Classic chic in Kensington Park
This traditional-style villa in Kensington Park that blends contemporary living with timeless beauty has hit the market this week.
For Richard and Trudy Weber, it was the location of their Kensington Park villa that always stood out.
“It’s right on the park, next to Pembroke, walking distance to shops, cafés and The Parade at Norwood,” says Richard.
“Even if you drive there, it’s close to the city – a fantastic location – and it has the tennis courts behind as well and the oval.”
The couple purchased 5 Park Road, Kensington Park nearly three decades ago in 1997.
When they first moved in, there was an older house on the block, but Richard says they wanted to start afresh.
In 2012, the couple knocked down the original dwelling and embarked on a self-driven project to construct a classic-style contemporary home, enlisting boutique builder Ralph Winkler.
“The thing we wanted was to have good style and street presence, which I think we nailed,” says Richard.
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Trudy says they have always loved the traditional style.
“A lot of people stop and take photos of the house and actually ask us how old it is because they think it’s an old house, but we always obviously say, ‘No, no, it’s a new build’,” says Trudy.
“The front door has a silver knocker like they do in London with the gold and brass … so, we like all those little details.
“We’ve built with Winkler many times and we spent hours with him going through what we wanted.”
Richard says priorities of the build included: having sufficient garaging and storage space, a pool with an outdoor shower, and plenty of rooms with a lounge and a wide hallway.
The six-bedroom house, which is set on some 802 square metres, includes four bathrooms and space for up to three cars.
The master bedroom includes a spacious ensuite and walk-in wardrobe.
Walking through the expansive hallway, with its 3-metre ceiling height, to the back of the house, you will enter the open-plan living and kitchen area.
The kitchen features a Caesar stone bench top, as well as a walk-in pantry and premium Miele and Vintec appliances.
Trudy says that for the interiors, they opted for a neutral, grey and white palette throughout.
They used jarrah flooring, skirtings and cornices, and Carrara marble in most of the bathrooms to achieve this classic look.
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Floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto the outdoor kitchen and entertaining space, the swimming pool and the manicured garden.
The garden was designed by Glorious Gardens, with Richard doing most of the labour.
The frontyard is based on an English cottage garden, with hedges and roses, while the backyard was designed in a contemporary style.
“When our daughter was in Year 12 and she had a graduation morning, we had 30 girls in our backyard having egg and bacon rolls and pancakes before their graduation ceremony,” says Trudy.
When asked what their favourite part of the house is, Trudy says, “Probably the back family room”.
“It feels warm and people would come and visit and never want to leave because it’s very comfortable,” says Trudy.
“Probably that aspect is our favourite because at any time of day, you’ve got all the trees from the reserve next to us and then all the trees around Kensington Park Oval behind us.
“Then, with the back garage door open, you can see the two tennis courts and you can hear all the cricketers practising in the cricket nets.”
But now, after nearly three decades, Richard and Trudy have decided the time is right to downsize.
Trudy says they will miss the location with its abundant parks the most, where they used to walk their Miniature Schnauzer Ziggy.
“We’d go to The Feathers Hotel or Balloboosta and have coffee, or if we didn’t do that, we’d go to Tusmore Park and when Ziggy was a puppy, we would take him to the oval every day and he would play with all the other puppies,” says Trudy.
Trudy says they will also miss the dwelling’s proximity to their daughters’ school.
“It’s such a bonus to be close to the school, and growing up, for her going to school, having to walk out the back gate, she would walk one minute, and she was in her classroom – that’s how close we are,” says Trudy.
“We’d still probably like to build another house and do a version of this one, but maybe a single story and a lot smaller – three bedrooms.”
The sale of 5 Park Road, Kensington Park is being handled by Jordan Begley of Toop + Toop.
