Designed by local mother and daughter team Marie Phillpotts and Simone Tanner, this striking modern build in leafy Kingswood has been given the royal treatment.

Words Ben Kelly

A newly built three-bedroom home at Kingswood is set to garner interest from families and professionals looking to buy a modern, high-end property with ease of luxury living.

Marie Phillpotts and her partner completed the two-storey home earlier this year, with Marie working closely with her daughter, interior designer Simone Tanner. The result is a striking home with bold, contemporary design.

“We were looking for somewhere to live and found Kingswood. It’s a beautiful area, just across the road from Malvern, where we lived previously,” says Marie, who owns Norwood fashion store Fashada Boutique.

Simone operates Henley Beach-based interior design studio Design Revival and has previously designed homes in Noosa and Perth. “We wanted to build something together, and here we are,” Marie says.

With their complementary taste, Marie and Simone worked together on the design and interior selections throughout the home, which is punctuated by sleek bathrooms and a strikingly modern kitchen, installed by Walls Bros Designer Kitchens with AEG appliances.

“We both have very similar ideas; she worked really hard and put in a lot of time and effort.”

 

The kitchen is the magnificent centrepiece of the home, with a soaring ceiling void about six metres high and sliding glass doors that retract into the wall cavity.

With an inbuilt sink, the black calacatta marbled stone kitchen benchtop is designed for meal prep, breakfast and entertaining. The benchtop, dark splashback and black cabinetry are a combination of Marie and Simone’s tastes.

“I’m a bit of a black and white girl, with just a bit of punch of colour. Those colours don’t date,” Marie says. “There are all-black timber shutters throughout.”

“People who visit the home love the openness of the high ceiling. There are many different angles to it, giving a sense of space,” Marie says.

“The doors fold back into the wall, so when you’re entertaining you can open up the kitchen living area to the outdoor terrace, which is beautiful in the summer. It makes the room feel twice as big.”

Fronting Kingswood’s wide, leafy Cambridge Terrace, the home has low-maintenance gardens with a facade of Eco Ashlar stone. Entering the home through the oversized timber door, a formal dining room is situated on the right, before a corridor with an expansive wine wall that leads to the garage – all designed without doors for flowing, open living.

“As you come in from the garage and walk past the wine wall, you can grab a bottle ready to go before you’ve even put your bag down,” Marie says.

 

The home suits both modern and traditional furniture and artwork. Marie has a piece of Indigenous artwork hanging on a runner, which can be slid across the wall to reveal a concealed television. The new owner will be able to hang their own art here.

In the living room, Marie’s retro barber’s chair and rocking horse don’t look out of place against the modern interior design. “I’ve had that barber’s chair since I bought it in England about 26 years ago, along with a few other things including the rocking horse and a cash register. I’ve carried them from house to house and they just seem to fit everywhere.”

The low maintenance garden features an automated watering system and lighting. Gate access is electrically operated, and there is plenty of off-street parking with space for a third car or even a boat or caravan.

“I think this home would suit a wide range of people, from young execs, families or husband and wife teams who are working a lot and want to be able to lock up and go,” Marie says.

Expressions of interest are being accepted until Tuesday, December 3, with the sale being handled by John and Stephanie Williams of Harcourts Williams.