"When we first bought it, it was a step up for us coming from Northcote Pt," she says. "We were looking for a good family home with good schools."
About nine years ago, she called in architectural designer Keith Humphreys to realise the potential offered by the ceiling space within the gabled roofline. He had helped the previous owners with their renovation so Andrea enlisted him again to ensure continuity of design.
Andrea says building within the roofline was an efficient way to create a large family home without having to confront too many consent issues.
"What I wanted to create was family living upstairs and have the downstairs for guests or an au pair," says Andrea.
A downstairs bedroom was sacrificed to accommodate the stairs but the extra space on top meant two rooms downstairs could be joined to create a kids' lounge halfway down the hall.
The top floor has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one an en suite to the master bedroom off its walk-through wardrobe. At the western end of the house, the master bedroom opens to a balcony that overlooks the heated swimming pool, which was installed three years ago, to the delight of Andrea's school-age children -- and their friends.
The pool sits in the backyard, behind a glass balustrade with hedging on the boundary for privacy in this area as with most of the property. Smaller box hedging, pavers and grasses provide landscaping structure, with shrubs such as gardenia for colour and a wisteria twining along the wraparound veranda.
There are two bedrooms at the front of house, one with a walk-in wardrobe, before the stairs to the top floor.
Past the stairs is an office then, on the opposite side of the hall, the kids' lounge with funky wallpaper, colourful furniture and a big-screen TV.
"The kids can chill out in there when we have guests over and there is a table in there for them to do their homework at or they can eat in there with their friends and do their own thing," says Andrea.
A feature wall clad in Breakfast at Tiffany's-era Audrey Hepburn wallpaper is one of the many fun touches around the home that Andrea introduced as a freshen-up in the past year with the help of an architect friend with an eye for interior design. Wallpaper feature walls pop up throughout the home, and, along with the clever use of a variety of light fixtures, give the home an individual feel.
Andrea also modernised the kitchen/family room, introducing a window seat, resurfacing cabinetry and adding a faux stone wall -- inset with a gas fire -- that gives a textural feel to the lounge space. This family-friendly space opens to a covered outdoor entertaining area with a heater and sound system.
Andrea says: "It's a fantastic house for entertaining because it opens right out at the back. I would have stayed here and been happy to stay here if I hadn't found the other house."
