Collette Dinnigan buys brother Seamus' Paddington digs for more than $1.7 million

​Collette Dinnigan has certainly proven herself a fan of the interiors work of her little brother, creative director Seamus Dinnigan. In an extraordinary twist to the recent sale of his Georgian-era cottage in Paddington it has been revealed that the pre-auction buyer was the fashion designer herself.

It remains unknown if Mr Dinnigan was aware that his sister was planning to buy the property given a full sales campaign was underway on the property, but sources say Collette and her husband Bradley Cocks bought it as their Sydney base away from their Southern Highlands home.

McGrath’s Will Manning and Dominique Ogilvie declined to comment on the buyer details or the price, but had listed the property with a $1.5 million to $1.7 million guide and given strong interest ahead of auction is tipped to have sold above that level.

Seamus Dinnigan had renovated the 65-square-metre property since he bought it in 2015 for $1.08 million from Evan Hughes, who ran for Labor in the last federal election in the seat of Wentworth against Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and his entertainment lawyer wife Kate Hughes.

The Georgian terrace is a charming two-bedroom home, with separate living and dining areas off the entry, a courtyard off the kitchen and an attic retreat.

Collette Dinnigan and Bradley Cocks had been on the hunt for an eastern suburbs home since she sold her Watsons Bay mansion last year for $9 million, scoring a $2.75 million windfall on her 18-month ownership thanks in part to a collaborative redesign overseen by herself and her brother.

Having returned from living in Italy last year, Dinnigan has moved to the Southern Highlands, where she bought a $4.5 million property called Springfield Farm late last year.

The couple’s long-held country retreat in Milton, on the South Coast, is currently on the market for $2.95 million to $3,245,000 through a private campaign by Cocks. Known as the successful holiday rental Milton Surf & Stables, the property has been a lucrative holiday rental for the couple, making them more than $82,000 last financial year.

Set on 10 hectares, it has a beautifully renovated four-bedroom homestead, an entertainment barn with pizza oven and dining for 20 people, outdoor bar and fire pit, and a sub-tropic rainforest at the rear of the block.

Dinnigan’s most recent purchase marks a return to Paddington where she was known as the suburb’s most notable local before she sold her former home for $6.5 million in 2015 to move to Watsons Bay.