Thursday, August 30, 2018

Former Wahroonga Knox Grammar School Mansion listed


For sale with close to $9 million expectations, Malto Ende, which means remote land, at 32 Grosvenor St, is the longtime home of investment banker Ian Maxton and his charity fundraiser wife Susan.
 Malto Ende dates back to 1901: in 1910 it became the boarding house for Eldinhope School for Girls run by the Hooke sisters. In the 1950s the property was part of the Knox Grammar School divided into flats and used for housing senior staff.
 This grand estate has been a Uniting Church garden walk fundraiser site, the site of the one of the biggest and longest-running Cancer Council morning teas in the area as well as being a filming studio for NIDA students.
 The Maxtons have owned this stately home for 25 years. It is now being auctioned in September with a $8.8m guide. 
 Lovingly restored and renovated in keeping with its Federation pedigree, it is nestled within lush manicured gardens, with grand living spaces, sandstone-framed North/South tennis court and 14m heated in-ground pool.

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Sunday, August 26, 2018

Kensington Gardens Bungalow's pool turned into rainwater tank!

August 26, 2018
A KENSINGTON GARDENS property has been given not one, but three stunning renovations to transform it into a fantastic family home catering for people of all ages.
 Miranda Hodge and her partner David Harford bought their 38 East Terrace home 12 years ago, attracted by its location, its Federation Bungalow style and potential for a transformation.
 Drawing on Miranda’s design background, the couple set about transforming the property into a spacious and grand family entertainer, treating it to three separate major renovations.
 “The first one was turning a 1950s garage into a self-contained bachelor pad or studio, so our son James lived out there and we put in a whole new laundry and a new bathroom,” Miranda says.
 “In the second renovation we went up, and added a whole new level and that became our daughter Lucy’s teenage retreat, and we also made general upgrades.
“The third renovation was installing the pool. We also bought extra land and created a secret garden, a cubby house, a vegetable garden and carparking for five or six cars.
The land we bought had a pool, so we turned it into 60,000L of underground water storage for both our rainwater and stormwater, to use on the garden.”
The Federation Bungalow already had Local Government Heritage status, for its: 
"External form and fabric of 1915 bungalow.
Key features include the sandstone walls with red brick detailing,
timber joinery, steeply pitched corrugated iron roof with roof gablets and brick chimneys."
 “When the application went in for the major renovation that went up, Burnside Council said it was the best application they’d ever had and it went through with no trouble at all,” Miranda says.
“My focus had always been on maintaining the original style of the home and enhancing it, and it became very much an extension of us and our family.” 
 Gallery:
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