I wasn't expecting to live in Albany at all but it's a really nice area and we have lovely neighbours.Forgetting to fine-tune her online search settings meant Gael Bland found a home that she and partner Ron Potter have enjoyed immensely for the past five years.
Gael was supposed to be scouting for properties in Northcote but when this home in The Landing subdivision popped up, she and Ron had to have a look.
"The minute we walked through the door we knew it was right for us," says Gael.
"I wasn't expecting to live in Albany at all but it's a really nice area and we have lovely neighbours."
Designed by Nigel Marshall, of Marshall Homes, as a showhome for Firth masonry villas, this two-storey house is around 17 years old and features high-spec materials, fixtures and finishes.
With solid masonry walls using Firth's Hotbloc system and heated concrete floors on both levels, the home is warm, dry and quiet.
But it was the character features -- the cedar joinery, wrought iron detailing, exposed beams and recycled or distressed timber used to provide interest throughout the home -- that attracted Gael and Ron.
Board and batten detailing on the upper floor and timber soffits give the home a rustic feel, while large exposed stones at the bottom of walls in the home and around the property give an air of permanence and solidity.
"I've always lived in character homes and to me it had a lovely English sort of feel," says Gael.
"Originally it had Mexican styling and some people say it feels Italian to them.
"It has a lot of character and it's been easy to fill it with more character and I've done that by bringing in more wrought iron pieces."
Ron says: "It's a unique house -- there's not another one like it around here and it's quite well known in the neighbourhood."
Image 1 of 5: Wrought iron detailing and exposed beams give this home a distinct rustic feel. Photos / Ted Baghurst
He says the home has been designed to capture all day sun, which floods the house during winter and heats the concrete floors, which have gas-fired hydronic underfloor heating as a backup.
"We have the thermostat set at 23C so it just comes on when it needs to and it's always warm and dry."
From the street, the home is distinctive with its steeply gabled roofline and towering chimney, topped by a terracotta chimney pot from Morris & James.
Inside, coloured concrete floors have been cut to resemble flagstones and there is an easy flow through the open plan kitchen dining and living areas with French doors opening to a patio with a wisteria-clad pergola and the private backyard beyond.
Tongue and groove cabinetry, recycled timber and a butler's sink give the kitchen a cottagey feel, while the living room has a gas fire topped by a chunky beam serving as a mantelpiece.
The laundry on the southern side of the house shares a similar aesthetic with the kitchen, having tongue and groove cabinetry, wooden bench top and a butler's sink.
Through double glass doors off the dining area sits a large office and you walk past this to the master suite, which has a walk-in wardrobe and tiled en suite with a stable door providing access to the garden and a spot designated for a spa pool.
French doors from the bedroom also open to the garden.
Ron says they happily live on this one level, with the upstairs mainly being used for guests.
He says it makes the home ideal for elderly owners, especially with the flat section.
On the top floor there are two more bedrooms separated by a lounge off which lies the main bathroom, tiled and with a clawfoot bath.
One of the bedrooms has a shuttered cutout and overlooks the downstairs living area.
Ron and Gael are selling up so they can travel while they still have plenty of energy, and they want to catch up with family overseas.
But they will miss their special home in a subdivision where owners haven't been allowed to build fences at the front of their properties.
It all helps to make for a friendly community, which boasts a dinner club, walking groups, a local newsletter, Christmas carols and lighting displays to rival Franklin Rd.
"It's not an area I would have considered living in before," says Gael.
"But we have loved it and will be sorry to leave this very special house."
