No expense was spared in the intensive renovation and modern extension of Vito and Anya Rinaldi’s 110-year-old villa in one of Adelaide’s top suburbs.

Words Ben Kelly

With a love of return-verandah villas, Vito and Anya Rinaldi purchased 32 Avenel Gardens Road in 2009 and went about designing a dream home in which to raise their three daughters.

The huge overhaul began in 2013 and three years later Vito and Anya completed a sensational renovation and modern addition, while keeping true to the historic nature of the 110-year-old property.

However, having spared no expense in the rebuild, the couple has already found their next project in the same area and are selling their spectacular Medindie corner block home.

Anya, who is responsible for much of the planning and interior design, says the family will sorely miss the immaculate home.

“We are absolutely proud of the home, we love it,” Anya says. “It’s a gorgeous house and it’s very functional for our family. We will be sad to leave.”

One of the key reasons they chose the location was the proximity to top schools, including Wilderness, Prince Alfred College, St Andrew’s and St Peter’s.

“We love the area, so we’re not moving far. We built this home to live in for a long time, but another opportunity came up — it was never our intention to sell,” Anya says.

The couple has previously renovated properties in Parkside, Woodville, Alberton, and Prospect, but Anya says this is by far their greatest. “It was very rewarding, and we’ll do the same thing again and add value to another house,” she says.

The four-bedroom home was redesigned with the needs of their three daughters in mind. There are four luxurious bathrooms, one being the spacious master en suite, with custom tiling and underfloor heating in all bathrooms and wet areas.

The kitchen benchtop is a huge piece of Calacatta marble, reinforced with steel to hold the weight. There’s also a pantry with Liebherr fridge and freezer, as well as three dishwashers to make entertaining effortless.

“I love cooking, so I made sure we had the two ovens, steamer, plate warmer and just made it functional for the way we live,” Anya says.

“The property was very raw when we purchased it,” Anya says. “We kept the shell and did a full renovation, adding on to the back. It’s like a brand-new house, I loved doing it.”

The new addition was built onto a floating slab. The double-brick extension was built using the same limestone as the original house, with the stone trucked from Victor Harbor. Meanwhile, the existing walls were stripped back to bare brick.

There are two underground spaces with a wine cellar and also a beautiful rumpus room, currently set up as a children’s retreat that is perfect for sleepovers.

Vito runs large South Australian IT database company Blue Crystal Solutions, which operates out of a heritage building on Hindmarsh Square.

“My life revolves around the city and I love heritage buildings,” Vito says. “My office is in one of the oldest buildings in Adelaide, and we meticulously renovated that as well.”

“Property has been a hobby for as long as I remember and it’s something I love to do. It’s my passion.”

“We’ve bought another house and we want to do the same type of thing in our own style. We love the area, it’s one of the best in Adelaide – but I’m biased.”

Vito says the couple went above and beyond to create their “forever home” before plans changed. “This is the grandest project that we’ve worked on,” he says.

The home is a dream for entertaining, with a flow from the indoors to the al fresco area and pool. There is a servery bar with windows that open to the outdoor entertaining, and a Hoshizaki Lancer two-barrel beer keg system.

“The sliding doors all open up to create one big seamless space that can be utilised however you want,” Vito says. “We can entertain 100 people quite easily.”

“It’s fantastic in summer, with the bar open to the al fresco area and the keg going. We love the sense of openness and it’s certainly a house that is conducive to entertaining.”

Marble fireplaces feature in the bedrooms and library, while parquetry flooring, lead lighting, designer chandeliers, and immaculate joinery create a high level of sophistication.

Anya says when they purchased the home, the pool hadn’t been maintained. In refurbishing it, they installed a small Italian Bisazza tile, which she says hadn’t been used in Australia before. It was so unique that a representative from Bisazza in Italy had to visit to see for himself.

The sale is being handled by Stephanie and John Williams of Harcourts Williams.