Beside The Seaside

After a thoughtful makeover, this 1930s home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is as spectacular inside as it is out.

- Judy Pascoe

Some things are just meant to be. That’s how it was for Amy and Joshua Spargo, their daughters, – Hillary, six, Primrose, four, and newborn Daisy – and the house on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula they now call home.

Amy and Joshua had been living in Sydney but in 2015 decided it was time to return to Victoria. This circa-1935 house, known as Cliff Lodge, had been in Amy’s family for about five years; its heritage character and generous size made it the perfect choice for a family home.

Amy says she always felt connected to the house. “The first time I walked through it, I felt a sense of familiarity. It was similar to homes I had lived in as a child and the style reminded me of my grandmother.”

One of the original homes in the area, it had small, dark rooms connected by narrow hallways – typical of the era but not conducive to modern family living. It was, however, blessed with magnificent bay views and many desirable features – hand-rendered walls, timber windows and strapped ceilings – and was begging to be reinvented. “The exterior was beautiful but the interior needed better flow,” says Amy.