He Said/she Said

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In the Southern Highlands, sales activity for low to medium priced properties has remained steady for the past five years, while the top price bracket has been sluggish. But a recent spate of multi-million dollar property sales indicates renewed interest in the area’s prestige market.
This week our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok discuss top-end properties in the region, rich with lush rolling hills of farmland, grand mansions, historic villages – all accessed by a 90 minutes drive from Sydney via the M5 Motorway. 
A flow-on effect of Sydney’s robust property market is expected to filter through to the Southern Highlands during autumn, given the prestige market of this rural lifestyle area traditionally rides on the city’s coat tails and roughly 75% of buyers are Sydneysiders.
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<li>
The latest arrival is the Sydney based car dealer, John Newell. He's secured the 4.85 hectare Exeter estate, Chimneys for around $4.5 million. <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-acreage+semi+rural-nsw-exeter-116030575" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">The Bundanoon Road property</a> (pictured above) sold through Margaret McCauley Real Estate in conjunction with Ray White agent, Megan Smith. 
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Chimneys is an architecturally designed 2009 built residence. Its library and formal living area each come with an open fireplace. There's internal access to an attached barn with a requisite mud room as well as a five-car garage. And basement cellar which was commissioned by businessman Brian Wood who built the two-storey residence as a weekender.
Originally part of neighbouring Invergowrie estate, the property has three other dwellings named The Gate House (the original gatehouse to Invergowrie), The Cottage (a worker’s cottage for Invergowrie) and The Tea House, once used as tea rooms for garden society open days at Invergowrie.
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<li>Luggie Bank, an 8.7 hectare property on Range Road at Mittagong, went very close recently to sell for just under $4 million through Bill Carpenter in conjunction with Drew Lindsay Real Estate, but remains listed for sale.</li>
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It has been for sale for more than four years – initially listed with ambitious $7 million price hopes. With beautiful elevated rural views, Luggie Bank has an architect-designed contemporary residence, along with an 1887 four-bedroom guest cottage, a tennis court, heated swimming pool and spa.
<ul>
<li>But Patchway, Ken and Lyn Wilson’s trophy residence at Burradoo, has been sold. Apparently about $4.2 million was paid by the former Hambros Australia chairman Ed Blackadder, through agent Drew Lindsay Real Estate. </li>
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Set behind tall gates on an 8,327 square metre block in Ranelgah Road, the four-bedroom house stands in established gardens with sweeping lawns, tall hedges and towering trees. Patchway was sold by the Wilson family, who owned a steel fabrication business that provided steel for the Sydney Olympic Stadium. They moved to Patchway after they sold Clifton, their rural property in the Lachlan Valley at Young in central NSW, paying $3.03 million in 2002 to the then vendors Dan and Toni Regan.
HE SAID: <img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
My favourite trophy autumn listing is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-nsw-bowral-7619543" target="_blank">Woodhurst Green, the Glenquarry retreat</a> of retired Mallesons lawyer Tim Blue, who was managing partner for corporate M&amp;A and tax. In a blue ribbon location on Sproules Lane, the 16.2 hectare property (featured below) is for sale at $4.95 million through Drew Lindsay Real Estate.
Woodhurst Green features all the hallmarks of a prestige Southern Highland estate including an impressive electronically operated gated entrance, a private lake (with water coloured by vegetable dye to match the surrounding grass), extensive landscaped gardens, a horse stables and a grand five-bedroom limestone house with imposing open fireplaces, a wine cellar, a billiard room and a mud room. And of course a huge country kitchen with an enormous Aga stove. 
<img src="/images/2014/04/04/bowral%20april%204%20one.jpg" alt="">
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
Certain to attract attention from cashed up city slickers - and possibly the nascent trend of Asian buyer interest - is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-other-nsw-mittagong-7605751" target="_blank">Chain of Ponds at Mittagong</a> (pictured below). Its is the matrimonial farm of businessman Peter Holmes à Court and his former wife, Divonne, who now lives in Saanen, Switzerland where the children are schooled.
With the wonderful autumn rains, Chain of Ponds presents picture perfect. The property is currently run as a beef breeding and fattening property on a large scale for the Southern Highlands but could easily be transformed into a high class horse stud. Get some advice from the near new neighbours, the Waterhouse clan on that. 
It is set for April 26 auction with $6.3 million plus hopes through McGrath Bowral agent Anne Stone and Howard McMillan from McMillan Real Estate Bowral. It's close to the freeway of course.
Occupying 145 hectares on Old South Road, the property has a six-bedroom residence renovated by Luigi Rosselli Architects. It is set in extensive gardens designed by landscape luminary William Dangar. At the western edge of the house paddock, he planted acacias, hakeas and eucalypts all species endemic to the local area to form a screen for privacy and wind relief. In the remaining acres of the external garden, Dangar planted stands of cold climate exotics including ornamental cherries, poplars, maples and ornamental pears to compliment the deciduous trees in the existing orchard. 
With potential for subdivision into three separate lots, Chain of Ponds is six kilometres from Mittagong and 11 kilometres from Bowral. The property has a guest cottage, another essential given you don't want the steady stream of visitors staying under the same roof. Guests will love the chook sculpture in the gardens, which I hope come with the sale.
<img src="/images/2014/04/04/mittagong%20april%204%20one.jpg" alt="">
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Gardens, mudrooms, grand gates, private lakes and fire places: Southern Highlands trophy home requisites

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One of the oddest highlights of Sydney's late autumn has been the sight of Jacarandas now in flower in Rushcutters Bay, some months before the traditional spring bloom to early summer blooming.
And veteran weatherman Dick Whittaker says his Manchurian pear trees are blossoming too. There are blue berries flowering on the coastal farms.
Sydney secured its 13th straight day above 22 degrees, and 22nd above 20 degrees, to exceed the record of nine for any time in May – set in 1978 and 2007.
The city has another week perhaps at these temperatures.
Melbourne has also been in the midst of a record May warm spell forecast having at least 10 days of 20-degree days.
Auction numbers surge over the next two weekends leading up to the Queen’s Birthday holiday break with over 1,600 properties scheduled to go under the hammer across Sydney, along with record May levels over the next two weekends in Melbourne with over 2000 properties scheduled to go under the hammer, according to Australian Property Monitors.
So our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok say take the opportunity of the delightful late autumn garden to take some photos this weekend especially if you are thinking of selling early spring.
HE SAID:<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/jc-silhouette-5.jpg" alt="jc-silhouette-5" width="150" height="225" style="float: right;">
Quite a few of the gardens in homes I've inspected recently are having their second spurt of gardenias. 
So take a break from raking the autumn leaves and photograph your house and garden for any future listing. Any pictures taken now can be stored ready for future marketing campaigns. 
<img src="/images/stories/2013/09/06/mb-silhouette-4.jpg" alt="mb-silhouette-4" width="150" height="225" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
Jonathan might have spotted the confused jacaranda (pictured above) flowering in Rushcutters Bay, but it's way too premature for a jacaranda cruise on the Lane Cove River. 
Not a hint of the purple canopies which of course look superb against the November sky. Plenty of late season hydrangeas (pictured above) and other garden delights.
I did think that a tulip manolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) in a Hunters Hill backyard I saw this week was unusual at this time of year.
The jacaranda flowering - in something like 49 variations including white - produce such a beautiful uplifting effect across Sydney they are forgiven for making a mess during the spring open for inspections.
But now is the time to get some great extra listing imagery - especially if the garden is full of camellia. Rather than delay any auction listing until the garden looks right, these photos can be used to ensure buyers see the place in full bloom, even if it's not the same season. 
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE TO READ:
<a href="/expert-insights/building/27090-blooming-jacarandas-set-spring-property-market-ablaze" target="_blank">Blooming jacarandas set late spring property market ablaze</a>
<a href="/news/27214-trophy-home-listings-and-sales-on-the-jacaranda-lined-avenues-of-grafton" target="_blank">Trophy home listings and sales on the jacaranda lined avenues of Grafton</a>
Gallery photos: Jonathan Chancellor. 
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Blooming jacarandas accompany unusually late Autumn property sales burst: He Said/She Said

