Our story starts back in 2018 when we purchased what was a not so beautifully named “the ugly duckling” by the listing agent in Thornbury, Victoria, where I saw the potential that was 116 Rossmoyne Street right away, backing on to a small reserve in one of most loved streets in the area. Our original plans were to renovate the circa 1950’s Art Deco home, but we quickly found out that the home was originally a weatherboard, but the facade was bricked over with an extremely questionable backyard extension, so we pivoted and decided to work with an architect, an interior designer and our builder collaboratively to design a new home that would look like it had always been there once it was built. We worked quite differently from the start of our project, locking in our builder, Matt from Elevate Building Group before our offer was even accepted on the property. We had seen Matt’s work and had some glowing recommendations so instead of going down the normal pathways we discussed our budgets upfront and Matt gave us a clear idea of what we could build with our budget. From there we engaged an Architect, (Archiscale) and our Interior Designer (Shaynna Blaze) with a proposal to work collaboratively from the start, and they were all really excited to be involved in the process. What that meant for us was that we were involved in the whole project from the start with considerations for keeping on budget, while creating a home that was thoughtful, considered and beautiful.
During the design process, we wanted to support as many local businesses as possible while also building a home that was built with quality products, as sustainable as possible and as maintenance free as we could make it without blowing the budget, and some of those considerations included going with a James Hardie Linear Cement Sheeting instead of timber for the weatherboard cladding, installing a Delos 3-stage Whole Home Water Filtration System that filters all water coming into the home, installing a Tesla Wall Car Charger, double glazing throughout with skylights through our bathrooms, hallway and kitchen/living/dining area to bring in lots of natural light, particularly into our South facing rear. What was created 8 months later was what we lovingly re-named “Parkview House” and we are super proud of what we achieved while also keeping in budget! We have a beautiful 4 bedroom + study home that is single level, with lots and lots of storage, quality finishes and a home that just feels koselig. We also have a home that from the front facade looks like it has always been there, with a little hint to the original home being our house number “116” next to the front door, while it isn’t flashy or designed to grab your attention, we believe that when you walk into our home, she truly packs a punch with her quality, beauty and hidden features.
