UPON A TIME

This gracious residence reprises the beauty of its glory days while composing a new story embellished with contemporary appointments and arresting artworks.

- CARLI PHILIPS

The storied history of this handsome Italianate mansion dates back to the 1880s when it occupied a three-hectare block in Melbourne’s affluent Toorak, complete with horse stables and a carriage path. Commissioned by a banker, the estate has been home to some of Australia’s most prominent families and later served as reception rooms before being subdivided into flats and a boarding house. While its modifications have been as varied as its tenants, its architectural gentility has always remained intact.

After purchasing the property, the current owners also bought the plot next door, so phase one involved amalgamating the two and building a tennis court on the east side of the block. On the west, a pool was relocated and a manicured garden by Paul Bangay took its place. “While the eastern side of the house is all action – tennis and basketball courts, soccer nets and swimming pool – we felt the [other] side lent itself to a tranquil, private feeling,” says the owner, referencing the lemon trees and pots of lavender and rosemary planted around the outdoor dining setting. “We wanted it to feel as if you could be anywhere in the world.”