The four-bedroom house at 1 Beckley St, Herne Hill, is almost three years old.
Established neighbourhood vibes are a built-in bonus of a modern knockdown project that delivers flexible family living in Herne Hill.
A fondness for the area’s quiet streets spurred vendor Mel Lavars to demolish her young family’s home and start again rather than selling up when it outgrew its original modest home.
With 743sq m of land to play with, they chose to upsize to a single-level Boutique Homes design with three living areas and a home office that still left plenty of space for the kids to play outside.
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The main living space now connects to the outdoor entertainment area and garden.
The four-bedroom house at 1 Beckley St, Herne Hill was completed in 2023, becoming something of a ‘unicorn’ in the older area where capital is starting to flow into renovation and knockdown rebuilt projects.
“Essentially we just wanted some space, having two kids, but not to feel disconnected, which is why we chose that design because there are multiple zones but you are still not so far away from each other that you’re not spending time together, which is what we love about it,” Ms Lavars says.
“We obviously love the kitchen and open-plan living to the backyard area. In the old house the kitchen was towards the front so I couldn’t see the kids as they were playing outside.”
A premium kitchen with Caesarstone island bench, Ilve induction cooktop and oven, a built-in fridge and large butler’s pantry anchors the central hub.
From here sliding doors link to a covered deck for outdoor entertaining.
The kitchen has a walk-in pantry and integrated fridge to keep clutter to a minimum.
There’s lots of space to play with on the 743sq m block.
The main bedroom suite is spacious.
Ms Lavars’ second favourite space is the separate parents’ retreat (or home theatre), conveniently positioned well away from the rumpus room in the children’s bedroom wing.
“It is kind of our space, we have record players in there and it’s a bit more adult, which we didn’t really have previously,” she says. “We really wanted that communal area and kids to have their own area and then we have our own space.”
Both she and her partner take advantage of the study, featuring built-in desks and storage, to work from home a couple of days a week.
The main bedroom includes walk-in wardrobe and ensuite with a separate toilet, while the three minor bedrooms have built-in wardrobes.
Other practical inclusions are a double garage with internal access via the laundry, double glazed windows dressed with plantation shutters and dual zone ducted heating and cooling.
The vendors retained the original home’s deep setback, giving the new owners the option to install a gate to create a secure front yard.
Ms Lavars says the location is close to everything, including the Geelong Ring Road and sporting reserves, yet remains a quiet pocket where the streetscape is only starting to evolve.
“(Knockdown rebuilds) are popping up more and more I drive around and see houses being demoed or at least gutted and starting from scratch but at the moment it’s a bit of a unicorn,” she says of the property.
McGrath, Geelong agent Jim Cross has set a $1.325m to $1.385m price guide for 1 Beckley St, Herne Hill.
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