'Everything feels like it belongs': Inside a no-expenses-spared renovation in Toorak

It wasn’t hard to take a shine to the grand 1929 Federation-style mansion on one of Toorak’s most prestigious, tree-lined avenues. This property at Heyington Place had more than enough charm to enchant the eye of ad man John Zeigler and wife Lisa on their return to Melbourne with their family from New York.

That was in 2002 and up close, however, the property was in need of a polish. Sixteen years later, house and garden have been burnished top to bottom, thanks largely to Lisa Zeigler, who has overseen a three-stage renovation.

“It was a big home to take on,” she confesses, pointing out that she also had five children to raise and a husband who travelled extensively.

First, the front garden was replanted, a more formal path to the house created and palms introduced, better suited the mansion’s architecture, which has a touch of old Hollywood about it. Zeigler then renamed the property, Palmilla.

Wiring, the roof and other functional features were either replaced or restored and the former battleship grey exterior repainted a softer, more neutral tone.

In 2006, Iain Dykes, an architect with whom the Zeiglers have a long-standing relationship, was commissioned to replace a 1980s-era renovation at the rear of the house with a more sizeable, cohesive two-storey extension.

A single level was converted on one side into a double-height family room, which flowed into the new kitchen designed by the late Stuart Rattle with Aga cooker. On the other side, three second-storey bedrooms and bathrooms, above a theatre-games room were added.

The pool was shifted to a sunnier spot, the tennis court raised and a huge basement garage for a small fleet of cars, doubling as an entertainment space for parents and children, was also added.

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Crucial, though, for both architect and owners was to produce a contemporary style that was sympathetic to the existing period architecture. “We wanted to preserve many of the characteristics of the building without pretending it all dated back to 1929,” explains Dykes.

The extension externally reads consistently with the original fabric of the building, inside, old features mingle with new: original doors, windows, cornicing and ironwork match new fabrications, while other non-original features, such as 42 decorative columns and a tiled floor, were removed.

“We opened everything up, made it more light and bright,” says Zeigler.

A further Dykes renovation in 2011 created a spectacular entrance. Also included was a new steel and stone staircase, French oak parquetry flooring and five-star, upstairs bathrooms.

The house also features slab-heated travertine flooring, zoned hydronic heating and airconditioning, security system and video intercom. It is close to private schools including nearby St Catherine’s, Toorak Village restaurants, Heyington Station and trams, and is just nine kilometres from Melbourne CBD.

“Everything feels like it belongs,” says Zeigler, who perfectly captured the same balanced approach architects and designers take in updating heritage residences globally.

“What’s charming about Heyington Place is you can still read the original building brought forward into the 21st century,” she says.

Kay & Burton joint managing director Michael Gibson agrees. “For all intents and purposes, it’s a new house, but has this gorgeous 1930s appearance.”

He leads the property’s expressions of interest campaign, which has a price guide of $27 million to $29.5 million.