Inside comedian Dave Hughes' much-loved family home in St Kilda

Sometimes, it’s the house that chooses you, not the other way around.

It’s 2010, and comedian Dave “Hughesy” Hughes is feeling sheepish, telling his wife, Holly Ife, on the phone, “Something weird just happened.”

He had “accidently” purchased a 1930s Spanish mission-inspired house at auction in Melbourne’s St Kilda. Hughes had expected the property to sell for a much higher figure, so when the gavel fell to him, his shock was palpable.

“It was too dark and dank, I didn’t want to live in [it], but I also did not want to have to renovate, so that was why I really didn’t want to buy the house,” Hughes says. He had put in a bid as “a bit of fun”.

When he ducked into the back lane to call Ife to fess up, the agent followed him. “I think he saw my face and was worried I might do a runner!” Hughes laughs.

Ife was shocked, too. “Holly was annoyed, not that angry, but definitely annoyed. Fortunately, I think she fell in love with the street after I bought the house.”

Positioned on the cusp of Elwood, within a block of the beach (“Whatever you think of Melbourne’s beaches, they’re all we’ve got”), and not far from Acland Street, the property is close to everything the family was looking for, as it turned out.

“It’s a beautiful, quiet street with big plane trees; it’s a lovely vibe,” Hughes says. “It’s got the colour of St Kilda but with a bit more of the quietness of Elwood, so it is a great spot.”

Not to mention, the AFL tragic points out, his place is “close to town and the MCG”. In fact, after a recent Carlton loss, he chose to walk home rather than face the humiliation of public transport shared with victorious Tiger fans. “OK, so it was a seven-kilometre walk – in the dark,” he sadly concedes.

Having failed woodwork at school, Hughes says he is no handyman and was desperate to offload the old house rather than be forced to renovate it, but Ife was keen to knock it down and rebuild.

“I was turned off by the million decisions you have to make when you renovate or rebuild a house,” Hughes shares. “I don’t know what’s cool and not cool, I couldn’t care less about what taps we have; I didn’t want to have to go through that sort of thing.”

After a failed attempt to lock down a design with a local, well-regarded architect – not the architect’s fault, Hughes stresses, though it’s a bit “awkward” when walking past their nearby house every day, he jokes – the couple finally realised their vision with the help of Ife’s childhood friend Aimee Goodwin of Project 12 Architecture. The resulting house is uncomplicated, focusing on natural light, open-plan living and interconnectivity to nature through a central courtyard and north-facing windows that frame the greenery and ever-changing sky.

“I think as you get older, you become a bit more in tune with nature,” Hughes muses. “I love being surrounded by trees and plants and the sounds of the birds. I love the breeze that comes through the front and the fact the north side is open to the sky so there’s beautiful sunlight coming through all day.”

With five bedrooms and a living space, Hughes says the design still works well for the family now that the kids – 15-year-old Rafferty, Sadie, 13, and Tess, 12 – are older.

“Maybe we could have one more area that’s separate for the children but they just want to hang with us anyway, I reckon,” Hughes says.

 

A post shared by Dave Hughes (@dhughesy)

In the guest room hangs a portrait of Hughes painted by fellow comedian Anh Do, their friendship one that spans decades.

“One day, he rang me and said, ‘I want to paint you’ and I was like, ‘Sure, paint me if you want to’,” Hughes says, with a laugh. “I love to look at it but having a portrait of yourself in your house is a tricky thing, really, because it looks like you’re a total wanker.”

Hughes says he could be considered a bit of a homebody when he’s not performing stand-up or away with TV commitments.

The family are happily ensconced in the neighbourhood and often walk the beach together, where Hughes has taken to cold-water therapy or shooting hoops on the mini court in their backyard.

“I get the odd heckle. I’ve had the odd rough sleeper tell me I’m no good, but generally everyone’s pretty good-natured and if someone’s mean to me, I just use that as material.

“I love the varied people you see in St Kilda,” he says. “There’s no St Kilda ‘look’. Like, you go to Brunswick or Fitzroy, and you feel like there’s a ‘look’, where I feel like in St Kilda there are all sorts of people around.

“I did a radio job in Sydney and I tried to get the family to move to Sydney then, but they didn’t want to leave St Kilda, so I had to commute for four years,” he laughs. “So, yeah, I do think St Kilda’s our home at this point.”

5 questions with Dave Hughes

1. What’s the one item in your home you’d save first above all else?

My iPad, because it’s got my journal in it, where I journal every day, so I know exactly what I’ve done. I can go back in time and go, ‘What was I doing on this day?’ And I’m going to journal about this … answering questions.

2. Favourite space in your home and why?

I’m going to go with the balcony next to my bedroom because the kids just don’t come up there, which is great. I get some peaceful time and can hang out among the treetops and the breeze. I love a breeze.

3. The oldest thing in your home?

Me, probably. There’s a piano there, that’s really old. That came from my wife’s parents … I want to put it out into hard rubbish, but I’m not allowed to.

4. The newest thing in your home?

The air fryer. My god, it’s the best invention since sliced bread, isn’t it?

5. Tell us your best joke.

The joke that people always remember is one I did years ago; I’m not proud of it, but it’s mine.

I bought a bag of Snakes Alive the other day.  Opened them up and they were all dead. Someone should’ve put air holes in the bag. They could’ve grown up to be Killer Pythons.

Classic humour.

Dave Hughes’ new show, WTF, is at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and touring across Australia. Visit comedy.com.au for more information.