Tranquil Erindale family entertainer
Only a stone’s throw from the CBD and nestled in the foothills, this Erindale home is the ultimate entertainer with a tennis court, pool, spacious kitchen and butler’s pantry.
Having grown up in Erindale with his family home only one street over, Tom purchased 74 Stanley Street 10 years ago with the intention to make it his forever family home.
Only in his mid 20s at the time, he didn’t need such a large property. Instead, he rented it to a young family who would make better use of the space, until he and his partner Lauren were ready to move in three years ago.
The couple took the home, built in 1959, with solid foundations and made it into something that ticks all of the boxes.
“It’s often seen as the wish list for a home: a four-bedroom house with a north-south orientation, tennis court and swimming pool,” says Tom, who works for the South Australian government.
“It’s kind of like the absolute epitome for a lot of people.
“I could just see down the track that it would be such a great family home.”
They never had the intention of doing any major renovations, but Tom says once they started one project, it snowballed.
Since moving in three years ago, Tom and Lauren have replaced the floorboards, remodelled the kitchen and created a butler’s pantry, as well as updating other details to keep the home modern.
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“We purposefully wanted to be able to have a sort of neutral toned house,” Tom says.
“To be able to sort of create a very tranquil home that you can come home and … shut off and feel like you’re in a resort with the minimal style.”
The seamless flow from indoors to outdoors with the open kitchen and living spaces attracted Tom to the property, which he and Lauren sought to enhance with an overhaul of the kitchen.
Tom says the kitchen has now become the “wow” factor of the home.
“The extensive marble, not only did sort of cost me an arm and a leg, but it does add a really nice feature,” he says.
“To have that sort of showpiece kitchen with the marble, but not overdone, was something that we wanted to create as a feature of the home.
“The kitchen is the heart of the home.
“We often have people over and everyone sort of just ends up sitting around the kitchen island bench.”
With the addition of the butler’s pantry, the kitchen now has three ovens and two dishwashers.
It also features a large island bench that seats up to six people and a servery window, adding to the indoor-outdoor flow Tom loves.
Pair that with the swimming pool and the tennis court, and 74 Stanley Street is the ultimate entertainer.
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Tom has an emotional attachment to the quartz stone wall that borders the front of the property and is another major feature.
Expert stonemason and Tom’s honorary Italian nonno was 83 years old and “well and truly retired” when he offered to build the double brick, quartz stone wall.
“Particularly with that type of work it’s actually really quite difficult to do, and really hard to get someone who’s actually really good at it,” Tom says.
“It’s a big job for someone, especially when you’re 83 and you’re doing that on your own.
“That wall will still be there in 120 years, it’s not going to go anywhere, that’s for sure.”
Tom never planned to sell, and all of the renovations he and Lauren have done were not with the intention of ever selling.
“All the bits and pieces that we’ve done, we’ve done with intention and with the viewpoint of making it a really nice home and a really tranquil and calming place to actually relax in,” he says.
“A place you just want to come home to and unwind and just be.
“Everything we’ve done was not actually with the intention of selling.
Lauren grew up in the Riverland, so the couple is now looking to move to Stirling, which promises a happy medium between city and country.
Having grown up in Erindale, Tom will miss the convenient location the most, as well as the unexpected views.
“[I love] standing in the living area and looking out at the expanse with the tennis court and actually getting the views of the Hills.
“You never get sick of that view.”
The sale of 74 Stanley Street, Erindale, is being handled by Cynthia Sajkunovic of OC Real Estate.
