The professionals who manage luxury houses for a living

It’s not a plotline from Succession: high-net-worth Australians are quietly hiring drivers, gardeners, chefs, executive assistants and butlers to take care of the complexity of owning and running a large and expensive home.

Managing these significant properties over the long term often requires a list of professionals as long as the driveway of a Toorak or Vaucluse manor.

The people assembled to walk dogs, look after children, run appointment books, grocery shop, interior decorate and party plan need to be as discreet as the homeowners themselves. This constellation of specialists largely works behind the scenes but often form special relationships with the residents.

Art, for example, is much more than simple decoration in Australia’s most prestigious homes where the top 1 per cent live.

The rank and file might buy an IKEA vase after 30 seconds of pondering its merits for a coffee table or bookshelf, but in luxury properties, decisions are rarely made on impulse, and not without the aid of an expert.

Megan Dicks and Hannah Abbott, curators and directors of Prahran gallery Otomys, curate private art collections for Sydney and Melbourne’s most rarefied homes. They take into consideration light, shadow, value and emotional resonance.

One such project for a collector, during COVID, took 18 months and involved the selection of 60 works from 15 countries. “No two collections are the same – we’re all different as people,” Abbott says.

Dicks and Abbott are among an inner circle that oversees the finer details and ongoing requirements in luxury houses.

Establishing a residential art collection begins with understanding individual taste and how that intersects with floor plans and photographs of the areas that need adornment.

“Then we’ll schedule a site visit, whether that is a construction site or a home that already has an established art collection, and walk through,” Abbott says. “We work together as a team to put forth certain pieces across a staged approach. It’s not something that we necessarily rush – we’re quite considered in what we put forward.

“We spend a lot of time in the early days understanding the client’s needs and what they would like to surround themselves with day to day, and we draw on that from around the world.”

It does not end when the last piece is hung. “A lot of our collectors say, ‘Wow, that was just such a great experience’,” Dicks says. “It’s not about the collection that they end up with, but it’s the whole journey we’ve been able to take them on. We offer them a full experience and then ongoing curation.

“We may have settled on several pieces for the space, but we know roughly what they’re looking for, and we keep that in mind. So when something pops up, whether it’s in two months or six months, we’ll reach out to them again.”

Art curation is one strand of a network that keeps luxury homes looking their best.

Cath Stubbings, director of Concierge at Kay & Burton, says outsourced support is essential for busy households, some of whom keep multiple properties.

She oversees a platform that connects owners, tenants, investors and families, from Melbourne to the Mornington Peninsula, with niche experts. Not all clients have sold a home through the real estate agency – it’s open to anyone who needs it, and that need is growing.

“Concierge has naturally evolved into a broader lifestyle and property support offering because clients kept asking, ‘Can you also help with…?’,” Stubbings says. “Clients come to us for everything from reliable plumbers and builders through to managing renovations or keeping an eye on the home while they’re travelling.

“It connects people with a curated network of trusted providers, whether they need restaurant bookings, dog walking, pet grooming, babysitting, car detailing, a private driver or help coordinating an event.”

It is not uncommon for clients to be based overseas for part of the year and require a homely touch in their absence.

“While they’re away, we can collect mail and keep an eye on things; and before they return, we can organise a full clean, stock the fridge and make sure the home feels ready to enjoy again.” Stubbings says. “For most of our clients, time is their most valuable asset. When clients feel that sense of calm and everything works seamlessly around them, that’s when we’ve done our job well.”

The exterior of such homes is just as crucial. Matt Leacy, director of multidisciplinary building and landscaping studio Landart, emphasises a garden is not finished when planted.

“It takes years to develop the garden to the true intent of the original design,” he says. “The best thing to do is to look at a garden as a living, moving item. It’s like us as humans – we’re always changing, and a garden is exactly that.”

Landart has studios in Cumbalum, near Byron Bay, and North Manly, designing gardens for deluxe homes from Bondi to Bellevue Hill, Balmain and Woollahra, and managing their maintenance over ensuing years.

The frequency of upkeep depends on the scale and style. “Some people quite like a relaxed look,” Leacy says. “Others like it always looking trimmed, so the maintenance teams are there almost every day.”

This includes a head horticulturist. “Our design team oversees the project through the years as it develops,” Leacy says. “The garden talks to you over time, and so it’s good to have someone listening, making suggestions and responding accordingly.”

Wealthy families may host weddings or charity events at their house. Leacy says Landart takes this into account. “Sometimes that starts with the original design – a client may say, ‘my kids are getting married here in the next couple of years, so let’s design for that now’.”

Each expert ensures multimillion-dollar showpieces are welcoming homes with soul.

“For me, art is the aspect of a home that carries emotion and storytelling,” Dicks says. “Then, it’s not just a house, it’s a home, which speaks to who you are, or who your family is, and where you’ve been.”