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Sydney Swans co-captain Luke Parker lists luxury Malabar property

AFL Rd 8 - Sydney v Hawthorn

Luke Parker has listed his Malabar home. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Sydney Swans co-captain Luke Parker has listed his Malabar property.

The 27-year-old midfielder is selling the five bedroom house with $3 million hopes.

Parker bought it for $2.66 million in 2017 when it promptly became an $1800 a week rental, and then ­offered again at $1700 last year.

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Ray White Maroubra agent Nader Hotait has scheduled a September 26 auction for the two storey home which is encased in glass.

Supplied Editorial 61 Victoria Street, Malabar, NSW 2036

He bought the home in 2017.

Supplied Editorial 61 Victoria Street, Malabar, NSW 2036

Views from the $3 million property.

Set on a 375sqm block, the home features a split level master suite with a balcony, a gourmet kitchen with a 5.5m island bench and a living area with designated dining space.

A pool sits in the garden with native Australian flora. There are ocean views from its Victoria St location.

Parker is a dab hand in property, having been selected by realestate.com.au to provide video content on his projects undertaken with his seven year partner interior decorator, Kate Lawrence.

AFL Rd 14 - Port Adelaide v Sydney

Parker has had success on the property front before. (Photo by Matt Turner/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Supplied Editorial 61 Victoria Street, Malabar, NSW 2036

It has five bedrooms.

Parker, whose Swans are three games out of the eight, and set to miss the AFL ­finals for the second year in a row, recently finished working on a stunning ­duplex in Matraville with Lawrence. Tenants are being sought for one of the Lawson St houses, which has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Supplied Editorial 61 Victoria Street, Malabar, NSW 2036

Modern interiors in the kitchen.

There is a pool in its north facing yard with large entertainers’ deck and grass.

“The landlord was open to including pool and garden maintenance as part of the letting,” its Belle leasing agent Luke Overs advised.

Earlier this year Parker sold a Maroubra investment for $1.45 million having paid $1.3 million in 2016. Parker was picked up in the 2010 draft by Sydney after playing for the Dandenong Stingrays.

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Penola properties home to a fantasy kingdom back on the market

TAIT: Penola fantasy park and home

Princess Rose and Train Master Graham (Rose Zemlany and Graham Russell) are selling their Magical & Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya. Pic: Tait Schmall.

The long-time home of a fantasy kingdom in a small regional South Australian town is back on the market.

The neighbouring Penola properties at 38-40 Riddoch Street, more commonly known as The Magical and Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya, are up for sale for the third time in the past two years.

The fantasy train showroom and park, which has been open to the public for more than a decade, features a collection of themed artwork, sculptures and model railways.

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The Penola properties at 38-40 Riddoch Street are back on the market. Pic: realestate.com.au

TAIT: Penola fantasy park and home

The Magical & Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya. Pic: Tait Schmall.

TAIT: Penola fantasy park and home

The Magical & Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya. Pic: Tait Schmall.

Owner and mastermind behind the imaginative world Graham Russel – or Train Master Graham as he preferred – listed his prized possession for sale in May 2018 to retire.

However, property records show it was taken off the market a year later.

It was listed again for a brief period between March and May this year before hitting the market again in September with a $350,000 asking price.

Thomas DeGaris & Clarkson real estate agent Meg Redman, who is selling the property with Karly Honner, said the offering was a little bit different this time.

TAIT: Penola fantasy park and home

The Magical & Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya. Pic: Tait Schmall.

The one-bedroom cottage was built by Penola’s founder in the 1850s. Pic: realestate.com.au

It sits on the property at No. 40. Pic: realestate.com.au

Instead of selling the three-title property together, they have split the parcels.

“We’ve split it up – the block is for sale separately and then (parcels) 38 and 40 are for sale together,” Ms Redman said.

Prospective buyers also won’t get the chance to take over the theme park, as it was being removed.

