How a designer duo transformed a historic block from three homes to one

Brooke and Brett Fawcett were looking for a home that would house a family of seven comfortably.

“It was a bit of a squeeze!” Brooke said. “There wasn’t a lot of properties that could fit us.”

Instead, the couple combined three strata dwellings – a granny flat plus a duplex with identical apartments on lower and upper levels – reimagining the historic building into a luxurious family home now listed for sale for $8.5 million to $9.3 million.

Expressions of Interest

7 Arnold Street, Killara NSW 2071

5

4

3

View property

Brooke is no stranger to renovations. At 52, she has six renovations of her own under her belt and has been an interior designer for 35 years.

Five years ago, Brett decided to reinvent himself at the age of 53 as a project manager working alongside Brooke for Designer Ideas.

“He had a landscaping business and he’s very handy,” Brooke said.

“We made a better team together. I enjoy the hands-on, practical side and also being heavily involved in the process,” Brett said.

The Fawcetts met later in life and together have a blended family of five children.

The house that was large enough turned out to be known as “Nonnora”, built for Henry “Harry” Turner, who was the Liberal member for the federal seat of Bradfield from 1952 to 1974, and his sister.

A storeroom under the house contained original hand-painted signs for his Bradfield election campaign, some of which are now on display in the billiard room while the rest went to the Liberal Party Museum.

After buying in April 2021, the couple limited any additional projects and focused on their own. They started to freshen up the red brick home and removed 20-year-old carpet, when to their delight they found original Tallowwood floorboards.

“As soon as we found out these floorboards were underneath, we set to getting these repolished,” Brooke said.

The family lived in the home, learning where the sunny spots were, and as the renovation work proceeded, they moved between levels.

The most difficult parts of the process were rewiring the electricals for the whole house, and the plumbing.

As it was not a single level home, a hole could not be punched through – they had to carefully pierce the ornate ceilings and repatch them without a trace.

“All of the plumbing was original … No one had any idea where the sewer line went or ran. We had to get a camera … Somebody put a hose down the toilet and we worked out the sewer lines!” Brooke said, laughing.

Their favourite part of the renovation is the staircase, which connects the two levels.

“The important part was that we wanted it to look like one house when people walked in – we didn’t want it to look [like] it was apartments previously,” Brooke said.

Steve McLeod, of McLeod Projects, spent six weeks building the staircase by hand and used wood from old doors found under the house so that the paneling would match the old parts of the stairs seamlessly.

It was a lengthy process of one year to have the strata abandoned and so change it from two houses to one.

The renovation took two years to complete and cost about $2 million to $2.5 million.

“It was very difficult with an old house to set a budget because every time you open something up, there was something else to find,” Brooke said.

Brett did the landscaping of the front and back himself and was proud of it.

“It’s one of my favourite parts … the garden. We reused a lot of the sandstone flagging that was there. We were able to put pathways and a carport out of the original sandstone flagging. Where possible we reused plants that we had,” Brett said.

The romantic vines that drape over the facade are estimated to be 60 years old and produce wine grapes twice a year.

The Fawcetts expected to live in Killara longer, but as the renovation continued their children started to move out on their own one by one.

“Now we have this enormous house we’re rattling around in, so we’ve decided it’s time to downsize into something much more manageable in size,” Brooke said.

The project has been satisfying nonetheless.

“Hearing people come in for opens … Particularly neighbours and family members who saw it in its original state … it’s very warming to see how much people like it,” Brooke said.

The property at 7 Arnold Street is listed for sale by expressions of interest.

Selling agent James Sutton of McGrath Wahroonga said this is the first house to come to market on this street for over a year.

“Everything’s been done – like flooring, painting, tiling, bathrooms, plumbing, electrics … they put a cellar in, there’s a sports room for your skis and bikes … They put a pool in,” he said.

“It’s pretty special.”