This renovated 1930s Malvern home proves great design never dates

Plenty of Melbourne’s gorgeous inner suburbs do leafy green to a tee, but we’ll wager Malvern is right up there with the best of them. Here on the serene, quiet avenues, the street trees merge with flourishing gardens to produce a look of verdant calm.

The setting could scarcely be better for the beauty that sits, full of poise, at 7 Wilks Avenue.

$9,875,000

7 Wilks Avenue, Malvern VIC 3144

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Built in the 1930s and designed by Charles Hollinshed, known for his work on theatres and cinemas, this intersection of whimsy, wit and weight creates something suitably dramatic, imbued with genuine star power.

The white, twin-peaked facade is a compelling sight; its statement windows against the roll and dip of the splendid rear tiled roofline are simply lovely.

You can tell, though, by the depth and definition of the fine Eckersley landscaping, that there is something much more current afoot here than dear Mr Hollinshed’s near-century-old dreamboat.

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A recent renovation has been a revelation, bringing this fetching Malvern manor roaring into the modern era.

Neil Architects’ work here is instructive, a subtle reordering of the original spaces, particularly to the south side of the ground-floor rear, creates depth and coherent flow. Coupled with a tonal palette that speaks to both eras – so current it positively hums, so classic it will effortlessly endure – the interiors are beguilingly natural.

Take the herringbone timber floors. They’re beautiful but hardly ground-breaking, but set under the soberly handsome olive hue of the study, for example, they draw the light and warm the room.

So it is throughout – the period shapes and decorative elements are rendered contemporary by tone, then lit or leavened further by fresh inclusions: stone floors and exquisite marble surfaces, radiant timber cabinetry and luminous tiling.

Come into that front-facing formal sitting room with that epic window and you’ll understand. The original raked roof with exposed trusses is spectacularly retained, but painting it to match the urbane wall shade creates a uniformity that draws in the prolific garden greenery.

A stylish marble hearth and red-brick fireplace draw focus. The result is a moody, meditative masterwork.

In the rear open-plan, the easy space angles for the sun. Banks of glass light the superb marble and timber kitchen with butler’s pantry. An expansive living area has the irresistible twin treat of a window seat and a low, handsome hearth. Bending back again, the attractive dining room overlooks the sparkling pool from its own glassy bench seat.

The rear al fresco area trips greenery over its high, white garden walls, while a covered barbecue area leads across to a fabulous open-air fireplace. The surrounding garden is masterful, too, replete with spaces offering verdant repose.

Upstairs, four bedrooms all have brilliant en suites, but the main bedroom’s sophisticated spaces ingeniously reproduce all of the home’s brilliant elements in one place – arches, a window seat, lofty ceilings, garden views and an excellent walk-through wardrobe to a glowing marble en suite.

Way up in those beautiful old peaks sits a new studio, self-contained and splendid, like just about everything in this note-perfect Malvern masterpiece.