The 1013sqm property at No. 38 is occupied by mostly warehouse-type structures, while the 1296sqm parcel at No. 40 has a one-bedroom cottage built by Penola’s founder Alexander Cameron in the 1850s.

The properties have been on and off the market since 2018. Pic: realestate.com.au

TAIT: Penola fantasy park and home

The Magical & Colourful Kingdom of Penolaraya. Pic: Tait Schmall.

“It’s a unique piece of property,” Ms Redman said.

“The cottage at number 40, it’s really beautiful and historic, which really fits in with Penola.

“I think it could be open to a really wide range of buyers.”

Ms Redman expected the properties to be in high demand, particularly since the Penola bypass had been completed.

“It’s essentially made Riddoch Street a dead end, and it’s really made it a hugely desirable street to live on,” she said.

“It’s probably one of the best locations in Penola without that through traffic anymore.”

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Hog’s Breath Cafe founder sells Whitsunday mansion for $6.5m

Ray White Whitsunday has sold ‘Chesapeake Whitsunday’, a three-storey house perched on a mountain 300 metres above Airlie Beach.

HOG’S Breath Cafe co-founder Don Algie has sold his hilltop Whitsundays mansion for $6.5 million in the region’s biggest sale in years.

The local legend, who opened his first restaurant in Airlie Beach back in 1989, has offloaded the three-storey property known as ‘Chesapeake Whitsunday’ at 3/188 Mandalay Road to horse racing personality Alan Galloway.

The off-market sale, through the Ray White Whitsunday office, is the highest sale price achieved on the Whitsunday mainland since 2018, when Mandalay estate sold for $14 million to a Sydney family.

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The breathtaking views from Chesapeake Whitsunday, which overlooks Airlie Beach and the islands.

Mr Galloway, of the world famous Alabar horse breeding stud in Victoria, said he fell in love with the architecturally designed Chesapeake when he saw it from the air.

“I was flying and I saw the mountain with Chesapeake on the top at 1000ft above sea level, it was like a beacon,” Mr Galloway said.

“It’s a magic location here. Johnny Depp stayed at the bottom of the mountain when they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean.

“It’s a very special part of the world and it’s been rebuilt after Cyclone Debbie, but now the tourism industry has taken a knock as there’s no international tourists.”

The property features two helipads and a 25-metre lap pool.

Mr Galloway’s father was well known for breeding horses and he also owned the yacht, Koomooloo, which won the Sydney to Hobart in the late 1980s.

Mr Algie built the four-bedroom house on the site, boasting 360 degree views to Shute Harbour and Hamilton Island from every room.

The property comes with not one, but two, helicopter pads and a 25-metre lap pool.

Ray White Whitsunday principal Mark Beale with Hog’s Breath Cafe founder Don Algie at Chesapeake Whitsunday.

The sale of the Whitsundays mansion is the largest transaction in the region for two years.

It comes as this column reported last week that Mr Algie had sold a block of land he was holding onto for future development in Airlie Beach.

The property at 21-23 The Cove Road sold for more than $700,000 to a prominent local in the real estate industry.

Whitsunday Regional Council records show that a site, which can never be built out, was granted a development permit for change of use to short-term accommodation in July.

The sale comes as agents in Queensland’s far north report unprecedented demand from southerners looking for luxury tropical getaways.

Hog's Breath Cafe owner Don Algie is selling his home at Airlie Beach.

Hog’s Breath Cafe founder Don Algie has just sold his mansion at Airlie Beach.

Ray White Whitsunday principal Mark Beale said his team had just sold more than $21 million worth of stock in August and was fielding “dozens of calls” a day from southerners ready to travel to Airlie Beach as soon as the lockdown was over and the borders reopened.

“So many people are looking to buy a holiday home in Airlie Beach with the option of living here full time or working from home,” Mr Beale said.

“It feels like everyone from down south wants to have a property here. So many of our buyers are working remotely anyway.