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Home buyers prepared to take a leap of faith in their pursuit of unconventional housing could find a converted church is the answer to their prayers. This Easter week our property contrarians, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, discuss recent sales and listings of blessed buildings.
Converting a church to a residence allows for enormous creative flair within a hallowed space ripe for residential resurrection - especially if it retains original ecclesiastical features including high vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows and timber arches. But they might need smart heating strategies.
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-fitzroy-114936195" target="_blank">Fitzroy, Victoria</a></li>
</ul>
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/fitzroy%20april%2017%20two.jpg" alt="">
One such property is the Bible Christian Church at 278 Gore Street, Fitzroy in Melbourne. The handsome circa 1860 building was sold for $3 million last October by Sydney shopping centre heiress, Betty Saunders-Klimenko, through Nelson Alexander Real Estate. 
Bought by the Matear family, it is constructed of bluestone with tall brick-embellished Georgian windows and a wide Greek-Revival style façade added in 1911.
With vast living spaces and soaring ceilings, it has a splendidly proportioned dining area with a faded painted banner, proclaiming “Holiness Becomes Thy House”, which testifies to the building’s provenance.
Converted 10 years ago into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a six-car garage, the converted Fitzroy church was sold at a loss by Saunders-Klimenko who purchased the property for $3.41 million in June 2012. It previously traded at $684,000 in 2001, and at $15,500 in 1976. Earlier this month News Ltd papers reported Betty Saunders-Klimenko she was forced to take out a personal bank loan, of about $10 million, after spending a staggering $40 million on the motor racing team that had made her one of Australia’s most popular female sporting figures.
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-st+kilda-116341371" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">St Kilda, Victoria</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/st%20kilda%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
Also in Melbourne, an apartment in a former Wesleyan church at St Kilda sold for $1,175,000 two weeks ago through Hocking Stuart agent, Kehren Eade. 
At the rear of the circa 1858 church in Fitzroy Street, the two-bedroom apartment incorporates the original church vestry which is converted to a splendid formal sitting room. It also features vaulted original timber ceilings, ornate cedar support beams and leadlight windows. 
Situated in idyllic seaside surrounds, and directly opposite Albert Park Lake, the landmark bluestone church is the focal point of Alameda, a residential complex also incorporating a new modern apartment building. 
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<li><a href="https://www.reviewproperty.com.au/property/for-sale/rural/wa/parkerville/?adid=2011053898" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Parkerville, Western Australia</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/parkerville%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
At Parkerville near Perth in Western Australia, a lavish 35-hectare estate featuring a private chapel within its grounds, is for sale at $12.95 million through Cam Marron of Marron Real Estate.
Built by a previous owner of the property, the chapel has views across a pictureque lake set at the rear of a grand two-storey Georgian style mansion decorated with gold leaf, ornate plasterwork and six Waterford chandeliers. 
Named Lilybrook, the property also features a tree-lined driveway, a guest cottage, a summer cabana and BBQ area, a swimming pool, floodlit tennis court, horse paddocks, stables, macadamia tree plantation, storage sheds and 650,000 litres of rainwater tanks. 
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/parkerville%20april%2017%20four.jpg" alt="">
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-kojonup-114276583" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Maradup, Western Australia</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/kojonup%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
At the other end of the price scale is a converted church in the tiny township of Muradup, situated 18 kilometres west of Kojonup (between Albany and Perth) in Western Australia. 
For sale at $260,000 through Michael Scott of Ray White Crofts &amp; Associates, 
the circa 1957 double brick and tile church has been converted to a two-bedroom home with a large open-plan living area featuring original polished jarrah floors and stained glass windows.
Featuring its original signage, “Mary Help of Christians”, on the front wall adjacent to tall portico entrance, the air-conditioned church stands on a 2,848 square metre block (in Blackwood Road) with lawns, a vegetable garden and satellite dishes for internet and digital television.
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/kojonup%20april%2017%20two.jpg" alt="">
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-dingee-116189895" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Dingee, Victoria</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/dingee%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
One of the cheapest churches on the market is in the peaceful township of Dingee, situated about 50 kilometres from Bendigo in Victoria. For sale at $169,000 through Greg Fathers of Expert Real Estate, it stands on 8100 square metre block in Church Road.
Known as the Yallook church, the circa 1920s church building is ideal for use as a weekender. Substantially renovated into a residence, it has an attractive brick façade, a small vestry portico and original soaring ceilings with timber beams.  Electric power is from a petrol generator and a small solar system, while the kitchen stove uses bottled gas. Outside are water tanks and a small garden shed. 
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/dingee%20april%2017%20two.jpg" alt="">
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-talbot-112124919" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Talbot, Victoria</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/talbot%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
Also in Victoria, historic St Andrews Church at Talbot is for sale at $385,000 through Julie Powell and Tash Martin at PRD Ballarat. 
About one hour’s drive from Melbourne, Talbot is in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields, and at the edge of the Pyrenees wine region. From the property, it’s a 15 minute drive to the townships of Maryborough and Clunes, and 25 minutes drive to Avoca and its surrounding wineries.
Built 150 years ago as a Presbyterian church, the building has been converted into a residence with all the modern conveniences. Set on a 2140 square metre block landscaped with native plants and an outdoor eating area, the rendered double brick building has an insulated roof, a wood heater and overhead gas heating for winter warmth. 
Operated as self-contained holiday accommodation, it has been reviewed in the The Age, Channel 7’s Coxy's Big Break, and Channel 9’s Postcards program.
Two minute’s stroll from the church are the town’s swimming pool, tennis courts, pub, restaurant/cafe and monthly farmers market. 
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-dooralong-115935967" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Dooralong, New South Wales</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/dooralong%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
In NSW, a rustic church at Dooralong, near Wyong on the Central Coast, is sale at $430,000 through Darin Butcher of Wiseberry Heritage. 
One of the most iconic buildings in the Valley, this old rustic church has been converted into a tasteful two bedroom cottage with original features including leadlight windows. 
Brimming with character, the heritage-listed timber building stands on a 2,000 square metres with lawns and a beautiful outlook.  
Featuring wide outdoor deck, it has a large living area, timber country-style kitchen, a main bedroom (with an en-suite bathroom), a second bedroom and a main bathroom.
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<li><a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-kangaroo+valley-116709947" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales</a></li>
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<img src="/images/2014/04/17/kangaroo%20valley%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
In the Kangaroo Valley, between Berry and the Southern Highlands in NSW, an 1889 church is for sale sale at more than $480,000 through Sandra Knight of Raine &amp; Horne Berry. 
On a 1288 square metre block in Moss Vale Road, the converted church stands on the side of a hill near the edge of the village and opposite Kangaroo Valley showground. 
Remodelled in 1966, and recently converted to a stylish residence, it has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and an open-plan living room with a five-metre high ceiling, a stained glass window, a prayer cupboard and a pulpit incorporated into the kitchen.
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HE SAID:<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
Churches converted to residences can look wonderful from the outside, but I really don’t think the interiors work well, especially if everything is put within the existing space. An extension is typically required. For someone like me who’s fond of standing on a soapbox, I especially find the adaptive reuse of the pulpit to be a problem. 
Therefore, of the churches listed above, I’d choose the converted church in Kangaroo Valley (below) where the pulpit is cleverly merged with the kitchen island joinery, so I could stand at the bench and preach to my dinner guests.  
 <img src="/images/2014/04/17/kangaroo%20valley%20april%2017%20three.jpg" alt="">
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
For me, it’s the historic St Andrews Church at Talbot in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields, and close to the Pyrenees wine district. Not only do I think it would be a terrific weekender, but also I rather fancy the regular jaunts to Redbank Winery at Avoca to stock up on award winning Sally’s Paddock wines.
While stripped of its altar and pews, St Andrews (pictured below) is a converted church with tremendous character and beautiful original features including its windows and timber lined ceiling.  The overhead gas heating for winter warmth also is a winner. 
 <img src="/images/2014/04/17/talbot%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
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Converted churches as unconventional housing: He Said/She Said

