105 Stanhope Street Malvern is a good example of Italianate (or late Victorian) residential architecture, and while it is been updated many times over it’s lifespan, time has come again for change.

House has plenty of positives – grand formal front rooms and solid brick building bones, a corner location and a prized north-facing rear aspect.

At over 800m2 the land size is quite good here, yet most of that area is allocated to the front and to the sides of the property, instead of where most people like it – the rear yard. For this reason it makes sense to use the eastern side for car access / covered parking and a service yard area. The western side would return as great area for formal landscaping, serving a dual purpose of beautifying the property and also creating some privacy.

Building up here is a real possibility. This will maximise floor plan area while minimising the building footprint. Two-storeys often work very well for families – providing much needed accommodation and separation.  The rear yard is very important, and more and more people are looking for as much space as possible – pools and outdoor entertaining areas are often high on the wishlist.

This property really does provide a great opportunity for a family to create a modern home with timeless period charm in one of Melbourne’s most prized family suburbs – if done properly, it would be hard to go wrong here.

105 Stanhope Street Malvern is scheduled for auction Saturday, the 24^th of October at 11.30am and is listed by John Manton and Andrew Hayne of Marshall White.

Design well.

Adam