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West of Ferrars Street is South Melbourne's Paris end, and the address earns the name. Heritage streetscape, very few strata blocks, and a frontage on the Merton Street service lane rather than Nelson Road, which keeps traffic at the door to a minimum.
The house handles its irregular block well. The neighbouring dwelling rules out full-sized north windows, so highlight glazing does the heavy lifting. Light rates as average, yet the living area is never dark. The floor plan is the real asset: everything a three to four bedroom household needs, each in the right place, and a kitchen that makes a narrow footprint without side access work in its favour. It suits teenagers better than toddlers.
Fittings show wear but are ageing well. Nothing is urgent, and a layout this resolved will only ever need a cosmetic refresh.
In-slab hydronic heating and double glazing put the extension ahead of most. The original section missed out, an odd saving on works of this scale. Add heritage-compliant glazing and solar, and the house becomes genuinely efficient.
West of Ferrars Street is the Paris end of South Melbourne, surrounded by heritage homes, and a low-impact area. The block itself sits removed from Nelson Road on the extension of Merton Street, which is a service lane, meaning actual traffic right in front of the door is minimal. Very few strata blocks in the vicinity.
The house is well positioned on the block and manages the irregular shape well, with good access around the north side. Natural light inside is average: the highlight windows to the north help, but the neighbouring dwelling doesn't allow for full-sized windows. The challenge has been solved as well as it could be for the house. That said, this is complaining at a high level, and the living area is not dark despite it.
Oh my. The house does a lot of things well and better than most others: hydronic heating in the extended part of the house, through the slab in the living area, and double glazing, which is also only present in the extension. That last part is a real shame, and one would have thought that spending this amount on major works, whoever did them, would not have skimped on a few thousand dollars for heritage-compliant window frames. Add some solar and other little bits and you have yourself a fairly efficient house.
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