Every now and then I walk into a property and become completely, unprofessionally enthusiastic about it. 14 Cards Lane is one of those houses.
There is something wonderfully storybook about this place. A genuine 1940s Olinda home, tucked into an extraordinary old garden and approached with a sense of secrecy that feels almost Enid Blyton. Narrow paths disappear between hedges and beneath enormous old trees, flowers emerge unexpectedly, and the house reveals itself gradually through the greenery. There is even a private laneway held on its own title.
It feels like a dolls house for grown-ups not because it is small, because it certainly isn't, but because there is something delightful around every corner.
The house has evolved since its 1940s beginnings, but importantly, it hasn't had its character renovated out of it. Instead, old and new sit happily together, with sash and fixed windows, beautiful detailing, unexpected little spaces and one particularly magnificent staircase and front door, understood to have come from an old cricket club and potentially dating from around the turn of the century.
Then there is the kitchen. And what a kitchen.
Warm solid oak cabinetry, a deep butler's sink, composite benchtops and a serious Falcon Professional range flanked by stainless steel work surfaces give it all the substance of a proper country kitchen. There are quirky storage details, a fabulous feature window and room for a big kitchen table. Add the Coonara and fireplace and this becomes somewhere to cook, eat, talk and settle in for the evening rather than simply a room called "the kitchen".
For more formal occasions there is a proper dining room, while the enormous main lounge provides a completely different place to retreat, with an ambient gas fireplace and doors opening to a sun room and deck overlooking the garden.
And the rooms keep coming.
There is a wonderfully gentlemanly study, another intimate sitting room, heavy bevelled glass, a powder room and a substantial utility room complete with drying cabinet and direct access outside. Upstairs, the bedrooms sit together beneath the roofline, giving the upper level that particularly charming, tucked-away feeling that suits the house so well.
But the garden may ultimately steal the show.
This is not a recently landscaped garden designed to photograph well for a real estate campaign. It has age. Its origins stretch back to the 1940s, with narrow pathways, old stonework, towering trees, tree ferns, clipped forms, rhododendrons, azaleas and unusual plants collected and propagated over generations. Cuttings from plants here have reportedly found their way into other local gardens over the years.
There are places to wander, places to grow things, places to sit and places that seem to exist simply because somebody once thought they would be lovely.
It is romantic without being precious, substantial without feeling grand, and eccentric in all the right ways.
And despite feeling wonderfully hidden away, Cards Lane puts you in a brilliant position between Olinda and Mount Dandenong, with the local school, village life, cricket ground and magnificent public gardens all close by.
I really love this one. I suspect its next owner will too.
YOU'LL LOVE
* A genuine 1940s Olinda home with history, character and wonderful individuality
* The unmistakable grown-up dolls house feeling rooms, nooks and details to discover
* An extraordinary established hills garden with origins dating back to the 1940s
* Narrow garden paths winding beneath magnificent mature trees
* Rare and unusual plants, rhododendrons, azaleas, tree ferns and seasonal colour
* A fabulous farmhouse kitchen with solid oak cabinetry and butler's sink
* Falcon Professional range with stainless steel preparation benches
* Kitchen/meals/sitting zone warmed by a Coonara and fireplace
* Huge separate lounge with ambient gas fireplace
* Beautiful deck looking directly into the garden
* Proper formal dining room plus an additional sitting room
* A particularly handsome, gentlemanly home office
* Remarkable staircase and front door understood to have originated from an old cricket club
* Four bedrooms together on the upper level
* Excellent utility room with drying cabinet and direct outdoor access
* Vegetable growing, berries and all the pleasures of an established productive garden
* Garage, additional covered parking and under-house storage
* Private laneway held on a separate title
* A wonderfully private position between Olinda and Mount Dandenong
* Easy access to Olinda Primary School, the villages, cricket ground and surrounding gardens
LOCAL'S SECRET
Cards Lane has exactly the sort of neighbourhood spirit people move to the Hills hoping to find. There is even billy-cart racing in the street. And when you do need to venture further, you can wander towards Olinda in one direction or Mount Dandenong in the other although with a garden like this waiting at home, you may find fewer reasons to leave.
