Best of coast and country properties

59 Eastern Grey Rise, Flinders
$3 million-plus
5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

Flinders does not do scruffy beach cottages or bush shacks – this popular spot is now home to some of the ornate and heavily manicured estates south of Toorak or Brighton. Tuscan villas sit beside chateau-style retreats and the picture-perfect look continues into the hedged gardens and white-fenced paddocks. Here, a Victorian-style, double-storey brick house sits amid neatly trimmed hedges that provide privacy and shelter for a 20-metre solar-heated lap pool and a tennis court.

The 20-hectare property begins with imposing gates at the top of a winding drive that has views over the rolling paddocks and light areas of bush. The drive ends in front of the imposing house, curving around the large sculptural hedges and past formal garden beds. The two-level house has five bedrooms, including a main with ensuite. Downstairs there are flowing living areas, including a conservatory, a formal sitting area with sea views and a combined living-dining area adjoining a country-style timber kitchen. Upstairs, there is also a large living room, with vaulted ceiling, opening to a deck. There are views of the sea from several vantage points.

Kay and Burton, 5989 1000, Andrew Hines 0400 630 630

1241 Beechworth-Wangaratta Road, Beechworth
$1.1 million
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

The shiraz vines have been planted and a delightful house and pool awaits: this 15-hectare property offers a great mix of industry and relaxation in a pretty spot in Victoria’s north east. A smart low-line contemporary-styled house is at the centre of the property and its exterior walls of corrugated iron, softened with vine-clad pergolas, work well with the landscape. Designed using passive solar principles, the house has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and open-plan, tile-floored living areas overlooking the paddocks and lake-like dam. The property is an easy drive to the foodie centre of Milawa and surrounding wineries.

Devlin Beechworth, 5728 1076, Rod Devlin 0418 361 935

22 Rutledge Lane, Killarney
$995,000
4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

Killarney, and nearby Koroit and Port Fairy, are like the land that time forgot. Settled by the Irish in the mid-19th century, the area is filled with tiny stone cottages, many of them surrounded by stone walls; modern architecture seems almost unknown here. So it’s a surprise to find this large modern house on the edge of Killarney’s dunes. The two-level house has the living area and main bedroom upstairs to take advantage of the views and has a great recessed and covered balcony for outdoor dining – it almost has the feel of a bird hide. A cosy living area has huge picture windows and a gas log fire and there’s also a downstairs rumpus room, along with three more bedrooms.

Robertson Port Fairy, 5568 1904, Paul Ross 0439 681 900

69 Park Street, Lancefield
$875,000
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 4 car spaces

A passion project awaits inside this large Victorian weatherboard. The double-fronted house is on almost five hectares in the centre of Lancefield, in a wide tree-lined street. A 1970s metal fence is not the most period-perfect welcome but the house has iron lacework on the verandah, cedar-lined ceilings, timber panelling with dados and original fireplace surrounds. The front four rooms, set either side of the timber-lined hallway, are the original and then there is a newer (but not recent) addition at the back with another four large rooms and a bathroom and a laundry. The large land area, in a rapidly developing town, offers subdivision opportunity as well.

Connally’s Real Estate, 54296842, Jane Lansell-Smith 0412 457 881