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Thoroughbred horse enthusiasts, who missed out on buying their preferred pony at this week’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, could invest in a stud farm instead. 
This week our property contrarians, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, discuss recent sales and new property listings in the equine world.  
<ul>
<li>Tyreel Stud, a magnificent thoroughbred complex at Agnes Banks, traded for $5.85 million in February through Jamie Inglis of Inglis Rural Property. </li>
</ul>
In a premium position on the banks of the Hawkesbury/Nepean River and near Richmond at the foot of the Blue Mountains, the 41-hectare property has extensive equine facilities including 12 large paddocks, 20 day yards, 3 barns, 25 stables, wash bays, feed rooms, a veterinarian room, lunging area and horse walker workshop. 
Also on the estate are a stately circa 1880 main homestead with beautiful views to the Blue Mountains, a manager’s residence, staff cottages and workman’s residence. With an abundance of water including a 163 Mega litre water licence, the entire stud farm is fully irrigated and virtually drought proof.
<ul>
<li>Last month Cadman Lodge, at Mount Hunter near Narrellan on the outskirts of Sydney, sold for $3.05 million through McGrath Camden agents Luke Manion and Anna Younan. Situated one hour’s drive west of Sydney, the 41-hectare Spring Creek Road estate is close to Camden and Menangle. </li>
</ul>
Cadman Lodge’s  tree-lined driveway leading to an impressive main stable complex (with 19 stables), a horse arena, six day yards, a 600-metre horse training track and two substantial modern residences including a grand five-bedroom homestead set in established gardens with a 12-metre swimming pool.
Considering a yearling colt (by Street Cry out of Star on High) sold for $1.5 million at the Inglis sale on Wednesday, the price of Cadman Lodge seems small biscuits. 
<ul>
<li>Also close to Sydney is Boscobel Stud, the historic Southern Highlands thoroughbred farm listed for sale through Bowral agent, Ian Rayner. </li>
</ul>
Occupying 48.5 hectares on Exeter Road at Sutton Forest, Boscobel has significant horse infrastructure including nine horse boxes, a tack room, stallion shed, hayshed, silo and shelter sheds. 
A feature of the property is its grand two-storey circa 1870s homestead with six bedrooms, beautiful formal living rooms and magnificent original period features including 3.6 metre high ceilings, cedar joinery and a cedar staircase. 
Boscobel last traded for $5.5 million in 2007 when Steven Hallis bought it from Richard Turnley. During the 1960s, when Boscobel was owned by Keith Probert, the property stood a number of prominent sires including triple Derby winner Royal Sovereign. Among superior thoroughbreds raised at Boscobel was Tierce, winner of the 1991 Golden Slipper. 
<ul>
<li>
In Victoria, Yallambee Stud is listed for sale through Mark Webster and Jamie Inglis of Inglis Rural Property. One of Victoria’s oldest and most successful thoroughbred stud farms, it occupies 137.5 hectares on Mt Eliza Road at Kerrie.
</li>
</ul>
A first class breeding and spelling operation, Yallambee Stud is a highly competitive player in the Victorian breeding industry. It produces exceptional yearlings, and consistently rates in the top five vendors at the Melbourne Sales. Among the notable racehorses raised at Yallambee Stud are Testafiable, Vintedge, Vormista, Rostova and Rock Kingdom.
Featuring expansive grounds with beautiful deciduous trees, the property has 10 super-size stables, steel barns (with 28 boxes), six foaling boxes, a horse parade, sand yard, an eight-horse walker, numerous large paddocks, sheds, barns, feed rooms, a veterinary complex, a recently built homestead and two staff cottages.
Occupying ideal country for equine operations, Yallambee Stud has been designed to suit thoroughbred breeding, rearing youngsters and racehorse spelling. Apart from its extensive infrastructure, magnificent views, lush paddocks and beautiful deciduous trees planted by the Woodward family, this well established thoroughbred property appeals to me due to the convenience of its location, just 50 kilometres from Melbourne city centre and 30 minutes drive from Tullamarine Airport.
<ul>
<li>
There is also Northwood Farm, a stud surely for the making given it's in Victoria’s thoroughbred horse breeding heartland with the key appeal of a direct frontage to the Goulburn River at Northwood. The 55 hectare Northwood Farm at 60 Johnsons Lane has been listed for May 24 auction through agent Bart O'Sullivan at Pat Rice &amp; Hawkins with expectations around $2 million.
</li>
</ul>
Northwood Farm, which has been a cattle grazing property, has its immediate neighbour, Eliza Park Northwood one of the breeding properties of the Eliza Park group owned by Hong Kong based Sun International while just a short distance away is Darley Stud that has recently undergone a major development by the Al Maktoum family, the ruling family of Dubai.
A little further north on the same side of Northwood Road are to be found the further acclaimed thoroughbred studs and breeding farms including Yarran and the major Swettenham Stud.
Its impressive stone and timber homestead was designed by French architect Claudine Dublier with granite stone sourced locally from Oak Valley in the nearby Strathbogie Ranges for the vendors Tony and Cathy Blazey who selected the land when it was just vacant farm land in 2000. 
<ul>
<li>
Bhima Stud, at Scone in the Upper Hunter Valley, is for sale at $5.8 million <a href="https://www.maccalluminglis.com.au/properties.php?id=5800662" target="_blank">through Michael Burke of MacCallum Inglis</a>.  A prominent thoroughbred breeding farm, Bhima was developed into a renowned horse property after World War II by Vivian Bath. 
</li>
</ul>
On the town’s outskirts, and conveniently situated near Scone Race Club, Scone Vet surgery and Scone Air Strip, Bhima occupies 160.5 hectares of prime Upper Hunter horse country, ranging from extensive alluvial flats to moderate easterly facing basalt slopes - the perfect land mix for breeding and rearing thoroughbred horses. 
Bhima has a full complement of stud improvements including an 18-box stable barn (with central quadrangle and parading pathway), a 10-horse electric horse walker (undercover), a covered round yard (with adjacent yards), a six-box vet hospital (with underground heating and elevated night watch office), two vet areas, and two separate three-box stable barns formerly used as stallion boxes.
The property has excellent water with a 400 megalitre irrigation licence from two reliable wells, and frontage to the Kingdon Ponds and Middle Brook.
Its showpiece is an historic circa 1910 homestead with 4.8 metre high pressed metal ceilings, a grand entrance hallway, four bedrooms, gracious living and dining rooms and a separate guest quarters. Other improvements include weatherboard manager’s house, a three-bedroom Hardiplank home and transportable quarters for seasonal workers.
HE SAID:<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
If I were a horse enthusiast, I’d snap up <a href="https://www.prh.com.au/property-details?listing_id=1333" target="_blank">Northwood Farm</a> (pictured below). Surely the neighbours will be good for more than a cup of sugar once you secure the offering and pop in on the neighbours.
<img src="/images/2014/04/11/PRH%20NORTHEWOOD%20FARM.jpg" alt="">
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID: 
With a proven track record for breeding top quality bloodstock, it’s Bhima (pictured below) for me.
When it comes to thoroughbreds, I’m a traditionalist with a soft spot for the Upper Hunter which has developed into a mature and internationally acclaimed thoroughbred breeding region, since I first visited Bhima during the early 1970s when Vivian Bath stood the stallion, Biscay – sire of Bletchingly whose progeny include Kingston Town (named Australia’s champion racehorse in 1980), Emancipation and Canny Lad who sired the celebrated broodmare, Shantha’s Choice, dam of leading sires Redoute's Choice and Manhattan Rain.
Apart from its suitability for thoroughbreds, Bhima’s history appeals to me. It had been a dairy, tobacco farm and cattle property before the World War II, and during the war years it was used as an internment camp before Vivian Bath developed it as a horse property which has also been in wise hands of late, the White family.
<img src="/images/2014/04/11/scone_0002_3.jpg.jpg" alt="">
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Giddyup: Thoroughbred stud farm sales and listings in the equine world

