Kelburn villa offers many options

TENDERS CLOSE on November 10 for a centrally located character home in Kelburn that’s for sale for the first time in 34 years.

The four-bedroom bay villa, at 30 Clifton Tce, dates to the early 1880s and is believed to have had only three owners.

Rosaleen and Graham Taylor bought the 200-square-metre weatherboard-and-Colorsteel-roof dwelling when it was in two flats on a 299sqm section.

They had the partition separating the flats removed and restored the staircase, so they could live in it as a single home with their four children before undertaking their first major alterations in 1987, which included creating a garage under the house.

‘‘Our next set of renovations was in 2000,’’ Graham says. ‘‘We had the kitchen and downstairs toilet and bathroom/ laundry remodelled, and the rest of downstairs plus both stairs and the upstairs hall and family room redecorated.

‘‘In 2009-2010 we commissioned BR Contractors to give the house a thorough examination and fix all aspects that needed fixing, including a repaint.

‘‘They put a new roof on, stripped the paint back to the original wood, and put on new primer and coats of paint.

‘‘We obtained the advice of a professional in heritage values, Barbara Fill, for the colour scheme.’’

The stained leadlight front door opens off an entrance porch into a matchlined hall with the restored native timber staircase that leads to the bedrooms, an office and a bathroom with a bath, vanity and toilet.

The formal lounge has a bay window and a gas fireplace with a period surround and bookshelves on either side.

The large matchlined dining room opens to a brick patio and adjoins the kitchen, with its polished floorboards, Bosch underbench oven and dishwasher, four-burner hob, rangehood and breakfast bar.

Off the kitchen are the tiled laundry and shower, separate toilet and stairs that lead to a family room with a partly double-glazed ceiling and views of the rear garden and terraced lawn.

‘‘This is an exciting opportunity to restore, renovate or redevelop this property,’’ says Justin Brown, of Harcourts, who’s marketing 30 Clifton Tce with Bobbie Meyer.

‘‘It’s a large character home in a great location, only minutes from the CBD and Victoria University, with the bonus of a garage and offstreet parking in a street where parking’s at a premium.

‘‘The decor may be a bit tired but externally and structurally it’s very sound. Only your imagination and budget will limit how far you can take it from here.’’

The property has a rateable value of $770,000.