“Next time there’s a pandemic they will escape the lockdown as things are pretty much normal compared to down south. Rentals are going nuts. Holiday letting inquiries are very strong in particular for the expenses homes at Mandalay and on the waterfront in Airlie Beach.”

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Ballarat, outer Melbourne suburbs facing most forced home sales

Melbourne suburbs

Postcode 3350 in Ballarat is the nation’s most at risk.

Fears are rising Melbourne’s battler suburbs will bear the brunt of a looming mortgagee sale crisis.

Modelling by boutique financial consultancy Digital Finance Analytics shows upwards of 437,000 Victorian homeowners are now spending almost all of their income on bills and their mortgage.

More than 25,000 of that number are at risk of defaulting in the next year, according to their algorithms.

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The figures show postcode 3350 in Ballarat as Australia’s most challenged, with 7462 households living without any financial wiggle room and 244 facing foreclosure.

But eight outer-ring Melbourne postcodes feature in the nation’s top 30 by number of households in stress, including Cranbourne where 5532 are struggling and a staggering 740 are tipped to face a forced sale.

Australian Origami Money House

Some six-month mortgage holidays have reached the end of their time span.

DFA principal Martin North warned growth areas were particularly at risk as they had a higher proportion of recent purchasers, meaning higher mortgages and lower equity.

“High-growth postcodes are seeing high stress,” Mr North said.

“And there is a strong correlation between mortgage stress and default.”

National Growth Areas Alliance executive officer Bronwen Clark said she feared an avalanche of mortgagee sales could cause a house price crunch in some Melbourne growth areas at the end of JobKeeper when a “harsh reality will set in”.

“We would imagine in the next six months, we would see a lot of movement in the outer suburbs,” Ms Clark said.

“All of this distress will lead to lower house prices as people are selling out of desperation.”

Non-bank lender Firstmac, which has $13b in loans nationwide, figures show one in 20 of their Victorian borrowers are now in hardship arrangements, such as mortgage holidays.

Firstmac chief financial officer James Austin said the figure was closer to one in 10 for those working in professional services, retail or education and training following the stage four lockdown.

The firm would begin urging some to sell in as little as three weeks’ time, and other lenders were expected to do the same, Mr Austin said.

House model with australian dollar banknotes on table

Melbourne’s stage four lockdown will put more homeowners at risk of a forced sale.

“There is more concern about Victoria now than any other state, and it has been softer in prices than any other state,” he warned.

Investors with multiple properties and homeowners struggling with repayments who had bought recently and had little equity would be the first to hear from their banks, he advised.

“I think banks will be urging some to sell, but I don’t expect they will be forcing them to,” Mr Austin said.

MELBOURNE BATTLER POSTCODES AT DEFAULT RISK

3977: Cranbourne – 740 homes

3029: Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit – 419 homes

3064: Mickleham, Roxburgh Park – 364 homes

3754: Doreen, Mernda – 219 homes

3429: Sunbury – 187 homes

3199: Frankston – 179 homes

3178: Rowville – 150 homes

3076: Epping – 120 homes

+ postcode 3350 in Ballarat — 244 homes

Source: Digital Finance Analytics

nathan.mawby@news.com.au

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Hog’s Breath founder sells development site

Iconic Airlie Beach restauranter Don Algie who founded the Hogs Breath chain has

Iconic Airlie Beach restauranter Don Algie founded the Hogs Breath chain of restaurants out of the area.

Hog’s Breath Cafe founder Don Algie has sold a block of land he was holding onto for future development in Airlie Beach.

The property is listed as having gone under contract, but the price has not been disclosed.

Whitsunday Regional Council records show that a site at 21-23 The Cove Road was granted a development permit for change of use to short-term accommodation in July.

 

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Ray White Whitsunday listed it on realestate.com.au as “a dream block of land” that would never be built out.

“Private gates at the entrance assure your privacy and security and you can build your dream home knowing that you are among some of the finest homes in Airlie Beach.”

