It's sheer luxe heaven inside our Richmond House of the Week

12a Rose Street, Richmond
$2.5 million-plus
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Auction at 11am on Saturday, December 10
Inspect on Saturday 11-11.30am
Jellis Craig, Jodie McCarthy 0438 072 055

We love it when we get this close to the end of the year and see this kind of place. It makes us scratch our heads and taking a wondering wander back through 2016 asking, “have we’ve seen anything better than this?”

Perhaps it’s so good because it takes its place in its world thoughtfully.

Richmond is a singular suburb of tight streets and iconic views and back lanes. This place presents a beautiful, sober face to the street; one of deep grey and solid black trim, a nod to the hues of inner Melbourne, to our familiar tonal uniform.

Inside the theme continues. Beyond the side entry the effortlessly handsome qualities of bluestone flooring spread from the north-facing living room and down through the rest of the level.

The sublime pop comes from the full-length sliding glass that takes you out onto the sunny front terrace. Light grey brick backs the western wall that houses low timber cabinetry and an impressive black hearth.

Central here is the clever delineating black unit that rises floor-to-ceiling and separates dining on one side and kitchen on the other.

Heading south to the dining area you step down to another handsome space where a full-width glass wall angles across to give you views of the central courtyard and deck.

Back around on the other side the kitchen hums with style. More of those grey bricks, pale stone benches and leavening timber cabinetry. All class.

Beyond here you head down the passage past a brilliantly chic powder room to the roomy laundry and garage with laneway access.

Turn on your heel and head upstairs. Level one is sheer luxe heaven. Let’s start at the two rear bedrooms, with the most superb colour palette we’ve seen all year – grey bricks again, white cabinetry and black trim around their gorgeous balconies, all tied together by the fabulous muted straw-green carpet. Love.

You turn again and wander back north beyond the smartly sited, thoroughly elegant retreat/living room.

Then that black block from below makes an appearance. Punching up through the floor to form another delineation between a fine study area on one side and the main bedroom on the other.

As you’d expect its divine with a balcony over street offering an eyeful of Melbourne icons as well as a smooth en suite and the same tonal brilliance as the other two bedrooms.

Up again and the rooftop offers you Melbourne’s skyline, preceded by the distinctive architecture of its sporting precinct; you can spy Dimmey’s, a tip of Bryant and May, St Ignatius on the hill. Struggletown, you’ve come a long way.

Room for improvement: You know what? Nope. Put a deckchair on the rooftop. Enjoy the view.

Need to know:​  Highest recorded house price in Richmond (past 12 months) was $3.1 million for 237 Coppin Street in March 2016. Recent sales: $2 million for 7 Bowen Street, November 2016; $1,465,000 for 41 Shelley Street, November 2016, and $1,215,000 for 82 Hunter Street, November 2016.