Home is where the hospitality is: Inside the home of Food For Everyone founder Gemma Leslie

Sunday nights are typically reserved for winding down before the week kicks off, but this particular Sunday night was different for Gemma Leslie.

The Food For Everyone founder and artist was knee-deep in her property search when a 100-year-old peppercorn tree caught her eye.

Leslie and her partner, Mike, had been looking to buy a home on and off for 18 months and had lost “the one” at auction a fortnight earlier. The list of suburbs the couple were considering was just about as long as your weekly grocery receipt, because they were focused on finding a unique home. 

The real-estate listing showing the 1880s Italianate dwelling shaded by a majestic peppercorn tree offered just that, and compelled Leslie to get in the car late on a Sunday night and see the real thing.

One week and an auction later, they owned the townhouse in Alphington, in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs. 

A few years on, the couple and their young son still can’t believe they get to live there.

Built in the 1880s as a Victorian-era mansion, the house was renovated in an Italianate-inspired style and subdivided into three townhouses in the 1920s. 

“The place has always had an artist’s spirit,” says Leslie. “During the ’60s and ’80s, a few of the Heidelberg artists lived here.” 

More of the property’s unique history was recently revealed while undertaking a roof restoration that unearthed hidden artworks, stowed away for decades. An artist herself, Leslie continues the line of in-house painters who have called the property home. 

Since moving in, the couple have remained true to their philosophy of “make do” when it comes to updating the townhouse. This has meant trying to preserve and enhance what already exists, and investing in larger cosmetic changes.

“We pulled up carpet upstairs and found these beautiful floorboards that we restored,” Leslie says. “They are all old and patchy but I think that’s the charm of them.” 

Similarly, the couple avoided a costly bathroom renovation with a few tins of paint. “I painted the bathroom and did a cosmetic change which cost $500 compared to what a full bathroom renovation would have cost.”

Both avid cooks and gardeners, the couple’s biggest projects were the kitchen and the garden. For the kitchen, the original carcass was preserved and fitted out with a new marble benchtop, timber cabinetry, tiled splashback and modern amenities. 

When their wedding was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the couple funnelled their wedding funds into a Mediterranean-style garden makeover with sandstone pavers, rosemary and citrus trees, and what Leslie describes as the home’s fourth family member – a pizza oven. 

“You know when you’re walking in Italy or France and get a glimpse of someone walking into their apartment block and see the communal central courtyard behind a big, closed door? That’s the feeling we wanted to create with our garden,” says Leslie. 

“We get a lot of energy and happiness out of hosting friends and family – our house is slowly turning into a hospitality venue!” 

With the lush gardens as a backdrop, the couple have hosted intimate family gatherings, parties and business events. Things came full circle this year when they got married in their backyard in front of loved ones. 

“We missed out on our 2020 wedding and used our funds for the garden but then we got married in the garden in 2024,” says Leslie of the serendipitous turn of events. 

And what about that 100-year-old peppercorn tree that started it all? “It’s what we look out onto every day, we don’t look out onto houses, we see the tree – we love it.”