CoreLogic records show Mr Algie bought land at the site for $760,000 five years ago off a company called Queensland Sand & Soil.

He has bought and sold property in the area for several years including a $1.2 million home sale in 2007.

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Entertainment king Billy Cross lists main river mansion

The luxury residence on Monaco Street, Broadbeach Waters is on the market.

The luxurious family home of entertainment entrepreneur and former nightclub king Billy Cross and wife Jackie has hit the Gold Coast market.

Located on the prestigious Monaco Street strip, the stunning Broadbeach Waters residence occupies a 2531 sqm parcel fronting the Nerang River.

The interior styling is both modern and elegant.

Outside amenities include a pool and tennis court.

Kollosche principal Michael Kollosche is leading the expressions of interest campaign on the inner city estate, which is on the market for the first time in over a decade.

Set over two levels, the elegant five bedroom residence boasts a 2000-bottle wine cellar, a gym with steam room and an up-market “man cave”, while outside a tennis court and pool overlook the water.

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Power 100

Billy and Jackie Cross are planning a move to Main Beach.

Records show the property was purchased in the Jackie Cross name for $3.561 million in 2009 and has since been home to the couple and their two sons.

Billy Cross shot to fame in the 1980s as the founding member of hit male stage show Manpower.

Floor to ceiling windows allow the light to shine in.

Cross went on to run a string of nightclubs in Surfers Paradise and Las Vegas, where his Thunder from Down Under show has been a roaring success.

The Cross family has confirmed plans to move to Main Beach where they’ve signed up for the penthouse in White, a 32-floor tower to be built on Woodroffe Ave.

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Melbourne lockdown: Advice to tenants facing COVID hardship

Tenants in financial hardship have been urged to push ahead with rent reduction requests, despite concerns landlords will follow Real Estate Institute of Victoria advice and refuse to negotiate.

Tenants Victoria lawyer Georga Wootten said renters should not wait “more than a week” for landlords to respond to a formal request before taking it to Consumer Affairs Victoria.

It comes as the REIV advised members to “refuse to negotiate rent reductions” with tenants in COVID-19 hardship in response to the government’s road map for reopening announcement on Sunday.

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Moving in can be quite exhausting.

Renters experiencing financial hardship should push ahead with rent reduction requests. Picture: iStock

REIV president Leah Calnan told the Herald Sun the peak body would instead be advising tenants to “make their own inquiries with Consumer Affairs Victoria”, until the state government engaged in “genuine consultation” with the real estate industry.

But Tenants Victoria has encouraged renters to continue following government guidelines by contacting a landlord or property manager as a first step towards a reduction.

“It’s important to do the maths and figure out what amount of rent you can afford with your reduced income, and then reach out to your landlord in writing, usually that’s by email,” Ms Wootten said.

“If you don’t have a positive reply, we recommend stepping it up to involve Consumer Affairs Victoria via their website.”

Tenants Victoria lawyer Georga Wootten.

Renters should start the process as soon as they started experiencing financial hardship and ask a landlord in writing to not delay their response, she said.

“If you cannot agree on a rent reduction with the landlord informally within a week, then you should register your rent reduction request with Consumer Affairs Victoria,” Ms Wootten said.

“This government body is there to help the parties reach an agreement or, if that’s a sticking point, they can refer the renter and the landlord to a mediation process.”

Ms Wootten also said it was illegal for landlords to evict renters who had fallen behind on rent, but there were some exceptions where the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal could still order a tenant to leave.

These include if a renter had caused serious damage to a property or was endangering the safety of others.

Rent increases are also banned across Victoria until the end of March 2021, as part of the evictions moratorium.

“We have seen some attempts by landlords to increase rent, and that’s not permitted under the law,” Ms Wootten said.

Tenants Victoria chief executive Jennifer Beveridge said they were “really disappointed” the REIV had called on landlords to end negotiations with tenants.

