12A Grafton St, Balmain.
Two Balmain East terraces, owned by a jet-setting couple who met on a plane in the 1980s, have come to market for the first time in more than three decades.
The neighbouring three-bedroom houses at 12 and 12a Grafton St are to be sold in one line at auction on October 31, with a price guide of $9.5m through Highland Double Bay and Inner West agents David Malouf and Jenna Kallin.
Owners Lyn and Giacomo Latella have travelled the world together, first meeting on a Qantas flight from Bangkok to Athens in 1984 while Giacomo was working as a flight attendant, a job he held until retiring in 2012.
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Lyn and Giacomo Latella pictured in Rome in 1984.
The guide for the neighbouring terraces is $9.5m for an October 31 auction.
Lyn, the daughter of a Qantas captain, became a high-flying personal assistant once ranked in the top 10 per cent of the highest-paid women in 1988.
She went on to start her own hospitality and design business in 1991. Cucina Latella, famous for its pasta sauces, decorative preserves, tiramisu and five star styling, supplied hotels retails stores around the world.
Giacomo bought number 12 Grafton St, Balmain East in 1983, and the globetrotting pair acquired number 12A a decade later.
The twin terraces have a distinct Mediterranean aesthetic, both inside and out, clearly inspired by their travels and family heritage.
The side-by-side dwellings offer up a unique opportunity for a buyer to create a grand stately home on approximately 380sq m.
Alternatively, a purchaser could keep the properties as two separate layouts, using one as a home and the other as an additional income-stream.
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Great location.
The properties’ backdrop is quintessential Sydney.
Each house has a spacious two-storey three-bedroom layout with a single lock up garage per floor plan and underhouse storage with individual wine cellars.
Currently the character-filled homes feature grapevine-covered terraces — including number 12’s rooftop garden designed by Annie Wilkes of The Parterre Garden — and lime-washed patios.
While the styling is influenced by the couple’s love of Italy, the properties’ backdrop is quintessential Sydney with views of the city skyline, Harbour Bridge, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour and Anzac Bridge.
There are both formal and informal entertaining areas in each property, plus gas and marble kitchens feeding out via either full length bi-fold glass or traditional French doors to the private alfresco spaces.
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Each house has three bedrooms.
One of the houses has the added bonus of a large 4.1m by 6.6m rooftop terrace.
One of the houses has the added bonus of a large 4.1m by 6.6m rooftop terrace with a 360-degree outlook of Sydney’s iconic harbour.
Additional period finishes include classic bathrooms featuring clawfoot bathtubs, multiple Victorian-style cast iron fireplaces with marble mantles, high ornate ceilings, polished timber floors and lead light front doors.
Each residence also has powder rooms in the garages and convenient rear lane access off Grafton Ln.
The dual properties are a short walk to Ewenton Park, Balmain Bowling Club, Ternen Street Reserve, as well as Balmain East’s local eateries and amenities, plus bus and ferry transport.
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