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The luxury cruise ship, the World of ResidenSea arrives in Sydney next week after visiting Milford, Doubtful and Dusky sounds in New Zealand.
And with more Sydneysiders than ever now among the privately, proud owners on the 12-deck, 196-metre vessel that first set sail in 2002, and officially sold out four years later.
Continuously sailing the seas, and docking where the owners’ corporation want: that's life aboard <a href="https://aboardtheworld.com" target="_blank">The World</a>, the still-unique floating permanent home to wealthy residents.
Owned by those who live on board, The World circles the globe every two to three years under the Bahamas flag with the 43,524-tonne ship travelling at a maximum 18 knots.
Australians, especially Sydneysiders and Gold Coasters, are seriously over-represented among the owners, which might explain the frequency of the trips Down Under.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/2014/05/02/The_World_in_Melbourne.JPG" alt="">
The World docked in Melbourne. Courtesy of Wikipedia/Creative Commons.
This time matriarch Ros Packer will be at home, overseeing the last of her renovations. It was a gift from son James.
The local Sydney Rothschild Australia executive chairman Trevor Rowe has been among the recent buyers. He'll possibly get slightly obscured glimpses of the ship when it berths at White Bay from the recently acquired 22nd floor Observatory Tower apartment which cost him and wife, Janine $1.94 million after selling in Mosman last year for $3.3 million on Parriwi Road. Not sure what ever happened to his 100 footer, the good ship Lady Janine which replaced his earlier stink boat, Mabuhuay. 
Prestige Darling Point property developers Bob and Margaret Rose will no doubt be aboard, and get terrific views from their porthole especially when it is relocated at the Point Piper buoy mid-May, as was initially scheduled but now not to take place. The couple typically spend three months aboard. Not sure which side of the ship the Roses are, starboard or port, but of course on a prior Sydney Circular Quay berthing, The World reversed out of Sydney Cove and swung around between the Opera House and Waruda Street Wharf at Kirribilli, returning to the dock to equalise viewing opportunities for all its owners.
Other Australians who've owned on The World included the late engineer Bob Sparke from Belvedere estate at Burradoo in the NSW Southern Highlands. Sparke's acquaintanceship with mining tycoon Gina Rinehart had blossomed and they regularly followed the sunsets from a ninth-floor apartment. Gina, who of course can’t help working, has had government ministers aboard for dinner.
Motivational speaker John Demartini and his late wife, Australian astrologer Athena Starwoman, outlaid $3 million on their glamorous cabin, a one-bedroom apartment into which they moved after selling their Trump Tower apartment, unnerved after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Bill and Imelda Roche, the developers of the Hunter Valley gardens estate, one of Australia's largest privately owned gardens, have long enjoyed their stern apartment on The World, although it was quite a surprise to see them counted as crew in the ship’s manifest when it left Port Melbourne last time in 2012. Formerly of Nutrimetics fame, the Roche's had made the priciest acquisition among the handful of initial Australian buyers for their eighth-floor apartment, possibly until the recent Packer family double apartment purchase.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/stories/roche.jpg" target="_blank" title="Click to enlarge"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/stories/rochethumb.jpg"></a>
The Scottish-born Levin Wine founder David Levin, and his Australian wife, Lynne, were also aboard in 2012. David Levin, owner of The Capital Hotel in London, started growing his own grapes in the Loire Valley, France in 1985 to produce his own private label wines for his luxury hotels and restaurants. The Levins were great mates of the late Len Evans and during their numerous trips to Australia they were introduced to many advances in viticulture that they've now adopted at their Loire vineyard.
Fitness First founder Tony de Leede, and co-owner of the Komune resort near Keramas, one of Bali's most renowned surf breaks, wasn't shy about his ownership, though Title Tattle gleans he may have sold. But as its many owners don't wish to be named as owners, ascertaining continued ownership is a little tricky.
So we wonder who bought from the late Sydney stockbroker Michael Toltz.
Richard Penn, the one-time Gutbuster entrepreneur, and his wife, Heather, are among the reputed owners who can access the facilities that include two pools, a tennis court, virtual golf, gym, library, chapel, deli and even House of Graff jewellers.
From NSW's Southern Highlands, Ken and Susan Cooper, who own the Sutton Forest, Rotherwood estate are among the owners too.
Built at a cost of US$262 million, The World was conceived in 1997 by Norwegian shipping magnate Knut Kloster jnr, whose father started the Norwegian Caribbean Line in 1966. 
The idea was to establish an exclusive floating resort whose residents would circumnavigate the world, visiting desirable destinations and attending global events. 
Initially boasting a one-to-one guest/staff ratio, the ship's exclusivity stemmed from the original requirement that owners have a $5 million-plus net worth. It is now a net worth of at least $10 million required to join The World, to ensure not only the capability to purchase, but to honor all commitments, even in uncertain economic times. It means that, collectively, all residents can breathe easy, knowing that all of their neighbors are able to keep their end of the bargain. 
So the World is viewed by some as an inviation-only Noah's Ark for the filthy rich. Two letters of recommendation from existing residents onboard The World other than the seller are required before buying approval is given. 
Apparently the average annual combined stay is four months, but a few residents remain on board all year. When it comes to whether there are tax advantages of being a resident onboard The World, the response is that each potential buyer is advised to consult his or her own advisers regarding questions of tax and domicile. 
After Sydney it's off to Brisbane around May 19, then Hamilton Island, Port Douglas and Cairns, then north east over to the Solomon Islands before PNG, East Timor and West Timor, then a lengthy Indonesian sojourn including Bali and Surabaya and Krakatoa.
Plenty of Americans were the early buyers including Jim Blair, a retired Silicon Valley property developer, and William Scott, a retired New York adman. Switzerland-based American Anne Weedon, one of the first to buy a cabin on board the ResidenSea, launched the ship with the champagne bottle in 2002 in Venice.
The Colorado-based health-club industry and software entrepreneur, Richard Reed headed the residents' committee after paying US$21,000 per square metre for his 126 square metre apartment. Any buyers of the what were the initial 50-year-long leaseholds must prove a net worth of US$5 million and have no criminal record. 
The residents comprise around 130 families from 19 different countries – from North America (49%), Europe (36%), Asia, Australia, South America and South Africa (15%). The current average age is around 64 years with many owners still actively involved in their own businesses.
Back in 2003 its wealthy apartment owners were beginning to mutiny, as The World was overrun by rowdy short-stay tourists invited aboard by the ship's financially challenged operator to help fill the many unsold apartments, given 88 apartments had been retained as rentable guest accommodation.
Apparently the last straw for the owners aboard was when 20 top-selling Ford Australia dealers dressed in their company-logo T-shirts partied aboard during its 2003 Sydney docking.
Soon after things changed with the militant owners making it pricer with $1,000-plus a night voyages, and with a six-day minimum which helped clear the renting riff raff from the ship. But even that pricier rental option has now gone - around the time the last of the 165 lavish apartments with decor by <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/decor/archive/ship_slideshow_102000" target="_blank">Juan Pablo Molyneux and Nina Campbell</a> were sold to private owners, after the 88 syndicate stock finally sold. The initial mix was 106 two- and three-bedrooms units, 18 one- and two-bedroom homes, and the 39 studios.
Wirg paying guests are no longer taken, the only way aboard now is as an approved potential buyer. 
And that will currently cost anywhere between US$800,000 to $7.7 million (plus annual maintenance fees pay annual fees of 10% to 15% of the purchase price).
The initial sales were anywhere from $20,000 to the $42,000 a square metre mark. In 2002 Americans Robert and Janet Sabes paid US$2.8 million for a 134 square metre, two-bedroom, two-bath unit on the World in 2002 but the best the 73-year-old Las Vegas-based restaurant developer, whose latest project is a vodka ice bar in Manhattan, and his wife could do on their 2008 exit was around the same price.
In 2011 there were 19 residences sold. The World suggest residences purchased in 2002 aboard The World for $2 million have generally held their value, and some have increased in value. They suggest similar travel experience, with the same level of luxury lodging, dining, private car service and first-class flights could cost upwards of $500,000 over a six to nine month period. 
HE SAID:<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
I was aboard The World of ResidenSea the first time it sailed into Sydney Harbour in 2003, bunked down in a 30 square metre studio apartment among the then $850 a night paying guests. Yes down on the lowest deck, but it was classy as the comparable cruise liners would offer berths to approximately 1,200 travellers over the same ship dimensions.
I enjoyed the cruise, albeit on the rather quick Melbourne to Sydney voyage. Back then I recall the familiar faces among the owners included the language translation business entrepreneurs Nicola Chapman and Andrew McLeay – who played the doctor in the murder mystery night during that cruise. Hardly the monotonous atmosphere that Margie (below) suggests. And I see Thomas McAlpin, now president of The World, spent 14 years at Disney Cruise Line, responsible for the successful launch of Disney’s entry into the cruise industry, so surely he'd ensure The World was entertaining for residents, as required when they'd read the 4000 books in its library. 
And there'd always been something onboard that would capture my inquisitive attention. Indeed I'd love to get to the bottom of the 2012 preliminary court case, <a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:shRDF28BiGUJ:ny.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20121026_0000907.SNY.htm/qx+&amp;cd=2&amp;hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&amp;gl=au" target="_blank">Overseas Ventures versus ROW Management, Ltd., d/b/a ResidenSea Management, Ltd., and Shetland International Investments, Ltd, a Switzerland company</a>. Overseas Ventures owned adjoining apartments 601 and 603, and after failing to sell them together thought they'd just sell 603 for US$1 million, only to find the buyer, Shetland International Investments, Ltd had actually bought both apartments.
There's yet to be any competitive ship launched, though often envisaged. There's Four Seasons Oceans Residences, which had asking prices between US$3.8 million to US$39 million, but never floated further than the concept and a few now abandoned off the plan sales. I also recall the Orphalese, which was set to combine 200 private residences, plus 265 suites for cruise passengers, a project by Don Allen, who has since filed for bankruptcy with the project which has now been relabelled <a href="https://utopiaresidences.com" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">utopiaresidences.com</a> with a scheduled 2016 launch by entrepreneur David Robb. <a href="https://www.utopiaresidences.com/about/media.php" target="_blank">Forbes</a> magazine had put the initial revised launch by Robb as being in time to see the running of the Melbourne Cup 2013. Don Allen had it scheduled to launch in 2008, with the name inspired by Kahlil Gibran's book The Prophet about a prophet who ironically spent twelve years waiting for his ship to arrive in the city of Orphalese to return him to his home. There was also the Magellan, the time-share floating ship of Randall B. Jackson, an Arizona real-estate tycoon who envisioned fractional ownerships, but it has yet to come to fruition, seemingly sunk in the sands of its 2009 United Arab Emirites marketing campaign.  
Down the track I'd worry about buying on the World now given it's presumably depreciating at a rapid rate given the limited life of any cruise ship. And then there would be the latent issue of just where it would spend its final landlocked years. Lastly the average length of time to sell an apartment is around 12 months. 
 
