WHEN RELOCATING TO AUSTRALIA, SUSANNE AND TOBY SUTTON FOUND A HOUSE THAT SUITED THE NEEDS OF THEIR YOUNG FAMILY, WITH SPACE FOR TREASURED ITEMS
FEATURE ALI LOVETT PLANS RICHARD HOOKWAY
Family room
This room is key to keeping the house tidy. ‘It’s great to have a designated room for the children to play in and house all of their books and toys.’
Sun room
‘The antique tiles are so special and I’m glad we decided to use them here. Combined with the gorgeous natural light, this is a lovely place to sit and unwind.’
HOME NOTES
WHO LIVES HERE?
Susanne Sutton lives here with her husband, Toby, their twin daughters, May and Alice, eight, and five-year-old son, Barnaby.
THE PROPERTY
A three-bed, two-storey detached house in Armadale, Melbourne. It was built in the 19th century.
THE LAYOUT
An archway leads to a long, covered verandah on the approach to the front door of this Victorian property. The living room is off the hallway; carry on past the staircase to the family room, downstairs loo, utility and, at the back, the large open-plan kitchen-diner. Upstairs, the main bedroom is at the front of the house, leading on to a wardrobe space and en suite. The family bathroom and another two bedrooms can be found off the main walkway.
When the Sutton family relocated back to Melbourne, after many years of living in London, they needed to find a house that would accommodate all their belongings and also felt like home.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS PROPERTY?
‘We spent 15 years living in London and by the time we returned to Melbourne, we had a lot of items that were precious to us. We had been renting, and the only way I knew how to make a house a home was through the things - furniture, artwork and other special pieces. When we moved the family back to Melbourne and started looking at properties to buy, we were really driven by the need to find a house to suit our belongings - we certainly didn’t want to part with it all and start again. We saw this house and, although the décor was dated, it felt very familiar, like something you would find in Europe, and the scale of the rooms and ceilings suited us perfectly as it was similar to the Victorian terrace we’d rented in London.’
WHAT FEATURES IMPRESSED YOU THE MOST?
‘We loved the garden, the wonderfully high ceilings and generous windows in the front rooms, the marble fireplaces and the quirky, covered verandahs and the light that
