Domain Prestige - June 02, 2021

2 JUNE / 2021

PRESTIGE THE BEST IN AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL Embracing a dramatic setting

B y K ATE FARRE LLY

Brighton Melbourne 16 Cole Street $8 million-$8.8 million E MILY WATKINS

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Expressions of interest: Close June 18 Agent: Kay & Burton, Tom Staughton 0411 554 850 It’s rare indeed for a true Harry Seidler home to hit the market. Seidler is

Enviably positioned along Brighton’s Golden Mile

widely credited with popularising modernist architecture in Australia, and

just 100 metres from the Bay Trail and Elwood

was famously particular about his designs, right down to furnishings and

Beach, this restored and updated Federation

even, in some cases, the cutlery, And he was no different with Basser House

beauty combines period charm with modern

in Castle Cove, the subject of our feature story this week. It still has most of

comforts like ducted heating and cooling, a

the original furniture, and Seidler’s widow, Penelope, calls the house a “work

Miele and granite kitchen and an integrated

of art”. This week we also visit the Sydney suburb of Clovelly in our Living In

sound system. There’s also a tennis court and a

column. The suburb is a favourite with young families and an area with more

heated pool.

to it than just the beach (although the snorkelling is pretty great). Plus, we have some great tips on the best cosmetic changes you can make to future-proof your investment property, and in Design Digest we round up some of our favourite timber pieces.

Acting editor: Emily Watkins emily.watkins@domain. com.au Editorial producer: Paige Tonna Group picture editor: Vashti Newcomb Senior designer: Colleen Chin Quan Graphic designer: Emma Staughton National managing editor: Alice Stolz Group director, Consumer: Jason Chuck Chief executive officer: Jason Pellegrino

Residential sales: Queensland Brad McLeod 0429 571 826 New South Wales Belinda Sinclair 0414 580 903 Victoria & Tasmania Ray van Veenendaal 0438 279 870 Western Australia, South Australia & Northern Territory Jeroen van de Peppel 0427 292 797

HOT PROPERTY

DESIGN DIGEST Turning to timber

FEATURE STORY A ‘mint-Seidler’ masterpiece

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Digital edition Visit domain.com.au/ digitaledition

O U R COVE R 8 Northumberland

LIVING IN Clovelly

Street Clovelly. Listed

by PPD Real Estate PAG E 9

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THE PROPERTY INVESTOR Future-proofing your investment

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Hendra Brisbane 9 Goodwood Street 5

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Auction: June 5 Agent: Place Estate Agents Ascot, Patrick McKinnon 0431 430 760 The showstopping features of this impressive family home start at the 300-year-old French oak front door and extend to a glass-wrapped wine wall, Gaggenau and granite kitchen, marble bathrooms and a magnesium pool.

Curl Curl

Tamborine Mountain

Sydney 109 Headland Road

Scenic Rim 10/163 Curtis Road

$10 million

$4.987 million +

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Expressions of interest: Close June 11

For sale: By negotiation

Agent: Stone Real Estate Manly, Tim Mumford 0421 942 693

Agent: Professionals Serendipity Tamborine

There are magical ocean and district views from all five levels of this

Mountain, Ton Wolf 0424 591 012

spectacular home. It comes complete with a self-contained apartment, an

Set within almost 4.5 hectares of tropical

internal lift and a landscaped garden with a pool and cabana. Relax in the

rainforest, this home comes with indoor and

home cinema or the top-floor parents’ retreat with its al fresco spa.

outdoor living spaces, a pool and coastline views.

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DESIGN DIGEST

Timber talk Sustainable, versatile, and long-lasting – it’s no wonder designers keep turning to timeless timber. C o m p i l e d b y PAU LIN E M O RRIS SE Y TAKE A SEAT Championing sustainability, the Shirley Jacket Stool by James Howe uses a restrained amount of timber while resulting in a sturdy and distinctive design. Encouraging personalisation, each stool can be custom painted in a wide range of colours. jameshowe.com.au

GATHER AROUND Designed by Daniel Boddam, the Monument Oval Table presents a curved tabletop, enabling a sense of togetherness. Adding further intrigue, a slender metallic mid-section surfaces from the table’s pyramidal base, inspired by Mexico’s monumental site, El Castillo. danielboddam.com

ROOM FOR TWO

EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE Villa Home Collection features bent

A collaboration

beech wood, naturally finished to highlight the warmth of the timber.

between Marcio

Containing five-tiered compartments, the product combines simplicity

Kogan and Studio

with functionality. plyroom.com.au

MK27 has resulted in the DR Bathtub

by Agape, featuring a curved silhouette clad in timber veneer, designed for two users. Water supply can be assembled as a wall mount, free-standing tap, or internally. artedomus.com

DEREK SWALWELL

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A work of art you can live in

FEATURE STORY

This Castle Cove masterpiece is a top-to-toe Harry Seidler creation – from the curved pool to the cutlery. B y PAU L B E S T

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he late neurologist Dr Leon Samuel Basser was an architect’s dream. He eagerly embraced everything the architect proposed for this early 1980s, splitlevel, fan-shaped house in the upscale Sydney suburb of Castle Cove – right down to the knives and forks.