“The scheme we have to seek a rent reduction relies on what is known as ‘good faith’ negotiations, that’s a fair-go system to assist both renters and landlords amid the huge challenge we are facing as a community,” Ms Beveridge said.

“At a time when all of us are bing told to stay at home, renters who’ve lost income and jobs are doing it really tough.”

Realtor agent manager holding rental contract form to businessman client for decide signing to agreement, renting considering vehicle car insurance

The REIV has been widely criticised for its advice.

But not all agencies plan to follow the REIV advice. Real Estate Industry Partners — a body which represents 6300 offices across Australia, including major brands Ray White, Harcourts, PRD Nationwide, Belle Property and Raine & Horne — advised its members to continue working with landlords and tenants to achieve fair rent reduction agreements.

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Canopy’s Edge near Cairns residential estate attracting buyers

Canopy’s Edge residential estate at Smithfield will release their new lakeside stage ahead of schedule due to demand for house and land packages in recent months.

AN ATTRACTIVE price point and a special security feature is drawing a large number of buyers to invest at a Smithfield residential estate.

Canopy’s Edge is located at the bottom of the Kuranda Range and offers “paradise living” about 20 minutes from the Cairns CBD.

Demand for land has skyrocketed in recent months, which has prompted the early release of stage four of the estate – Canopy’s Edge Lakeside.

Canopy’s Edge at Smithfield has launched stage four of its estate – Canopy’s Edge Lakeside – ahead of schedule due to demand in recent months.

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Sales manager Vicki Pfeiffer said 24-hour security monitoring as well as being located on the doorstep of Cairns Wake Park, were a point of difference attracting people to the estate.

“It’s been very busy indeed,” she said.

“Canopy’s Edge Lakeside has house and land packages available from low-$400,000, and with a first homeowners grant of up to $45,000 and current low interest rates, now is the perfect time to snap up a bargain and get into the property market game.

“So we’re hoping to get a few young people in their first home and we’re close to Caravonica, it’s walking distance and you don’t have to cross any roads.

“It’s also good for people who are downsizing, or retirees just wanting a nice safe place to live.”


Canopy’s Edge at Smithfield has launched stage four of its estate – Canopy’s Edge Lakeside – ahead of schedule due to demand in recent months.

Canopy’s Edge’s lakeside stage was officially launched on Saturday, with several lots already under contract

Ms Pfeiffer said there were about 40 lots remaining.

“We’ve had a really interesting mix of buyers,” she said.

“Some of the land is already under contract so we’ve just sold off the plan.

“Given the amount of interest that we’ve had, we’ve needed to do that.

“There have been professionals and families and then single ladies … then with some of the larger blocks some really young guys.

“It’s really interesting, everyone seems to be trying to do something to enter the market. It’s great for our economy here in Cairns.”

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This mansion in the hills could be yours

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied..

There are luxury homes and then there are palatial homes. This is one of them. Divine is not a word I use all that often, but today I have good reason because I have already looked through the grand prize home in this year’s St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

This isn’t just another luxury home: this is an award-winning, custom-built mansion set in exclusive Blackwood Park. It sits at the highest point in this leafy estate on a 775sqm block with 360-degree views of the surrounding area which includes bushland and hills’ vistas.

My visit on a delightful winter’s morning showed this Samuel James-built home in all its warmth and glory. The gracious two-storey home has been designed with a beautifully proportioned timeless facade and soft contemporary features: travertine stone, a light render and walnut-stained Western red cedar shiplap timber dresses the canopy and entrance door.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

It’s one of those homes you’ll drive up to and let out a little exclamation of joy as you nod your head in approval. Well, I did anyway.

And that was the intention of luxury home builder Samuel James Homes. Director John Paul says when planning this home, which is called the Prominence, they wanted to create a beautiful, yet practical home “with a sense of space and warmth from the time you walk through the front door”.