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
Although The World sails to fascinating places, holidaying on the same ultra luxurious and extremely large ship with the same uber well-heeled crowd, year in year out, would be too confining and one dimensional for me. Variety is the spice of life, and with money to burn, I’d instead opt for voyages on a wide range of vessels offering soft-adventure journeys in all corners of the world. 
My bucket list of boating excursions includes:
<ul>
<li>
Mekong River Cruises (which sails small and beautiful teak boats along the Upper Mekong river through Laos), 
</li>
<li>Compagnie du Ponant (a fleet of four luxury vessels drawing a decidedly European crowd), </li>
<li>Star Clippers (a tall ship line with vessels driven by the power of winds and currents), </li>
<li>Fandango (a deluxe barge cruising the Canal du Midi across the Languedoc from the Lauragais valleys to the Minervois wine region in France) </li>
<li>and Nomads of the Seas (aboard MV Atmosphere for wilderness fly fishing excursions in Chile and Patagonia).</li>
</ul>
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Aussie seafarers reign as The World of ResidenSea due for Sydney berthing

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The grandest of hinterland listings on the Gold Coast, Bellagio La Villa, is home with a symmetrical façade behind which is some 2,546-square-metres of living space.
<a href="/news/31120-ridong-billionaire-riyu-li-buys-bellagio-la-villa-the-gold-coast-hinterland-mansion" target="_blank">The recent sale of the luxury home</a> got our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok thinking about symmetry in suburban housing design.
Some weekends see symmetry dominate the top seller lists, such as late March when eastern Melbourne estate agents secured the sale of three homes within close price and location proximity, at <a href="https://21monashavebalwyn.com.au" target="_blank">21 Monash Avenue, Balwyn</a>; <a href="https://www.30willsstreet-kew.com" target="_blank">30 Wills Street, Kew</a> and <a href="https://www.jelliscraig.com.au/property/HAWTHORN-EAST-4-Mt-Ida-Avenue/6761155/#.U23suVxK6qQ" target="_blank">4 Mt Ida Avenue, Hawthorn East</a>.
Ofcourse it doesn't have to be as flash as the Bellagio La Villa or other top sellers. 
Though symmetrical design in architecture is evident in landmark buildings around the globe including the Pantheon in Rome, the Taj Mahal in India, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Opera House in Sydney.
Symmetry (from the Greek συμμετρία symmetry) is all about "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement." There's also the accompanying vague sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance.
Here's a small range of houses with mirror image façade s.
HE SAID: YES, NO, YES<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
<ul>
<li>The $450,000 timber Corinella bungalow comes with terrific symmetry.</li>
</ul>
It is an appealing <a href="https://www.alexscott.com.au/details.asp?internetid=23384&amp;OFFICE_ID=354" target="_blank">classic period home</a> in a quiet fishing village in Vicoria's Westernport Bay district.
The <a href="au/property-house-vic-corinella-112655203" target="_blank">four-bedroom cottage</a> (pictured below) sits on a block at 11 Walpole Street which ideally would be bigger from an aesthetics point of view
Inside there are high ornate ceilings with big ceiling roses. Upstairs is the large parents retreat upstairs comes with Bay and French Island glimpses and a new fabulous claw foot bath in the second bathroom, a second ensuite and a double spa.
The grounds have landscaped gardens, red brick paved walkways, Federation style carport and huge jarrah split level "u" shaped outdoor alfresco deck and entertaining area out the back.
It is for sale through Russ Williams at the Alex Scott &amp; Staff agency.
 <img src="/images/2014/05/09/corinella%20may%209%20one.jpg" alt="">
<ul>
<li>
The three-bedroom home at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-camberwell-116575507" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">10 Outlook Drive Camberwell</a> (pictured below) recently sold for $1.282 million by Fletchers came with a symmetry which I'd suggest doesn't work.
</li>
</ul>
The three bedroom rendered 1945 brick residence sits on a limiting 650 square metre block which just doesn't do justice to the offering.
From <a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.848779,145.091329,3a,75y,272.2h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sVAf7PX7lKqJjhWEpAuEM_w!2e0" target="_blank">either side of the fence</a>.
It previously traded in 2008 at $780,000. It comes with the prospect of adding a second-storey which would maximise city views and change its proportions. The house was marketed as having great bones, but its exterior doesn't currently work for me. A compact garden with more than the stand alone fountain would assist, I'd suggest.
Ofcourse it can also be on many hectares, like Bellagio La Villa on the Gold Coast hinterland, and still not work.  
 <img src="/images/2014/05/09/camberwell%20may%209.jpg" alt="">
<ul>
<li>I especially love the pool house at The Palladio (pictured below), a secluded wonderland at Arcadia listed through Darren Curtis at Christies International.</li>
</ul>
With 30 acres, <a href="https://www.christiesrealestate.com/eng/sales/detail/170-l-86-f1305091616707252/the-palladio-a-private-and-secluded-wonderland-arcadia-sw-2159" target="_blank">it is being advertised</a> as one of North Western Sydney’s most significant and impressive private estates with beautifully manicured gardens and rolling lawns. It comes complete with a tennis court and landscaped pool that showcases the classic yet simple Palladian-style architecture style. 
The outdoor area includes an 82-foot swimming pool with a glass mosaic finish in classically inspired gardens. Its outside walls are rendered to look like what you would see in Italy, that's been there for 100 years. The <a href="https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303978304579474621736157640#13" target="_blank">two sphinxes</a> in front of the pool house are vintage reproductions. Owner Tim Higgins, a furniture retailer, told the Wall Street Journal when it featured as dream home of the day recently that he purchased a 33-acre plot of bare bush land in Arcadia in 1987 for $175,000.
The pool house mimics the main home (top image) which is more columned perhaps than necessary. It is for sale at $3,950,000. Higgins advised the Palladian-style home was built in the extravagant 1980s.There are only two bedrooms in the 4,305-square-foot main house. 
<img src="/images/2014/05/09/arcadia%20may%209%20tweo.jpg" alt="">
 
