SOLD

For sale: bushland house in Darlington

It is a sprawling, multi-level house, with large rooms. The exterior walls are a combination of jarrah weatherboard and brick. Inside, the ceilings are exposed jarrah and the walls are brick, with tiled walls in the bathrooms and pine cladding in some rooms. The downstairs rooms have low-maintenance brick floors.

The house was built in stages, starting in 1975. We are the second owners. We moved in during February 1984, and brought our third son home as a newborn here in the Spring of that year. Although there are many stairs in this house, we brought up two toddlers without mishap. And the previous owners (an architect and his wife) had four children and both sets of grandparents living here. It’s a beautiful setting for children and the house can accommodate an extended family with ease.

Advantages

Many of the rooms aren't rigidly defined. What you use today as a bedroom can easily be changed to an office or games room. You just move the furniture! We've done that many times, and it's one of the reasons we stayed here so long (20 years), as our sons grew up and the family’s needs changed. There is enough space to be flexible.

Another attractive feature: in a way, it's like two houses, with one end that has three large rooms, its own bathroom, and a door that shuts onto all that. Perfect for teenagers, or for a self-contained flat.

The whole thing is also sort of fun, if you like this kind of high-ceiling, open style, with lots of wood. So it can lift your spirit to live here.

(Two of our sons have moved out. The house now seems too big and we just want something smaller.)

Rooms

Step inside... Let's start with the kitchen [Photo: kitchen]

Formal dining area, with two-storey windows that look out onto the bush. [Photo: formal dining]. And looking from the other direction, a north view [Photo: mezzanine & below] showing the mezzanine floor above and a period-style lounge room below, with built-in seating, fitted cushions, fitted jarrah cupboards and desk. The lowest of five levels in the house.

Three large rooms, each big enough to use as a giant bedroom, or a sitting room, or even a games room. Two of these rooms have individual air-conditioning. The ground-floor room is cool and doesn’t need one. [Photo: three large multi-use rooms]

Large office with an outside entrance and air-conditioning. Could be used for an independent teenager, or as a craft room. The previous owner used it for a pottery, but we put in a carpet and made it into an office. [Photo: large office]. Here's the garden view from the window. [Photo: office view]

Two bathrooms. One toilet in a bathroom, and one separate. [Photo: bathroom]

Loft bedroom, small but comfortable, with its own air-conditioner. Jarrah wood floor.

Family room and central living area with views out two sides of the house. Jarrah ceiling and brick floors.

A small office off the front door, with fitted cupboard and jarrah shelving. Has also been used as a child’s bedroom.

A large washroom designed for the art-student daughter of the previous owner -- plenty of space to dye fabric. Fitted jarrah cupboards and shelving.

Garage and car parking

Large jarrah-framed carport with three bays undercover and a shed with doors, for tools, bicycles and anything else. The car park can take another 5 or 6 guest cars. The whole area is brick surfaced. [Photo: car park]

Small shed

Jarrah shed for garden tools and dustbins.