a look down to the water’s edge.

The bathrooms offer access to natural light as well as privacy. Picture: Katherine Lu

While off-form concrete plays an integral part in this build, the design has been softened visually with joinery in spotted gum.

“The joinery is very detailed and reduced, but beautifully finished,” says Fraser. “It’s juxtaposed perfectly against the off-form concrete. The owners were heavily involved, but open to ideas. The best work is done on projects where there is healthy collaboration.”

Photos: Katherine Lu

THE PROJECT

Owners: A couple of empty nesters

Architect: Fraser Mudge, associate architect, CHROFI, chrofi.com

The brief: To build a property that could work as a stand-alone home at ground level and/or a bed and breakfast above

The site: A steep 800sq m site

Design solution: Two pavilions joined by sunken lounge

How long did it take: 15 months

THE SOURCE

Builder Graybuilt, graybuilt.com.au

Interior Design Triibe, wearetriibe.com

Joinery Fine Earth Joinery, fineearthjoinery.com.au

Structural engineer TTW (Taylor Thomson Whitting), ttw.com.au

The post Northern beaches timber cottage transformed into modern home appeared first on realestate.com.au.

IT’S got a commercial pizza oven, firepit, gym and pontoon but it’s the wine cellar that really stands out in this Gold Coast house.

Home to the Atkins family for 18 years, the luxury compound in Sorrento is deceptively discreet from the street.

39 Campbell St, Sorrento is on the market through an expressions of interest campaign.

“It was very deceptive from the front but the water reach instantly appealed,” vendor Michael Atkins said.

“You’ve got privacy, because you’re not looking across into neighbours. Instead you have unimpeded views of trees, the water and a north orientation.”

The wine cellar at 39 Campbell St, Sorrento is something else!

The entertainer features an alfresco terrace with a commercial pizza oven, pool, waterside firepit plus a pontoon, sandy beach, boat ramp and boat shed.

And don’t forget the 1500 bottle temperature-controlled wine cellar with double glazing, insulation, a pressed metal ceiling and LED lighting.

“It’s been fantastic for entertaining,” Mr Atkins said.

“We’ve hosted big parties here of over 100 people.”

“This house copes beautifully for that, especially the wine cellar – that will be hard to leave.”

Style at every turn.

Anchored 50m from the river, the property offers the best of both worlds, according to Mr Atkins.

“We can soak up rivers views without wake damage or boat noise,” he said.

The house, which has been renovated twice during their tenure, is on the market through an expressions of interest campaign.

Eoghan Murphy and Michael Kollosche are the listings agents.

The post Gold Coast house with epic wine cellar on the market appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Point House, Parrot Cay, BWI Turks And Caicos Islands. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate

Is there anything better than having a stickybeak at how the other half live?

The feedback we get from the readers of our Dream Homes pages in The Advertiser’s Real Estate Magazine each week would suggest that no, there isn’t.

And, with examples like the ones below, it’s not hard to see why everyone loves looking at a bit of ‘property porn’.

So kick back and take a trip with us through three of the most stunning homes currently on the market around the world – one of which you won’t even need a passport to visit.

Enjoy!

MORE NEWS

More of Tom Bowden’s Dream Homes

Where you can buy a house for $80,000

Historic church’s impressive transformation

Point House, Parrot Cay, BWI Turks And Caicos Islands. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

I’ve filled this section over the past few years with declarations of love for timber joinery. I’ve pined over open spaces and properties with enough land for me to pretty much just run amok in. So it should come as no surprise that I’m more than a bit taken by this Parrot Cay property.

Point House, Parrot Cay, BWI Turks And Caicos Islands. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate

Soaring ceilings? Check. Timber everywhere you look? Check. Minimalist design? Check. Neighbours far enough away that I can do what I want, when I want while wearing as much or as little as I want? Check.

Point House, Parrot Cay, BWI Turks And Caicos Islands. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate

Offering more than 2000sqm of living space, the home (which kind of looks like a massive sauna) is one of just 12 on the island and was designed by world-renowned architect Cheong Yew Kuan.

Point House, Parrot Cay, BWI Turks And Caicos Islands. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate

It’s got a Bali lava stone pool, hand-carved furniture, hand-carved limestone bathtubs and is set next to a nature reserve and a short walk from a private sandy beach. What’s holding me back? Oh that’s right. The price …

$21.7 million.

Medieval tower on the Trasimeno lake, Umbria. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate.

TRASIMENO LAKE, UMBRIA

OK, so I have to admit, my excitement in this property is somewhat misplaced. I misread Trasimeno Lake as Tiramisu and, being somewhat hungry, put the cart before the horse a little. As it turns out, I’ve lucked out, because while this property doesn’t satisfy my sweet tooth, it does has everything I look for in a dream home.

Medieval tower on the Trasimeno lake, Umbria. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate.