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID: YES, YES, YES
There’s no denying the symmetrical façade of this Melbourne mansion gives stature and importance - it makes a very bold statement indeed. Set in Toorak’s Maxwell Court, one of the suburb’s most coveted addresses, the grand two-storey house (pictured below) is for sale at $5,695,000 through Marshall White Armadale agents, Marcus Chiminello and Nicole French. With its highly ornate façade featuring classic columns and arches, the European-inspired luxury residence is surrounded by beautiful Paul Bangay designed gardens with a lap pool. With this property, the symmetry extends into the front garden and plantings with rows of potted plants and hedges framing the entrance. A stone path, which forms a centre line leading to the front door, draws the eye to the centre of the building and reinforces its symmetrical pattern.
<img src="/images/2014/05/09/toorak%20may%209.jpg" alt="">
<ul>
<li>
In the South Australian suburb of Norwood, this imposing Georgian inspired mansion has a mirror image façade showcasing classic symmetry and the grandeur of a bygone era.
</li>
</ul>
To my mind, its striking façade  establishes elegance and significance before you step past the front door. Built in 2000, the two-storey residence <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-norwood-115077871" target="_blank">was listed for sale</a> at $2.45 million through Ennis Partners North Adelaide, but it’s now under contract.
Of impressive proportions, it has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, formal and informal living and dining areas and a loggia, multiple courtyards, cellars and a six-car garage. 
<img src="/images/2014/05/09/norwood-may-9.jpg" alt="">
<ul>
<li>Set for auction tomorrow <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-stanmore-116581919" target="_blank">through McGrath agent Shad Hassen</a>, this three-bedroom Victorian house has a perfectly symmetrical and original front façade with a centered front door and windows evenly spaced. Set in the Sydney suburb of Stanmore, it also features a symmetrically designed modern extension at the rear.</li>
</ul>
With tremendous street appeal, this Corunna Road home evidences a tried and true design solution to create balance, both externally and internally. Built in the late 19th century, the house has been enhanced and enlarged with the new extension reinforcing the original symmetrical layout.
<img src="/images/2014/05/09/stanmore%20may%209.jpg" alt="">
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Does symmetry work as a feature in home façade designs? He Said/She Said

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The House Rules contestants Adam and Lisa wanted wallpaper.
But they got more than they bargained for, especially with the controversial choice of bottle top wallpaper in the dining room which seriously clashed the rest of the house.
Today, our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok discuss wallpaper - and while they don’t mind the odd layer, they certainly don’t favour wallpapering the whole house. 
HE SAID:<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" style="float: right;">
I’m okay with wallpaper making a statement, but only if used sparingly or as a feature on one wall.  
Generally, wallpaper works best in rooms needing a lift, perhaps a poky second bedroom or a plain bathroom - such as the delightful Vivienne Westwood wallpaper in a bathroom of the Castlecrag mid-century home (pictured below). The property was sold by interior designer Tina De Salis and her husband Edward for $3.01 million in 2012<a href="https://www.randw.com.au/506596/" target="_blank"> through Mark O'Brien of Richardson &amp; Wrench Castlecrag &amp; Northbridge</a>. 
 <img src="/images/2014/05/30/castlecrag-may-30-one.jpg" alt="">
Wallpaper took off in a big way during the 1920s. In this 'Golden Age of Wallpaper', more than 400 million rolls were sold as an affordable and mass-produced alternative to expensive silk and tapestry wall coverings.  
These days, snazzy wallpapers can be an inexpensive solution for jazzing up an original Art Deco bathroom – my preference is the Florence Broadhurst Cockatoos design in black and white (pictured below).
<img src="/images/2014/05/30/Florence-Broadhurst-Wallpaper-Black-Cockatoo-design-wall-may-30-one.jpg" alt="">
The Sydney designer Greg Natale is a strong advocate for Florence Broadhurst wallpapers which initially shot to prominence during the 1960s and 1970s when used by leading decorators of the day, including the late design doyen, Leslie Walford.  
Featuring rich colours, metallic finishes and vigorous designs, the hand screen-printed wallpaper collection was revived during 1990s by David and Helen Lennie, owners of Signature Prints, who drove the business exponentially while establishing the Florence Broadhurst name internationally. 
<img src="/images/2014/05/30/Florence-Broadhurst-in-Art-Deco-Bathroom-may-30-one.jpg" alt="">
While Natale’s Hollywood-style interiors have been splashed across the pages of interiors magazines including Belle, his distinctive decorating style also featured in Inner West Courier real estate pages during late 2012 when <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-five+dock-111968655" target="_blank">Laing + Simmons Drummoyne agent Frank Colacicco was marketing</a> a Five Dock house that subsequently sold for $1.34 million. Love the art deco tiles (above) in the bathroom, but the wallpaper is a little over the top. Ditto the wallpapered bedroom (below) doesn't appeal to me, cushions, bedhead and side tables included.
<img src="/images/2014/05/30/Florence-Broadhurst-wallpaper-in-Five-Dock-house-may-30-one.jpg" alt="">
For Margie Blok's opinion click through to the next page below.
<hr class="system-pagebreak">
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
In my book, the old adage of “less is more” should be heeded when using wallpaper – and in one or two rooms only.
If House Rules contestants, Lisa and Adam, had mentioned “subtle and calm” instead of “wow statement in every room”, then the renovation of their home could have ended up without that nightmare reveal of clashing wallpapers in the open-plan living and dining areas. 
 <img src="/images/2014/05/30/HOUSE%20RULES%20BOTTLETOP%20WALLPAPER.jpg" alt="">
Photo courtesy of Channel 7.
When it comes to choosing wallpaper, DIY renovators should exercise restraint and err on the side of caution, rather than express gaudy evidence of their personal taste in every room. 
Wallpaper should be used as part of a fundamental framework of an overall decorative scheme. It should form the background of a room, not the foreground. For subtle sophistication and a visually rich effect, opt for classic wallpapers with a strié or grasscloth finish.
Given the extraordinary range of wallpapers on the market, it can be confusing to pick the right style and shade for a particular room. While you might lust after a Florence Broadhurst wallpaper spotted in a magazine or admire the wallpaper in a Kit Kemp-designed Firmdale hotel in London, or, it doesn’t mean these will work well in your home. 
<img src="/images/2014/05/30/Kit%20Kemp%20desinged%20room%20at%20The%20Dorset%20Hotel%20London.jpg" alt="">
If you’re uncertain about the type of wallpaper to use, peruse the <a href="https://www.houzz.com" target="_blank">Houzz website</a> - it’s a terrific visual springboard for decorative and architectural ideas. 
Or engage an interior designer to sort it out for you – especially if you don’t have the time and energy to do the choosing, measuring and ordering associated with wallpapering and redecorating.
OTHER HE SAID/SHE SAID COLUMNS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:
<a href="/expert-insights/gardens-exteriors/29687-designer-chicken-coops-on-farms-fancy-fowls" target="_blank" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/adding-value/gardens-exteriors/29687-designer-chicken-coops-on-farms-fancy-fowls.html&amp;sa=U&amp;ei=psKHU_vxIYeikAWbhIDoBA&amp;ved=0CAwQFjAD&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;usg=AFQjCNET3E1sNZgUEJWuBp4tUqd0fnZYpQ" data-ctorig="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/adding-value/gardens-exteriors/29687-designer-chicken-coops-on-farms-fancy-fowls.html">Designer chicken coops for the fussiest of fowls: He Said/She Said</a>
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The wallpaper house rules in home decorating: He Said/She Said

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It almost got a little chilly this week, even with the winter sun. The cold came from a frosty exchange between our property contrarians, Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok, concerning the use of the term "winter garden", its definition and best application.

They reached agreement that a winter garden must have floor-to-ceiling external glass walls, with adjustable glass louvre panels. The space must be long and wide – not a box-like enclosed balcony. Ideally, a winter garden should also have an internal glass wall which can fold back to allow seamless flow with adjacent living areas.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=27728]

Of course over recent years, urban real estate agents have hijacked the term "winter garden" in an attempt to glamorize glass-enclosed balconies within apartments. 

The term was used during the early 19th century for grandly proportioned conservatory-style glass pavilions designed for growing plants in grand houses.

The history of winter gardens is <a href="https://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/what-wasis-winter-garden" target="_blank">well documented by a Melbourne blogger</a> who notes “the winter garden dates back to the early modern era where European nobility liked to build a large conservatory...and it had two functions: to house luscious plants that wouldn’t normally grow in that climate and to become an extension of the sociable living space.” 

