Home ready to welcome new family after 70 years

It’s never an easy decision to sell a home.

When the house has been in the same family for seven decades, it comes with an extra level of attachment and history.

Michael Demamiel’s parents bought the Griffith block in 1946. His childhood home, a classic red brick cottage, was built the following year. Almost 70 years on, it’s time to hoist up the “For Sale” sign.

Michael has fond memories of living at Bannister Gardens and hopes a new family might fall for its character and consider an extension. The house has been tastefully renovated over the years and still has many of its original features, including sash windows and terracotta roof tiles.

“It was a fantastic part of Canberra to grow up in. There was a real community spirit in those days too,” Michael says. “My sister and I have fond memories – we knew every kid in the street.

“The fact we had a park in the middle of the street was great. We could go over there and kick the football and that sort of thing.”

The family decided to convert the original dining room into a bedroom when Michael’s sister was born, before transforming it into a dining room again once she had left home.

It’s one of the house’s most striking rooms thanks to distinct, 1970s European wallpaper, inspired by a trip to a relative’s penthouse on the Gold Coast.

“Mum and Dad had a holiday up there,” Michael says. “In the dining room of the penthouse was wallpaper they thought was pretty spiffy. It’s been there ever since.”

No. 18 Bannister Gardens, Griffith, will be auctioned on Saturday, July 9, through Luton Properties Dickson agent Holly Komorowski. Price guide: $1 million+. Inspect: Saturday, 10.30am-11.15am and Tuesday, 4.45pm-5.15pm. EER: 1.