“We wanted generous informal and formal areas with creative high ceilings and an abundance of natural light,” he says.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

It’s the detailing in this home which stands out at once. Bespoke coffered ceilings, tall custom-routed doors, generous and carefully positioned windows, plantation shutters, fireplaces and considered materials like the Caesarstone Frosty Carrina benchtops which have been picked for longevity and timeless appeal that give it a sense of beauty, openness and relaxation.

“This feeling of openness is what makes the difference between this and other homes: the wide hallways, double doors, high ceilings, it gives the feeling of space, good design and generosity,” John says.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

This stately home, which takes full advantage of being on a wider block, offers four bedrooms – three upstairs and the master suite downstairs – two full bathrooms plus two powder rooms, four spacious living zones, a concealed wine room with a two-way mirror, two balconies on the upper level and a side-facing terrace with a sparkling blue swimming pool, which is most definitely a focal point from several parts of the home.

John says the main living zones were designed to face the northerly aspect as well for good sustainable principles and energy efficiency.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

Throughout, beautiful solid European oak floorboards grace the lower level and also feature on the single steel stringer staircase with glass balustrade which follows a double storey-high travertine stone wall upward. Both the staircase and the travertine are something to behold and as you walk up views of the hills and sky greet you via high windows, carefully positioned placed to ensure good light but also a design feature that secures the home’s privacy.

On the upper level, an elegant lounge room with a dual aspect is treated to a north-facing balcony in one direction and in the other, a wide hallway leads to three minor bedrooms, the main bathroom as well as a large powder room.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

Two bedrooms have the luxury of french doors which lead out to another long balcony and a lovely place to sit and unwind at any time of the day. It also creates a privacy barrier to these bedrooms which is a feature I particularly liked, as children will no doubt sleep in these rooms.

Downstairs, the home offers formal and informal living, although to me, both the tranquil front lounge and the modern contemporary family room, each with gas fireplaces, and the dining/kitchen are divine spaces that I would be happy to unwind in at any time of the day.

Both have 3m-plus ceilings and views of the pool, manicured garden and terrace which is a lovely outlook, and when entertaining all you’ll need to do is open up the stacker doors and it integrates the indoors with the outdoors.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

“The retractable stacker doors in family room open to the outdoor terrace creating a sense of flow for internal/external entertaining,” Paul says.

The contemporary kitchen is polished in designer style with multiple benches, walls of storage and a walk-through butler’s pantry which purposefully blocks the western sun. Integrated Miele appliances and an amazing aquarium, built into the wall’s joinery, are other highlights.

A purpose-built home theatre room is another entertainment zone and this one comes with a large bar built in (what a delightful find), as well as french doors that open to a private courtyard, making it perfect when it’s time for movie intermission drinks.

If you’d rather, you can always tuck yourself away and enjoy some quiet time in the dedicated wine room nearby with its two-way mirror facing out to the formal area.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

And if working from home, the Prominence’s spacious home office, with its own external entrance is ideal for meeting clients, without them entering the main part of your home.

Once work is over for the day, retreat to the master suite where the sheer size of the sparkling ensuite is bound to astound with its oval bath and a television that is integrated into the mirror!

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

For John, the casual living zone is his favourite part of the home for many reasons.

“It is a beautiful large area with high ceilings and is northern light-filled,” he says. “It also totally opens up to the outdoor terrace and pool area.

“The coffered ceilings with elegant cornice have been used to articulate ceilings and define living spaces.”

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

St John Ambulance Australia (SA) Inc chief executive Mark Groote says the first thing that strikes you is the scale of this award-winning home of 592.49sqm.

“This immense size is matched by a feeling of total elegance and refinement,” he says.

“The Samuel James Homes’ quality is undeniably best in class and their homes, while looking like a stunning scene from a magazine, always have that feeling of warmth that comes with entering a home (not simply a house).

