Prominent fashion designer sells historic Netherby mansion
Fashion designer Gay Naffine and her husband John have decided to downsize after 45 years in their historic Netherby home, and are now looking for a new family to enjoy it as much as they did.
Gay Naffine was busy working away in her Unley Road boutique when her husband, John, an economist, bought a house without asking her first.
But it’s never bothered Gay in the slightest, with the couple having called 528 Fullarton Road, Netherby, home for the past 45 years, and raising their family there.
“I always remember that whenever we drove past this house, I used to say, ‘I adore that house’ – it looked comfortable, homey and interesting,” says Gay.
“Things like that occasionally happen, and it was one of my better moments – I was delighted.”
In the 1970s, Gay ran a designer fashion house called Baby Maker, which was later renamed Naffine’s and grew into a small department store.
“We kept women’s fashion – we built a gallery for women’s fashion – and childrenswear, shoes, toys, teenage clothes until I closed and went into full-time manufacturing in the mid-90s,” she says.
“I worked at the luxury end that specialised in collections for women who worked … many of them were women who had very large jobs and they used to come in and buy their entire wardrobe, and it would last them to the end of the season.”
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As just the fourth owners of the home, known as Lochinvar due to the area’s prominent Scottish heritage, Gay and John felt a sense of responsibility as its custodians.
The sandstone villa was built in 1914 by a sea captain, who modelled it on his home in England. Today, it is a locally listed heritage place.
Gay says the original owner enjoyed watching ships pass by in the gulf from the central tower – a unique feature of the property.
It was this history that Gay and John sought to honour when doing their own renovations, with the most recent one completed in 2010.
The couple enlisted architect John Sawley, who endeavoured to marry old with new.
“His development of this house was quite subtle, under my direction. I had a very, very specific taste, which is fairly neutral,” she says.
“I don’t like flamboyancy. I wanted a lot of light, and I wanted it to be contemporary without jarring against the old part of the house.”
This was achieved using natural materials such as stone tiled floors, herringbone limestone for the paving, travertine flooring inside, stone walls and rustic iron.
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Set on 1250 square metres, the five-bedroom home includes two bathrooms and space for up to four cars.
One eye-catching feature is the spherical pendant light on the wraparound verandah, while an 18th-century French mirror was purchased at Parterre in Sydney.
Gay says they also love collecting abstract art, which is found throughout the dwelling.
Outdoors, Gay enlisted Peter Stubbs to design a Mediterranean garden, which is full of aspidistra, hawthorn hedges, a parterre garden, and a prominent avenue of trees.
“I suppose I was affected by some of those beautiful Hills gardens where you see maples and pears,” says Gay.
Gay and John have also retained historic palm trees, which were planted by the original owner back in the 1920s.
“They’re well over 100 years old, and they’re very much a hallmark of the house. When I need to describe to people where we live, all I have to say is, ‘the house with the two big palm trees’,” says Gay.
Gay says she spends most of her time in the light-filled extension, which has views of the garden and the historic verandah, while for John, his pride and joy is his wine cellar.
After 45 memorable years, Gay and John have decided to downsize and will move to an apartment in the city.
Gay says she will miss the space at Netherby.
“All the family weddings have been here, all of our big birthday parties are here, so it’s very much a well-known and well-loved house, because we’ve had a lot of fun in it,” she says.
The sale of 528 Fullarton Road, Netherby, is being handled by Cynthia Sajkunovic of Ouwens Casserly Real Estate.