The blogger further noted:

By the late 19th century, winter gardens had three defining factors:

<ol>
<li>They continued to grow warm-climate plants in a cool country; </li>
	<li>They had space for music, pleasure and strolling inside the building; and </li>
	<li>They were made of vast areas of glass to maximise the natural light and the natural views.  </li>
</ol>
Our columnists recalled the landmark Wintergarden apartments, at 57 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross.

It was designed in the 1920s to be sympathetic to its environment with its foyer then boasting indoor conservatory-style gardens.

Winter gardens were a signature of the architect John Burcham Clamp who'd also incorporated them into the 1912 Farmer’s CBD store. 

The designs used attributes of the then new “Daylight Principle”. 

The Kings Cross Wintergarden, which has lost much of its finest details, was one of Sydney's first Chicago-style apartment buildings, using steel frames to give added strength and height.

Almost a century on, our columnists now cast their eye over some recent loose usage of the term and suggest their favourite apartments worthy of the glamourous winter gardens description.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2881]

HE SAID:

I'm not a huge fan of winter gardens. Especially those that let in the draft and traffic noise. So sadly that rules out some apartments in the Renzo Paino Macquarie Apartments block, given its Macquarie Street position above the Cahill Express entry. The one's above the Royal Botanic Gardens work better. Conservatories in family homes don't do it for me either. I don't mind the old fashioned sunroom, but that's for another day. I've been impressed by the winter gardens in the newly completed <a href="https://www.metroresidences.com.au/interior" target="_blank">Metro</a> project in Chatswood. Ditto the Central Park project at Broadway where they were marketed as ‘loggias’ - weatherproofed with high-tech vertically-sliding glass panels, allowing the residents of blocks, such <a href="https://www.centralparksydney.com/live/the-mark" target="_blank">The Mark</a> to open the space to the elements as a balcony, or close the windows and enjoy bonus indoor space. With no change internal apartment floor level, the loggia seamlessly connects to the living space, and can be used as a dining room, study, extra living space or just an urban garden. 

One knockout winter garden I've spotted is at <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/property-observer" target="_blank">Newcastle</a>, NSW, not the UK. Occupying a coveted spacious north east corner position on the sixth floor of The York luxury apartments, there's a winter garden with electronic louvres offering both views of Nobbys Headland and Fort Scratchley and the rolling sound of the surf from Newcastle Beach.

Pictured below, the 601/61 Shortland Esplanade sold at $1.075 million early last year <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-newcastle-112905739" target="_blank">through PRD agent Mark Kentwell</a>. I'd have liked a little more furnishings with better than the one pot plant in the corner.

<img alt="" src="/images/2014/06/19/newcastle%20june%2019%20one.jpg">

In Melbourne's Eureka Tower I see they have actually been taking some of the winter gardens out. Not unsurprising, as they always looked too clunky, with their framework in tight odd shaped spaces, for my liking. I see 2101/7 Riverside Quay has been listed through MICM agent Brent Schapel sans winter garden in the 120 square metre abode. Looks like the black granite kitchen, pull-out pantry, and laundry were preferred. 

Harry Triguboff's high-rise, Miramar on Pitt Street, Sydney didn't market the block as having winter gardens when offered in 1993. But it didn't stop Lisa Wang and Yvonne Wong from the Cubic estate agency recently marketing, then selling their Miramar apartment offering supposedly with a winter garden. The apartment at <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-sydney-116027911" target="_blank">170/398 Pitt Street</a> fetched $700,000 earlier this year, despite having sliding windows rather than the requisite louvres – though it was correctly marketed as low maintenance, with $730 weekly market rental potential (pictured below). I recall the 38-floor block with 267 apartments was one of the first with very strong Chinese ownership, with the then president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, John Nicoll noting at the time that the trend in demand for inner-city apartments had been fuelled by uncertainty over the Hong Kong changeover in 1997.

 

 <img alt="" src="/images/2014/06/19/newcastle%20june%2019%20two.jpg">

Margie Blok weighs in on winter gardens on the next page.

SHE SAID:

Winter gardens have been bandied around the Sydney real estate scene since the Renzo Piano designed Macquarie Apartments building was sold off the plan during the late 1990s.

Estate agents and their copywriters often use the word erroneously when describing a glass-enclosed verandah.

While Jonathan worries about winter gardens being drafty, I argue winter gardens can work well if designed appropriately. In Sydney, glass louvres, a sunny aspect and generous proportions are paramount.  

[smartcode_project:default project_id=22699]

During my real estate travels, the best winter gardens I have seen are in Macquarie Apartments, as evidenced in Apartment 28 which sold last November for $3.75 million <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-sydney-114788639" target="_blank">through Wilson Property Agents</a> (pictured below). The landmark CBD building designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano saw all 62 apartments sell off-the-plan for an average $2.1 million. The typical internal space was 200 square metres to 220 square metres with 16 square metre to 25 square metre winter garden.

When I inspected this apartment, the winter garden impressed me because it works well with the other living areas, and it makes the most of natural light and the magnificent harbour views. Also, its wide glass frontage is fitted with electronically controlled glass crystal louvres which can be adjusted easily to control wind and rain. 

<img alt="" src="/images/2014/06/19/sydney%20june%2019%20one.jpg">

2) An example of the exaggerated use of the term “winter garden” is a Melbourne apartment <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-vic-melbourne-114155231" target="_blank">listed through Buxton Albert Park agents James Hatchman and Darren Male</a> (pictured below).

In a modern Karl Fender designed building situated on St Kilda Road, this one-bedder has a 26 square metre living area with sliding metal and glass doors opening to a glass-enclosed balcony with two half-height louvre panels – it could be described as a winter garden at a stretch. And the sad singular pot plant doesn't assist.  

<img alt="" src="/images/2014/06/19/melbourne%20june%2019%20two.jpg">

3)  An advertisement for a one-bedder, at Zetland in Sydney, inappropriately uses the word 'winter garden'. <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-apartment-nsw-zetland-117141391" target="_blank">Listed through Compass Realty agent, David Ho</a>, the apartment (pictured below) is described as a “Stunning Near New One Bedroom with enclosed winter garden”. 

With a masonry wall and sliding glass windows, this “winter garden” space is no more than an enclosed verandah measuring nine square metres.

<img alt="" src="/images/2014/06/19/zetland%20june%2019%20one.jpg">
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Apartments with winter gardens: He Said/She Said

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Construction on the former Yorkshire Brewery heritage site<a href="https://www.theyorkshire.com.au/index" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </a>in Collingwood has begun with a six-storey complex with a mix of one and two and three bedroom apartments along with townhouses. 
It is a 358 apartment development in Melbourne’s inner northeast where the one bedders start at $455,000, the two bedrooms from $595,000, and townhouses from $700,000. The site was bought for $9.79 million in 2010.
The heritage site on Robert Street and Waterloo Road includes an 1887 six-storey brew tower - the tallest building in Melbourne for a decade on its construction in the late 19th century.
There will be a series of laneways that connecting into the nearby streets, with the tower forecourt acting as a piazza-like setting.
Working closely with Lovell Chen heritage architects, <a href="https://www.theyorkshire.com.au/index" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Hayball architects viewed the development as on the scale of a small village</a>, with its own piazza and shops. 
Interestingly two of the apartments – a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom – are being held back to be retained by the developer for the sole use of visitors of permanent block residents. The share apartments are billed as a worthy step up from share parking spots or cars which other developers have embraced.
A concierge will manage reservations for the guest apartments. 
Costs have been suggested as likely between $90 to $150 per night, including cleaning and utility services.
Stays will be capped at several nights for each visitor to stop long-term occupancies.
Martin Strode from SMA Projects conceived the novel idea which Victoria’s Urban Development Institute of Australia boss, Tony de Domenico reckons will work especially as Melbourne gets more international visitors.
Early buying interest has been from local empty nesters, second-home buyers and investors, visiting the display suite at 84 Wellington Street, Collingwood. 
HE SAID:<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
It is a great idea especially given so many residents have one bedders and would like friends close, but not on their apartment floor or couch.
Visitors too will have their own privacy and space, but in close proximity.
The developer has to commit long term to ownership and then operating the arrangement otherwise it will become quite fly by night hazard. 
It's not for all, so it is important that usage charges would not be added to everyone's body corporate fees.
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" alt="" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
It's a great idea... a bit like airbnb for the lazy. And of course a better return for the landlord developer.
Owner buyers will save money as they won’t need to spend more for that extra bedroom.
Getting a booking could be a challenge especially during the football season finals apparently and even over Christmas time in the heat of Melbourne summer.
I'd imagine the rates might need to get a bit more commercial, especially with the cleaning thrown in. 
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Designated guest apartments in new residential blocks: He Said/She Said