“The view on entry takes in a formal lounge with fireplace, a stunning internal stone wall staircase, the outdoor pool, the two-way mirror to a dedicated cellar and the master bedroom with two-storey void overhead. It is breathtaking and there is a surprise around every corner.”

There’s also a host of smart inclusions including integrated video and sound systems, linear heating vents, skylights and automated curtains and blinds throughout that are practical features that make this home effortless.

Supplied Real Estate SA Home mag: St John Lottery home (embargo until Sept 6), pictures
 supplied from Samuel James Homes

The St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle Lottery home, built by Samuel James Homes. Picture supplied.

I particularly like the curtain recesses that cleverly hide these during daylight hours, so you can admire the plantation shutter window dressings that give this home such elegance.

Mark says as well as this fully-furnished home, the grand prize in the St John Christmas Home and Lifestyle lottery also comes with a second marina-front home at Hindmarsh Island, a Range Rover, a fishing boat, plus $250,000 in cash, valued in total at more than $3 million.

Tickets have just opened for sale and start at $100, and there’s a one in five chance of winning a prize. Good luck!

Public viewings: Due to COVID-19, dates to view the home are still being determined, visit stjohnlottery.com.au for opening times and tickets.
Tickets: 1 for $100; 3 for $250; 5 for $375; 7 for $500, stjohnlottery.com.au
@smhomemag

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Darryn Lyons’ childhood home wins modern-day architect’s heart

Darryn Lyons’ childhood home in Leopold has sold to a Melbourne architect.

Former Geelong mayor and celebrity snapper Darryn Lyons’ quirky childhood home in Leopold has found a buyer.

Mr Lyons’ architect father designed the colourful 1970s time capsule, with the kids chipping in to hand break its 36,000 bricks.

A fellow architect from Melbourne has bought the five-bedroom house from the Geelong identity’s parents, Graham and Lorraine, for an undisclosed price.

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The 1970s house is clad in thousand of hand-broken bricks for an unusual finish.

The 2ha property at 31-39 Brinsmead Lane, Leopold was last listed with a price guide of $1.35m-$1.45m.

Hayden, Leopold agent Karen Purcell said the buyers loved the untouched house’s ’70s architecture.

“It attracted people who just loved that style, in the end it was an architect that bought it and plans to do a few things but will pay homage to the architecture of the property,” Ms Purcell said.

“It was just a really cool place. I’m really happy that it’s someone that will keep the style.”

Different textures jostle for attention in the showstopping double height entry.

A tiled benchtop and exposed brick feature in the kitchen.

The open-plan design was ahead of its time.

A sunken lounge with open fireplace, floating staircase in the double-height entry, raked timber cathedral ceilings and geometric cork relief walls are among the house’s retro features.

Mr Lyons moved to the property from Herne Hill as a 12-year-old and said the natural surrounds inspired his love of photography.

“It was an incredible property that was very isolated in those days,” he said.

He previously said his father based the unusual house on his well-known design of the William Carey Chapel at Kew’s Carey Baptist Grammar School, which is also clad in broken bricks.

Darryn Lyons

Darryn Lyons with his parents Lorraine and Graham at the Leopold property after he was elected Geelong’s mayor. Picture: Karen Dodd

“At the weekend and at night we used to break the bricks — there were 36,000 of them — with a bolster,” he said.

“We used to go out there pretty much every night, we worked really, really hard.”

The two-storey house was ahead of its time with it open-plan kitchen and dining room flowing out to a courtyard with powder room access.

The bathroom, like everything else, is original.

A cork feature wall in the main bedroom.

There are two separate living rooms and three bedrooms on the ground floor, while the flexible first floor has a main bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe and a study/fifth bedroom or nursery.

Ms Purcell said while acreage properties had become even more popular since COVID-19, it was all about the house for the buyers in this instance.

But she said the flexibility to work from home added to the location’s appeal.

The post Darryn Lyons’ childhood home wins modern-day architect’s heart appeared first on realestate.com.au.