The brief for architects Lance and Nicola Herbst was to emphasise the home's "good bones" by bringing consistency to its look and materials, and also to celebrate its heritage so it wouldn't look out of place as a location for 80s TV series Miami Vice.
The predominantly crisp-white colour scheme highlights the home's symmetry and its mixture of straight and curved walls, which are often broken up with glass blocks.
All these elements are on display once you come through the secure gate into what is a private, walled compound. The fountains in the grand, marbled foyer are gone, replaced by planters overflowing with tropical plants that help to soften the twin staircases.
From here there is a view straight out to the large in-ground swimming pool that is backdropped by a stainless steel sculpture and framed by landscaping designed by Ted Smyth.
Surrounded by an expansive tiled patio, the north-facing pool is the focus for entertaining in summer. Tucked in the northwestern corner, a covered outdoor entertaining area has built-in seating and an outdoor kitchen concealed behind a sliding wall. This set-up provided the perfect venue when the couple hosted a Christmas party for the classmates of their 6-year-old son, Pablo.
"We like to entertain here a lot," says Olga.
"This house is perfect for it and the pool is a fantastic feature."
On the western side of the house, an external spiral staircase takes you up two floors to a rooftop terrace with harbour views. Because there are harbour views from the upper level, most of the living spaces are upstairs. Downstairs, there is a bedroom wing to the east as well as a games room that opens out to the pool area.
Only the bathroom off the fully equipped gym has kept its red tiles. All the others have much more restrained neutral colour schemes and marble tiles.
Off the gym, a staircase - with wine cellar beneath - leads down to a squash court. Although the family hasn't played much squash here, this space has come in handy for birthday parties as the wooden floors make it easy to sweep up afterwards.
"We had a great party in here when we hung it with mirror balls and had a DJ - and because it was down here no one called noise control," explains Olga.
Upstairs, the large landing, which is flanked by staircases, has been set up as a lounge and sits beneath walls of glazing and the home's deep eaves.
Opening to its own terrace, the master suite sits at the eastern end of the house and has its own marble bathroom, as well as walk-in wardrobes.
On the western side of this level, the open-plan kitchen and lounge area has harbour views and flows out to a wide, north-facing terrace. This configuration makes it ideal for entertaining, particularly with a chiller and butler's pantry off the kitchen.
With two children in the blended family leaving home, the couple have decided to downsize although they did consider dividing the house in two, and have had concept plans drawn up.
Olga says: "It's a beautiful house; very sunny, light and spacious. We are going to miss it but we only live in about 20 per cent of it."