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The Simon family sold their vast Point Piper harbourfront trophy home mid-week for just shy of $30 million, some eight years after the initial listing.
<a href="/expert-insights/buying/31983-simon-family-point-piper-harbourfront-sale-swings-pendulum-back-to-the-harbourfront" target="_blank">It once had $60 million price hopes</a>, reduced to $42 million by 2011, and then $38 million by mid-2013 (the home is pictured below).
<img src="/images/2014/06/03/point%20piper_0001_2.jpg.jpg" alt="Simon family Point Piper sale swings pendulum back to the harbourfront">
There are still plenty of other prestige Point Piper offerings that languish unwanted by buyers at current pricing, and many others not officially listed publicly on websites. 
It is possible the sale of 130 Wolseley Road will now encourage a sensible price revision among the remaining ambitious vendors. 
Our property contrarians Jonathan Chancellor and Margie Blok commented late last year that the bullish sale of Altona in April 2013 actually prompted another<a href="/news/28305-the-altona-aftermath-buyers-baulking-at-the-ambitious-asking-prices-sydneys-top-20-house-sales-in-2013-he-saidshe-said" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;"> </a>sales impasse becoming embedded given all <a href="/news/28305-the-altona-aftermath-buyers-baulking-at-the-ambitious-asking-prices-sydneys-top-20-house-sales-in-2013-he-saidshe-said" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">vendors decided their own home was worth more in the aftermath of the $52 million trophy home</a>.
They now look at the stalest listings and select their own preference.
1) In mid 2012 the Point Piper home of Ron Medich and his wife, Odetta, was listed officially for sale, but it was actually being shown to prospective buyers since 2011. 
The harbourfront property had previously been quietly listed for sale, never publicly marketed in print or internet. 
<img src="/images/stories/november29medich/medich_0005_krm_r_4_05.jpg.jpg">
It was listed through Bill Malouf at LJ Hooker Double Bay, in conjunction with Ken Jacobs at Christies Great Estates with revised $40 million price expectations down from February 2011's reported $55 million hopes. 
The Australian architectural studio <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/tasmanian-tigers-keep-watch-over-the-point-piper-harbourfront-mansion-of-the-much-accused-ron-medich/2011112852588" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Katon Redgen Mathieson completed the Point Piper project in 2009</a> for Medich, who made a fortune with his brother developing industrial sites in Sydney’s west, and Ron's  estranged wife, Odetta. The David Katon-designed house replaced the house bought from the restaurateur Wolfie Pizem in 2003 for $15.1 million.
2) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/new-south-wales/point-pipers-most-prized-leslie-wilkinson-home-listed-for-about-%2430-million/2012030153649" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">One of Professor Leslie Wilkinson's most prized Point Piper houses </a>remains listed for sale by the retired shirt maker-cum-property developer Charles Scarf and his wife, Maria (pictured below). 
<img src="/images/stories/leswilkinson.jpg">
The 1959 Wentworth Street property was the second-last of Wilkinson’s house designs. It was listed in March 2012. It last traded when bought from the then low-profile expatriate businessman Richard Wiesener for $8.25 million – which was 1992's highest sale. 
<img src="/images/stories/leswilkinson4.jpg">
The neighbouring property had been bought for $6.5 million for its tennis court in 1989, and it took the estate to 2,717 square metres. The original house reportedly cost $350,000 in the 1970s.
3) In late 2012 the Edwardian-era harbourfront house of John Piven-Large was listed. It had last traded when it was a duplex. The now restored <a href="/news/19398-friday-flicker-5-point-piper" target="_blank">four-bedroom house</a> (pictured below) and one-bedroom self-contained apartment with a 30 metre private tidal beach has been through a <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-point+piper-115954615" target="_blank">change in marketing agents</a> to Jason Boon at Richardson &amp; Wrench Elizabeth Bay and Ben Collier at McGrath by the low-key liquor industry entrepreneur who owns the Centennial Vineyard at Bowral.
 <img src="/images/2014/06/06/point%20piper%20june%206%20one.jpg" alt="">
4) The house on the slither of land from the subdivided Paradis sur Mer estate is back for sale. 
The 260-square-metre parcel of land - the second smallest vacant block among Sydney Harbour's 2,400 waterfront sites - is about eight metres wide and about 34 metres deep.
It was last sold by the speculative property developers Gerald and Monica Symonds for $1.44 million in 1994 and bought by the neighbours who owned the hi-tech Bang &amp; Olufsen house, anxious that no further building take place on the site.
They built the narrow house that is <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-point+piper-116163487" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">currently up for sale through Sotheby's International agent James McCowan</a> (pictured below). It's listed with $15 million hopes. It was initially listed in 2010 with $13 million plus hopes by the Taechaubol family.
<img src="/images/2014/06/06/point-piper-june-6-two.jpg" alt="">
5) Not officially marketed at the moment, but on and off over the years, there's possibly a chance to snare the home of the headhunter Julia Ross, <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/residential/artists-patricia-piccinini-and-peter-hennessey-get-sweet-deal-selling-in-fitzroy-title-tattle/2011112552545" target="_blank">Villa del Mare</a> (pictured below).
<img src="/images/stories/villadelmare.jpg">
 
The Wolseley Road offering was firstly discreetly put on the market in 2011. The trophy residence had $40 million-plus hopes through Ken Jacobs of Christie's Great Estates and LJ Hooker Double Bay's Bill Malouf. 
<img src="/images/stories/villadelmare2.jpg">
The limestone palazzo sits on a 1,508-square-metre block. The house was built in the late 1990s by the developer Nati Stoliar. It’s almost certain to sell to Chinese buyers on any relisting, so as sun doesn't need the marketing to the locals.
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/jc-silhouette-7.jpg" alt="" style="float: right;">
HE SAID: 
Forget Wolseley Road, Wolseley Crescent and Wunulla Road. I adore the hillside Professor Leslie Wilkinson-designed Mediterranean home with its tennis court on Wewtworth Street. Yes it is inland, but so very private. 
Indeed actor Adrian Brody celebrated the 2014 New Year's Eve celebrations in absolute privacy at the house when he was in Sydney filming Backtrack, a psychological thriller. 
The house and garden are charming and calming. No banana chairs here!
<img src="/images/2014/03/28/mb-silhouette-6.jpg" style="float: left;">SHE SAID:
For me, the Wunulla Road home of low-key liquor industry entrepreneur John Piven-Large is a ‘lay down misère’ given its magnificent waterfront position at the cul-de-sac end of this prestigious street.
While Jonathan fancies swanning around at the non-waterfront Scarf residence (I can see him hosting tennis parties and serving Pimms on the lawn), I’d prefer to be down the hill and propped up on a banana chair by the harbour.  
Built in 1913, the Piven-Large house is in good company, being two doors north of Altona, the suburb’s best-known trophy residence which sold for $52 million last year. 
Also two doors away is Routala, the waterfront home of hedge fund director Gordon Fell and his wife, Pip, which sold in 2007 for $28.7 million setting a record price at that time. The Fell's are still there despite cheeky reports suggesting it was for sale last June.
Other near neighbours include Herewai, a landmark Spanish Mission stucco building, one of the Rydge family’s vast compound of properties on this exclusive tip of Point Piper. 
In 1960, when Herewai was a duplex, Sir Norman Rydge, bought one apartment from a grazier, Anthony Hordern the younger, for £30,250. Eight years later, he purchased the other apartment for $105,000. Since, his youngest son, Alan, has added an assortment of other properties to the family’s Wunulla Road holding. 
The Edwardian-era harbourfront house of John Piven-Large was also duplex when it last traded. 
Piven-Large engaged the celebrated architect Espie Dods to restore the building to a four-bedroom house with a self-contained one-bedroom apartment. 
Standing on 961 square metre block with a 28.7 metre width to the water and a tidal sandy beach, it is one of only four Wunulla Road homes with unobstructed views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. 
 
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