Inside the quirky Melbourne home of singer and actor Troye Sivan

A historic Victorian-era property in Melbourne that hosted the first intercolonial handball competition in 1874 is now home to singer-songwriter and actor Troye Sivan.

The home was snapped up in June last year by a company – on which Sivan’s father, Shaun Mellet, serves as a director – for $3.276 million. Sivan has since spent many months renovating the unique home.

In a video tour with the magazine Architectural Digest, Sivan showcased his quirky but luxurious pad which he revamped with interior designers Flack Studio.

The Easy singer had been living in the US and moved back to Australia in March last year, just as the coronavirus pandemic was worsening across the globe. 

The home was bought a few months later, with Sivan saying he wanted to “put down roots”.

The three-storey house, which was also used as a brick factory over its long history, still has telltale signs from its past.

A brick wall where the famous handball competition was held, still has the same markings as it did 146 years ago. An original cork roof also remains in place inside the home.

Though renovations were recently completed, the home has been through a number of updates over the years.

One of the home’s former owners was renowned architect John Mockridge who had given the home his own take on mid-century design, while other owners had put their own touches on it.

Sivan’s renovations include replacing the existing kitchen and updating the bathrooms and bedrooms, one of which belongs to his sister Sage.

Artworks feature throughout the home as well as in the home’s stylish outdoor area. 

The courtyard, where the handball competition was held, has also been updated and an outdoor room, once used as a wine cellar, is now a luxe, ox-blood red bathroom with a toilet.

“It’s just like paradise for me, I spend a lot of time out here just, doing the gardening, and watering the plants,” Sivan said in his tour video. He loved the history of the home, which has had many lives.

“I really love the idea that this house has had so many lives and been through so much and seen so much – I’m only 25 and this house is already 146 years old,” he said.

Though Sivan has loved living in Melbourne, it had seen him separated from his long-term partner.

In August, he announced he had split from boyfriend Jacob Bixenman, whom he dated for four years.