Situated right on the Brisbane River, this charming, fully renovated Ashgrovian exudes class, relaxed style and a wonderful warmth that can only be achieved through years of being a much loved family home. Raised and extended four years ago under the guidance of architect Henk Mulder (Mulder and Kennedy), the brief was to create a house that was timeless and stylish yet also felt like the family was perpetually at the beach. This has certainly been achieved through using masses of glass, timber and wide, open spaces as well as atmospheric lighting, elegant finishes and plentiful wall niches for displaying artwork. Colour has also been used to great effect with splashes of red giving the home character and a certain pizzazz, without detracting from the overall style. The colour has also been used to cleverly merge the old with the new so that the house now flows over two generous levels with the saltwater pool and river beyond used as focal features throughout.

Upstairs, the three children’s rooms are separated from the main suite by a large library/music room/study that has enough nooks and private sitting areas to effectively allow the whole family to pursue individual pastimes while all being within the same area. There is also a secondary rumpus room here that could be used as a playroom, but also has private access, making the space ideal for guests or teenagers as well. The master suite meanwhile is a purely adult zone with a spacious ensuite, dual walk-in wardrobes and a massive balcony that allows for viewing along both reaches of the river and over the Eleanor Schonell Bridge.

Downstairs is dedicated solely to lifestyle, with an open plan layout allowing for the kitchen to interact easily with the covered alfresco entertainment terrace, the tv area, dining space and lounge. The kitchen is one of those rare few that is great to look at, as well as being brilliantly functional and user-friendly. It delivers the sprawling neutral stone benches, the stainless steel, European appliances, the plentiful, cream cabinetry and the island bench. But then it also has a large floor to ceiling pantry enclosed behind vibrant red doors that really brings the whole space to life as well as tying it in perfectly with the rest of the home. There is also security, an intercom, vast amounts of storage, air-conditioning, ducted music, two studio/workshop spaces, two water tanks and a dual car garage.

Outside, the home has been surrounded by low-maintenance gardens with the exception of a pair of massive mango trees out the front that in many ways are quite symbolic of the whole property. For starters, they represent the home’s 60-something year history and are just so quintessentially Queensland. Then they have such a majestic presence and finally, they are reminiscent of childhoods spent swinging from branches, running beneath leafy canopies and having mango juice run down arms – just what this home is all about really.