Of course, it wasn’t any common-or-garden architect, but one of the country’s most iconic and honoured – Harry Seidler. Then again, Dr Basser didn’t have a lot of choice. It was a condition of Seidler’s practice, in accepting a commission, the client surrendered control of

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the entire design process – both the building as well as the overall aesthetics. This usually included furniture and soft furnishings, but not always tableware.

“The bachelor client wanted the full Seidler uncompromising, design-immersion experience,” says the architect’s daughter, Polly Seidler, who is also archives and research facilitator at Harry Seidler & Associates.

It explains perhaps why the award-winning house – with its distinctive split-faced concrete block construction – was the high-profile architect’s first residential project in 10 years.

But the commission also was propitiously timed.

It followed a period during which Seidler had been exploring quadrant geometry – the use of curves dynamically in concert, even as opposing forms, and their relationship with rectilinear shapes, like squares – in his designs of big buildings, such as the Australian embassy in Paris. “This was the first Seidler quadrantshaped house based on geometry,” says Seidler.

“And the only such house that remains.”

This style of design particularly suited the steeply sloping, wedge-shaped Castle Cove block. The curving structure, with its floor-toceiling faceted glass wall, takes full advantage of the property’s dreamy 180-degree views of the bushland and waterways of Middle Harbour – whether in the dining and living areas, study or main bedroom on the top floor. Seidler further plays with quadrants in the freestanding fireplace as well as the counter curves of the swimming pool and garage roof.

The open split-level interior of the house is also characteristic of Seidler’s architecture, a style that allows areas to merge, so they can be

YOUR AGENT Craig Ireson, McGrath Castle Cove

“This is a true visionary 1980s Seidler classic, in mint condition; perfect for someone who loves timeless design, with the bonus of a quiet cul-de-sac and north-facing water views to die for.”

used for different purposes at different times.

Cleverly, too, it creates a continuous flow of space throughout the house and, while in one space, invites the eye to wander to possible spaces beyond. Similarly, a central open well next to the staircase combines top floor and ground, which has two further bedrooms and an expansive multipurpose zone.

It’s also crucial to appreciate the minimalist heritage-listed house is virtually untouched since it was built, inside and out.

The quartzite flooring, joinery and other builtins are original. Much of the furniture – such as the chocolate-brown Breuer Cesca chairs, granite dining table and desk – as well as the crockery, cutlery, even an artwork poster are as Seidler chose.

“My uncle didn’t like anything being touched or disturbed that was original,” says Dr Basser’s nephew Braham Basser. “We still have crockery in its plastic.”

As Seidler’s widow, architect Penelope Seidler, says: “This home is for people who want a mint Seidler … [and to] live in a work of art.”

Castle Cove New South Wales 11 Padulla Place $4.75 million

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Auction: 12.45pm, June 5 Agent: McGrath Castle Cove, Craig Ireson 0419 418 614

Hover your camera over the code to see Domain listings in Castle Cove

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E XC LU S I V E R E S I D EN C E S A B OV E T H E F O R M ER DAV I D J O N E S Cbus Property’s 111 Castlereagh presents a boutique collection of 101 superbly-crafted residences set atop the former David Jones department store, with coveted views of Hyde Park and Sydney Harbour. Setting a new standard for inner-city living, 111 Castlereagh features a secluded rooftop oasis with expansive alfresco terraces and open-air pool.

Prepare to be transformed by 111 Castlereagh.

S E C U R E YO U R P R I VAT E A P P O I N T M E N T 111C A S T L E R E A G H . C O M . A U 18 0 0 4 81 117

LIVING IN

33.912540° S, 151.262930° E

CLOVELLY

Clovelly has long been popular with young families wanting good schools and a coastal livestyle. B y K ATE FARRE LLY The sheltered waters off Clovelly Beach and

YOU MAY LIKE ...

Clovelly

Summers, a rehab trainer and owner of Studio

the more rugged Gordons Bay, which forms

44 Personal Training, has been running her

Sydney 8 Northumberland Street

Clovelly’s southern border, have a reputation for

business on Burnie Street for 15 years and says

$11.5 million

being great snorkelling spots. On a good day, you

Clovelly has a deep sense of community and feels

might bump into a blue groper, surgeonfish,

both safe and relaxed.

octopus and starfish.

