When Roya Reyhani and Riaz Nasrabadi went house-hunting in 2009, finding a warm, single-level home with a straightforward layout was uppermost in their minds. As parents of two under-5s, their watchwords were "family-friendly".
This renovated, early 1900s Parnell villa, set back from the road, easily filled all their requirements and the young family happily made it their home, appreciating being in the same suburb as grandparents and close to Parnell District School for when school years rolled around.
As the family settled in, they also made a few changes, the main one being to remove the wall between lounge and kitchen/dining to make this area open-plan, improving the villa's flow.
This sunny part of the home works so well when the family entertain; on warm days they open the French doors to the back deck, lawn and fully fenced garden.
The layout of kitchen, then dining, then deck, makes preparing and serving meals easy, plus it means the girls playing outside can easily be kept an eye on. In summer, family and guests can dine outside, after serving themselves from the dishes on the kitchen's long granite bench.
This modern kitchen is a cook's dream with its practical layout, plenty of storage and work spaces, central island and European appliances that include a Liebherr fridge and wine fridge, De Dietrich wall oven, oven/microwave and induction hobs, plus Asko dishwasher (so nice and quiet, says Roya). Placed handily beside the kitchen is the laundry.
The children's playground is on the flat back lawn, and a sliding panel in the side fence means a portion of level ground, and part of the covered deck is now a carport, another change Riaz and Roya made, plus replacing the shorter picket fence with the higher fence alongside the house.
The attractive street frontage leads to the front door along a path bordered by clipped hedging, and is set off by the front garden's topiary trees, hebes, camellias, iceberg roses, mondo grass, and the garage to the side, in keeping with the villa's design lines.
The home has three bedrooms at the front (but the couple use the one with French doors as a study) and the large family bathroom with shower and stand-alone bath (looking outside to a private enclosure with a sole camellia, lit at night, through the feature multi-pane window) all reached off the hallway with its wide wooden floorboards.
The master bedroom with en suite is further along the hall, then returning to the hallway, you come into the kitchen, living and dining. "We like the character of the house," says Roya. "This home works well for us."
The family enjoy being in Parnell, with the girls attending Parnell District School, just a short stroll up the road. It's in a double Grammar zone, there's a good selection of cafes, shops and parks nearby, as well as the CBD only a 25- to 30-minute walk or shorter bus trip away.
The family are selling and plan to move to another home, still in Parnell, as they move to the next stage of family life.
"I do love this house," says Roya. "It's a great family home, so nice and easy, but I think it would also suit somebody who was downsizing because it's nice and level, everything is within easy reach and you have all the amenities of Parnell."
