Married At First Sight psychologist John Aiken and interior designer wife Kelly Swanson-Roe, who’ve recently sold in Willoughby East through McGrath, are still seeking buyers for their Hunter Valley weekender.
The listing of the four-bedroom, three-bathroom Pokolbin house set within The Vintage golf course estate has seen its price guide tweaked slightly lower to $1.5m to $1.6m.
Nicknamed The Lake House, the home sits in prime “Hunter Valley Wine Country” according to the listing for 18 Peppertree Drive, Pokolbin.
MAFS Psychologist with his wife, the interior designer Kelly Swanson-Roe.
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“Set along the 15th fairway within The Vintage, with open views across the fairway and water, it’s designed for people who want their weekends to actually feel like something — social, easy, and a little bit indulgent,” the listing reads.
“The house centres around one main idea: everyone together, without trying too hard.
“The living space is open, light-filled and connected — high ceilings, a fireplace for winter, and a natural flow straight out to the terrace.
The Pokolbin home.
It has a $1.5m to $1.6m price guide.
‘A little bit indulgent.’
Inside the four-bedroom home.
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“It’s the kind of layout where a few friends turn into ten, and no one feels in the way. It’s fun, its unpretentious and its all done for you.
“The kitchen is built for that same energy — long, social, and part of the room rather than tucked away. You’re cooking, pouring a drink, talking — all at once.”
The home last traded hands for $1.520m in October 2023.
Aiken and Swanson-Roe enjoyed a $5.7 windfall last month when they sold their luxury home on Sydney’s North Shore.
Together the two properties would reap a property payday of more than $7m for the MAFS relationship expert and his wife.
Billy Gleeson, the founder and director of Webb & Gleeson Buyers Agency, snapped up the grand sandstone residence with pool at 143 High St, Willoughby for “slightly above” its latest $5.7m guide for his client on March 12.
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Aiken sold his North Shore home for around $5.7m earlier this year.
Inside the character home.
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“The buyers fell in love with the character and the history, there’s no other house like it in Willoughby or the North Shore,” Gleeson said.
He said there’d been “fierce competition” for the updated five-bedroom residence, on the market for a month with Rose Farina and Denise Woo of McGrath, with a “handful” of other buyers keen.
The initial guide had been $5.8m, but like many homes on the market now it had been adjusted down.
Aiken and Swanson-Roe have been keen to promote the home, coincidentally put to market at the same time as the current MAFS series, personally introducing buyers to the property in “open home” walk-through videos.
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Married At First Sight experts Alessandra Rampolla, John Aiken and Mel Schilling. Picture: Instagram
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The two-level home on 779 sqm has four fireplaces and an attic.
Curated interiors include a marble kitchen, bespoke joinery, imported chandeliers and multiple indoor-outdoor living zones.
The garden comes with barbecue and alfresco area, plus a pool, spa with cabana and outdoor shower.
They’d bought ‘Tyneside’, which dates back to 1882, for $2.93m in 2019 after selling their earlier Willoughby East home for $2.85m.
+ Additional reporting – James MacSmith
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