But while the locals love having access to this underwater world, they’re equally smitten with life on land. “When I walk along the end of the

Her favourite stores include Chinaclay, a florist

Burrows Park, I feel like I could be a million miles

and Gallery East, an exhibition space that also

away from anywhere,” says Lisa Summers.

runs small musical events and local festivals.

“There are pockets of bush and the sea, and it’s

On the food front, Summers loves Darley Street

absolutely so beautiful. I also tend to walk a fair

Bistro for its consistently good food and

bit around the local area – not just the coastal

lovely staff, and newcomer Reel, a casual

walk – and there are lots of amazing gardens and

seafood restaurant.

Waverley Cemetery, you’ll see native birds and lizards, which provide a welcome dose of nature so close to the city.

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has a village feel,” she says. and ceramics gallery showcasing local artists,

Summers says if you wander through the

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in comparison, is a little bit more tranquil and

Clovelly promenade or along the rocks at

beautiful trees.”

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“I originally lived in Coogee, and so Clovelly,

PPD Real Estate agent Alexander Phillips adds Gordons Cafe and the iconic Clovelly Hotel to

For sale

the must-visit list.

Agent: PPD Real Estate, Alexander Phillips 0418 404 337

Mixed demographic

Off-form concrete, copper, recycled timber and

Phillips says the suburb has long been popular

repurposed sandstone have been combined in

important focus,” she says. “Most people in this

with young families keen to send their kids to

this Mary Ellen Hudson-designed residence. It’s

area look for that connection.”

the popular Clovelly Public School.

400 metres from the beach and has ocean views.

“The connection to the environment is a really

But it’s also a magnet for cashed-up

Village delights

professionals happy to pay top dollar to get into

While it’s a quieter pocket than neighbours

the market. Phillips reports two record sales

Clovelly plays host

Coogee and Bronte, Clovelly still plays host to a

in the past 12 months, with 24 Ocean Street

to restaurants,

Hover your camera over the

collection of restaurants, specialty stores and

fetching $9.9 million last year and 20 Victory

specialty shops and

code to see Domain listings

small businesses with a loyal local following.

Street selling off-market for circa $13.5 million.

small businesses.

in Clovelly

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THE PROPERTY INVESTOR

VAIDA SAVICKAITE

Reap the benefits of future-proofing Make some easy, cost-effective and timeless cosmetic changes to boost an investment property’s appeal. B y SU E WILLIAMS

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First impressions matter, so ensure the front of the property looks clean and well-maintained.

nvestors have flooded back into residential real estate nationally, pulling money out of equity markets to buy property at rockbottom interest rates in the hope prices will continue to rise.

But the wise ones, says buyers’ agent Emma Bloom, are those choosing houses or apartments that they know they can improve to provide some kind of value-add.

“That’s a sure way of making your money work harder for you,” says Bloom, director of agency Morrell and Koren. “If you bought something that’s a completely finished product, then you’d have to be sure it’s in a very good growth location, so you can make money on it that way instead.

“A lot of people are now buying investment properties to improve, rent out now, and then maybe use later to give their children a toehold in the property market. And so they want to make the properties future-proof.”

There are many things they can do to achieve that. Cosmetic changes, like cleaning and painting and renewing flooring can cost little, but may have a dramatic impact.

Interiors expert Andrew Loader from his eponymous design company in Sydney always recommends making spaces look larger, brighter and lighter by repainting in neutral colours.

“That can make even smaller spaces look much bigger than they are,” he says. “Flooring is also

“Putting in storage can make a home a lot more appealing to tenants.” very important. It needs to look good and be hard-wearing and durable at the same time.”

Carpets can need a lot of cleaning, but hard timber floors or tiled floors are always a good idea for investment properties.

“Putting in storage can also make a home a lot more appealing to tenants. A lot of older

houses and apartments don’t have enough storage or they were built when free-standing wardrobes were in vogue.”

Dated window dressings, awnings and fly screens can also age a property, and make it a lot darker than it should be, advises Sara Chamberlain, director of Melbourne’s The Real Estate Stylist. And there’s no substitute for a thorough clean, and repairing any damage done to walls, floors and backyards by pets.

“There are so many little jobs that can be done by anyone with even the slightest clue about DIY,” says Chamberlain. “Replacing grouting in bathrooms, updating taps, replacing simple fittings … these can all have a major effect on how a place looks.

“It’s also always worth spending a bit of time in the front garden as first impressions are so important, and so many people might take a drive-by to have a look. You want to make sure the grass looks good, that the front gate doesn’t squeak and that the letter box is smart.”

Resist major work, like replacing the kitchen and bathrooms, however, since such big expenditure will slash rental yields.

“If you buy an investment property, then do a major renovation, then realistically you should never have bought it,” says David Easterbrook, owner of Elite Buyer Agents.

“That’s the difference between what you do to an investment property and what you do as an owner-occupier.”

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Sale

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