House of the week: Simple beauty in quintessential Balwyn

4 Melba Court, Balwyn
$3.6 million
5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Private sale
Inspect on Saturday from 10.30am-11am
Hocking Stuart, Steve Burke, 0448 331 653

Safe to say you can rely on Balwyn. You always know what you’re going to get out here in one of Melbourne’s quintessential eastern suburbs.

You’re going to get green and space and residential size. You’re going to get highly sought schools, rock-solid amenity and that easy living vibe of a classic, composed neighbourhood.

We love the look of this house – its broad brick facade is beautifully boxy with the first level a generously glazed smaller square up on top. So often the large modern house just turns everything up to 11 and hang the unprepossessing consequences. Not here. There’s a containment to the facade that appeals.

Inside the wide entry hall positively gleams courtesy of the luminous, wide-cut American oak boards. The airy feel is enhanced by the open space of the light lounge sitting to the left.

Head straight back and you’ll hit the study before jagging to the south where there’s a sharp bathroom, ground floor bedroom and access to the double garage.

Head back past the entry and down a short set of steps to the effortlessly good open plan section.

It’s easy to imagine doing some serious entertaining here or just kicking back with the family and relaxing. The space is urbane and smooth, but there’s also an elemental simple beauty going on here.

Sure, you can look out over the sparkling pool with its Italian mosaic tiles, you can love the coolly handsome Carrara marble trim kitchen and its rangy walk-in pantry, you can cosy up in front of the family room’s fireplace – it’s all contemporary elegance here and very fine. What makes this space, though, in fact what makes the entire house, is the timber framed windows; warmly beautiful and deeply impressive.

The oversized kitchen window is a favourite, but the excellent series that presides over the backyard and that stunning pool are fabulous, too.

A set of bi-fold timber framed casements open out onto the terrific covered terrace and lead down to a wedge of lawn, framing garden and back to that almost drinkable pool.

Heading upstairs those windows again feature beautifully, and there’s a real joy walking on the carpets here – their bounce and softness spell high-quality stuff.

Three bedrooms each have brilliant, sharp en suites and there is a splendid, large retreat with those divine windows tracking all around.

A balcony off here winds around in front of the main bedroom – a glorious place to finish with its generous dimensions, chic walk-through wardrobe and large, lavish en suite.

What’s that sound? Might be your new home in Balwyn calling.

Room for improvement: Space enough for a bit of a workshop in the garage, we reckon.

Need to know: Highest recorded house price in Balwyn (past 12 months) was $6.5 million for 4 Boston Road, February 2016. Recent sales: $3.18 million for 18 Fitzgerald Street, December 2016; $2.35 million for 413 Belmore Road, December 2016, and $2,008,000 for 134 Winmalee Road, December 2016.