Plenty of timber, plenty of exposed stone, more than a few fireplaces, a stack of history and set on a block that would give me more than enough room to go shirtless and feral. Built in 1363, the building was at one time used as a defensive fortress before being abandoned in the 17th century and later turned into a private residence.

Medieval tower on the Trasimeno lake, Umbria. Supplied by Christie’s International Real Estate.

I can see it now – me gathering a group of merry men as we quit our jobs, drink mead, take up falconry and declare war on the nearest neighbour – who’s actually quite a nice bloke called Terry who’s bought himself a small hobby farm to just escape the rat race and slow things down a little, and brew some small-batch kombucha on the side for some pocket money. We go on to be the best of friends. Yeah, I think this will work out well …

Price not disclosed

911 Coolangatta Road, Lunawanna. Supplied by First National.

LUNAWANNA, TASMANIA

This week, our search for an Australian dream home takes us to (drum roll to build suspense …) TASMANIA!

Regular readers of our paper’s Luxe section will have suspected that was coming, as, given the eastern states have their hands well and truly full with coronavirus, it’s probably best we steer clear of them, even if in image form. Can’t be to careful these days. The virus doesn’t discriminate …

911 Coolangatta Road, Lunawanna. First National.

Anyway, this week our hunt takes us to gorgeous Bruny Island in Tasmania, famed for its rich agricultural land, fresh air, laid-back lifestyle and its 1998 Over 80s World Calisthenics Championship-winning team. OK, so I got a little carried away again, but this place is a cracker.

911 Coolangatta Road, Lunawanna. First National.

It’s set on 39.56ha of unspoilt land and has three premium self-contained residences across its sprawling landscape. Known as Hundred Acre Hideaway, it’s actually a hot tub retreat. You know what that means, people? That’s right! Clothes will come off, Lagavulin 16 shall be drank, and Steinbeck will be read. And I’m not coming out until I’m properly shrivelled. Like ‘old lady from Titanic’ shrivelled. Go pruney or go home, I believe is the expression.

911 Coolangatta Road, Lunawanna. First National.

There’s no word on whether this place comes with a hot tub time machine – let’s go ahead and assume it doesn’t because there’s no mention of it in the ad.

Still a good deal though …

$1.1 million

Compiled by Tom Bowden

All overseas properties for sale through Christie’s International Real Estate. Christiesrealestate.com

The post Dream homes: See inside the world’s most amazing properties appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Farewell after 55 years – Andy Buttfield and his wife Jo Buttfield at their Lavender Bay home.

A point-blank view of the Harbour Bridge is one of the most coveted outlooks for Sydney property buyers.

But for Andy Buttfield and his wife Jo, it is much more than just a view.

Mr Buttfield was the chief project engineer who developed BridgeClimb Sydney, which opened in 1998.

MORE: Quick turnover for new Bulldogs coach Barrett

Waterhouse unit sells in five days for $5.4m to offshore buyer

Since then about four million people have climbed Australia’s most iconic bridge.

The view can be seen from just about every angle.

The Buttfields have a box seat view of the bridge from their home of 55 years at 35 Bay View St, Lavender Bay.

And Mr Buttfield said he had never tired of seeing people climb up and down the bridge.

“It’s been a phenomenally successful venture for the bridge and the city,” he said.

“I often say, ‘oh that view, you get used to it’, a bit flippantly, but it is very special.”

What a view.

BridgeClimb Sydney isn’t Mr Buttfield’s only impressive pedigree. He is also the grandson of Holden founder Sir Edward Holden and the son of late Federal Liberal senator Dame Nancy Buttfield.

Mr Buttfield said he did not feel a strong connection to the Holden brand, which has been owned by General Motors since 1931, and was not surprised to hear General Motors’ announcement earlier this year that it was retiring the Holden brand and would cease production by the end of 2021.

“From a family connection it’s so far distant that it doesn’t mean that much to me personally,” he said.

“It is the end of an era, but it’s not been Holden for a long time, it’s General Motors.”

Andy Buttfield and his wife Jo Buttfield with dog Alf at their Lavender Bay home.

It is also the end of a different kind of era for the Buttfields, who have decided to sell up and move to their property in Bowral, previously a weekender.

Mr Buttfield said they had spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic at their Bowral home, and moving there permanently was a natural progression.

“This (35 Bay View St) was a run down dump when I bought it,” he said.

“I’ve spent 40 years taking a wreck of a house into something we’re proud to be in, and now the job’s finished.

Dine with a view.

Belle Property Neutral Bay Principal Mark Jackson plans to take the luxury property, set in one of Lavender Bay’s most sought-after streets, to private auction on August 29. A price guide of $10 million has been set for the property.

The impressive five-bedroom home is serviced by a lift to all levels, and includes self-contained accommodation on the lower level with separate entry, and accommodation for two cars.

SIGN UP HERE FOR THE NSW REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER

The post Andy Buttfield, BridgeClimb chief engineer and grandson of Holden founder, selling in Lavender Bay appeared first on realestate.com.au.