Fashion influencer selling North Adelaide villa with European flair
Fashion entrepreneur Jasmin Howell painstakingly restored this luxurious North Adelaide home, sharing the process with her many Instagram followers. With Jasmin now moving on to a new renovation project, the historic landmark could be yours.
Purchasing a property without ever having viewed it in person comes with many risks. But for fashion entrepreneur Jasmin Howell, who runs the popular Friend in Fashion blog and has 191,000 Instagram followers, it’s a risk that paid off.
Jasmin had been living in Melbourne with her husband but decided on a lifestyle change during the Covid pandemic, purchasing 251 Stanley Street, North Adelaide, in 2021.
The home sits on more than 500 square metres and includes four bedrooms, four bathrooms and space for up to three cars.
Jasmin says she loves the sense of community in North Adelaide, as well as its proximity to restaurants on O’Connell Street and its short distance to the CBD.
“We can walk into the city and watch a theatre show or go to a restaurant and then wander home, or we’ve got the concerts and sport at Adelaide Oval,” she says.
Another highlight of the property is the arches surrounding the upper-level balustrades, which lead to a private art gallery space.
You might like
It wasn’t long before Jasmin and her husband embarked on their two-and-a-half-year renovation, which they documented on the Instagram account The Ridge Line.
Jasmin dubbed the property Ridge Line due to its position on a slope, which means it has unrivalled views of the city from the top terrace level.
Jasmin says that although the house was well maintained, it hadn’t been updated in around 30 years, with the bathrooms and kitchen looking quite dated.
“We’ve basically brought it back to what we like to call ‘a little slice of Europe’,” says Jasmin.
“We kept all the good parts, enhanced those, and then brought in our own personality and my own sense of style to the property.”
Jasmin, who also works as an interior designer, decided to manage the project herself due to the difficulty of finding builders and suppliers during the pandemic.
“I very quickly became a project manager and learnt what is and isn’t involved in an historic renovation,” Jasmin tells SALIFE.
Jasmin says a priority of the renovation was to honour the history of the property, which she says was built in the 1860s and was once owned by the famous Ayers family.
“We’ll be sitting in the front room, and we’ll see people standing and reading the historic plaque that is on the front fence,” says Jasmin.
Subscribe for updates
Jasmin says they painstakingly restored the dwelling to the highest standards, going as far as to source Italian Arabescato marble from Melbourne.
“Everything has a top-tier finish, and that was very important to me. It was also why it took so long to complete the renovation,” she says.
“It’s a really beautiful property with a great history, and I felt like it really deserved a renovation that was indicative of that history.”
Outdoors, the low-maintenance, established, French-style garden features roses and potted plants.
Jasmin says this is one of her favourite parts of the property, in addition to the kitchen with its imported Shaws butler’s sink, and the private oasis of the master suite.
“In the spring and summer, I absolutely love the terrace garden – it’s so gorgeous. We have these beautiful established roses, and it’s just really therapeutic and it’s actually great for parties,” says Jasmin.
She also enjoys the unbeatable views from the conservatory, where she and her husband enjoy unwinding with a glass of wine from their extensive cellar at the end of the day.
Although Jasmin and her husband are reluctant to relocate, they now plan to move on to another renovation near the coast.
“I will miss enjoying the fruits of my labour. It’s a beautiful house, there’s a gorgeous sense of community in North Adelaide, and whoever takes it on next will really, really enjoy living there,” says Jasmin.
The sale of 251 Stanley Street, North Adelaide, is being handled by Grant Giordano and Jacqui Ilicic of Giordano & Partners.
