As you’ve probably noticed, I admire many different housing styles. When it comes to large character houses in particular, there are some suburbs in Sydney that inspire a particular kind of jealousy in me. They have the type of houses that make me wish I weren’t quite so poor. One of those suburbs is Mosman. And* one of them is Mosman’s northern cousin Wahroonga (is it weird that I look at those suburbs as cousins? Probably. I look at Waverton and Wollstonecraft as close relatives too, but that makes more sense), where the houses are big, and so are the land sizes.

This house is on Braeside Street, which in real estate circles is pretty prized as it has nice houses and follows the upper north shore prestige rules (east side, walk to rail). So that’s good. But the house itself is interesting. Wahroonga’s biggest and best are usually Federations, but this one is an Art Deco (it’s made very obvious by the curved walls).

It’s unrenovated (which is a yay from me, from an ogling point of view). It’s in very sturdy condition, though, so in contrast to the Cremorne duplex it’s an exercise in observing the original features of the house, rather than admiring it as a ruinous artefact. I am excited by these original features. You’re about to see why.

The bathrooms! Sweet Jesus, these bathrooms are amazing. Is there even anything for me to say about them? They are colour and pattern and Vogue Living from a bygone era. Yes, yes, yes.

The study is in such good condition that it doesn’t really require any work, and I could say the same about the downstairs sunroom. The fairly excellent bedroom wallpaper will be stripped, and I’d say the upper floor will be reconfigured to add an en suite. Interestingly, the main has a powder room with a shower, but not an en suite, as such.

Powder room.

The quirkiness in this place will most likely be eradicated by the inevitable renovation, but, that said, it will then (given the right renovator) be restored into a commanding character home with good-condition features, so there’s a lot to gain.

* I am aware of the rule against starting a sentence with ‘and’ (or ‘but’). To paraphrase Jackie Chiles, I’m flouting society’s conventions.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to venture out to Rouse Hill house and farm, which was the property I wanted to scope out this week. I was in Rose Bay recently, though, and thought I’d take some snaps of the houses there. I wasn’t in Rose Bay’s most ridiculously salubrious precinct (although everywhere in Rose Bay is salubrious), which enabled me to capture the diversity of housing that is in the eastern suburb.

Aside from its old-school prestige, Rose Bay is coveted for a number of reasons – its bay, the fact it has a beach, the ferry commute to the city (and the proximity to the CBD – it’s seven kilometres away) and its closeness to equally high-end suburbs Double Bay, Dover Heights, Vaucluse and Point Piper. It sits in one of Sydney’s richest spots, which is evident in the top twenty most expensive sales in the last twelve months dating back from April. Rose Bay took out the top spot on that list with a $21.5 million deal.

Pretty brickwork.

Around Rose Bay’s New South Head Road village is an assortment of housing styles, as can be seen here – art deco apartment blocks, sizeable Victorians, family-sized federations, and lots of semis, many of which have been vertically extended.

Love the vintage green and white chair on the porch.

Excellent colour.

Love these old school pathway signs in the east and north.

This post marks the first time The House Hunter has hit Sutherland Shire! Perhaps I was inspired by the beach trip taken last week. There’s no better way to be introduced to the Shire’s traditional beach spot, either, than this quintessential beach house at Cronulla. The only thing prettier than this home’s art deco frontage is its view – it offers direct access to Gunnamatta Bay, and is located on one of Cronulla’s prettiest, most private spots. For the fortunate owner, the backyard provides an extremely special, and rare, place to unwind, entertain or appreciate Sydney’s most aesthetically appealing features. You can literally step down from the stone retaining wall to the sand or the water, depending on the tide.

The large land size and stunning address mean that the property’s owners are currently looking for offers over $4.05 million. As well as the land’s foundational qualities, which offer everything needed to build one of the modern, glass-fronted mansions sprouting up across Sutherland’s best locations, the property offers a cute original home and separate studio. The home’s façade is in the P&O style, which seems particularly appropriate for the location -  it would be a shame to demolish it, and I feel that any new house built on the site would only be improved by incorporating the pre-existing form.

For those with the cash for it, though, the house offers the prospect of a seriously great beach house – the beautiful cobbled path leading to the house gives it a touch of whimsy, and the house’s timber beams are perfect for the rustic beach look. While a renovation would make it pop, simply brushing up on some of the corners and a coat of paint would make the house a perfect getaway, especially as it would retain all of the character of the original building. For fans of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the place encapsulates the wind, sand and stars paradigm the author used as the title of his engaging memoir.