Wishful thinking

After years of coveting their neighbour's house, this family can finally call it their own.

- CARLI PHILIPS

Patience was the ultimate payoff for the owners of this home in Harkaway, a village midway between the city and country in the foothills of Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. Now pride of place for a couple with three children, the house was built by their former neighbours as they watched from down the street, wistfully envisaging a home just like it for themselves. So when the house came up for sale in 2019 they swooped, engaging designer Penny Del Castillo, of Studio del Castillo, who they had worked with previously. Like many of the large, distinguished blocks in the area, its connection to the surrounding environment was palpable.

“My husband and I got married in Lake Como and my first thought driving up here was ‘why did we get married in Italy?’ It’s right here, complete with manicured gardens, a boathouse and a go-cart track that goes around the dam. It’s insane,” says Penny.

Designed by architect Louis Chiodo about 10 years ago, the home’s Tuscan style attracted the couple, but the interior fixtures and finishes were not aligned with their aesthetic as a young modern family. They briefed Penny to deliver an entirely new scheme that included furniture and fittings. Given its generous floor plan and soaring ceilings, lighting was a top priority.