House of the Week: Cream of the crop

$15-$16 million
6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 4 car spaces 4
Private sale
To Inspect, contact agent
​Harcourts In Brighton, Chris Bevan 0405 505 222

It’s not that often we cover such big-ticket, blue-ribbon items like Middle Crescent in this column. Let’s face it, although Melbourne is known for its gorgeous array of period homes, stunning manors and stately piles, there are precious few that fall into the really top echelon. Welcome to the cream.

Welcome to Melville.

The formal sitting room to the left of the deeply impressive entrance hall is a classic beauty, its elegant dimensions festooned with period features – high ceilings, an impressive dark marble fireplace, stunning lead-lighting and magnificent mid room decorative fretwork.

In any other house the bedroom across the way would be considered the main spread – not here – this guest’s accommodation boasts a fine en suite and capacious walk in robe.

Two further rooms on the left, both currently configured as studies, overlook the gorgeous “secret” side garden, yet another of this place’s rare treasures.

At the end of the hallway a shimmering pond sits in the central courtyard, the house continuing its gracious flow all around.

The large, striking formal dining room is around to the left and shares a two-sided bar with the games room behind.

When we say games room, we really mean to say entertainment precinct, check out the space here and the three-tiered, nine-reclining-leather-seat home cinema.

Beyond here at the end of the house is the open plan section that incorporates family dining, a kitchen with a handsome, wide and near on six-foot long island bench and masses of crisp white storage. Behind here is a fully equipped second caterer’s kitchen with the laundry adjacent.

Just before heading down to the family room at the end of this section you’ll find a superb “mud room” that leads across to the three garages here with easily enough room for four cars.

Outside you’ve got just about everything you could conceivably think of – tennis court, trampoline, separate gym, covered pavilion with full kitchen and bathroom set behind. You also get a luminous swimming pool with the number 23 tiled on the bottom. Now, who might have once lived here I wonder?

Heading back inside you wind around to a large, long atrium hallway with study spaces and excellent views to all those outside attractions. The main bedroom here has the best vista over the pool and offers a beautifully sleek en suite and voluminous walk in robe.

Three further bedrooms and another full bathroom can be found in this section before you wend your way back to the glorious water feature and front garden, heading beyond the high hedges and back to the outside world.

Need to know: Built circa 1880. Last traded for $10.1 million in March 2009. Highest recorded house price for Brighton (last 12 months) was $11 million for 4 Mytton Grove, in September 2015. Recent sales: $3,171,000 for 15 Hanby Street, in May 2016; $2,145,000 for 120 Cole Street, in May 2016, and $1.91 million for 2 View Court, in May 2016.

Room for improvement: Oh, come on! OK, turn one of those two studies into another bedroom or intimate TV room.