A home of rare sophistication in a prized College Zone, period-precinct location, this four bedroom and home-office, two bathroom architects’ own home sets a new standard in the McKinnon Secondary College Zone. Offering uncompromising design against a backdrop of restrained period detail, this exceptional Californian Bungalow combines rare architectural integrity with remarkable family function.
Guaranteeing privacy in quiet master domain, this considered design promises work-life balance in a home-office with a panoramic garden-view, and adds flexibility with a double-doored fourth bedroom to reimagine as a formal lounge. Using an immense pivot-door to zone the accommodation wing from soaring sun-bathed living, the home blurs the boundaries between inside and out with a central atrium-courtyard, northerly walls of slide-away double-glazing, and custom Tasmanian Oak windows.
Curated with authentic natural stones (quartzite for the kitchen, granite elsewhere), solid Blackbutt (for flooring and home-office joinery), lime-washed Baltic pine boards, and textured linen curtains, the home makes subtle design statements at every turn. From an arched wood-burning fireplace mimicking an original brick-mantle, to a monumental quartzite-wrapped dining-bench, to bathrooms tiled with genuine terrazzo, design is paramount here.
Appointed to a rarely-experienced standard with elite Wolf appliances and an integrated Liebherr fridge-freezer for the leading-edge kitchen, there’s an end to clutter with a true butler's pantry (with sink and second dishwasher) and a large family laundry - both with external access. Climate-controlled over two zones with hydronic panel heating and heated bathroom floors, the home is powered by a 11.3 kW solar energy system, and secured by auto-gates with three carspaces including a discreet carport.
Wrapped by Ficus-hedging in northerly gardens with a tiled, heated pool glimpsed through an immense single-pane window, the landscape blends form and function with sheltered decking to entertain, broad lawns for kids to play, and an architectural al fresco entertainer's area - with woodfire and plumbed gas barbecue.
A walk to the Hawthorn Rd tram and Monash University bus, and minutes to Ormond’s station and McKinnon Rd's cafe society, this is the ultimate design for life in the Zone.
Recognised for its architectural excellence, Ormond House has been widely featured across leading design publications including EST Living (‘Where Architects Live’), The Local Project and ArchitectureAU, and was also named
one of Co-Architecture’s five most popular house renovations of 2025. Shortlisted in the prestigious Houses Awards for House Alteration and Addition over 200m², this celebrated Telha Clarke design stands as a benchmark of contemporary Australian residential architecture.
For further information on this architects’ own renovation contact Simon Pintado at Buxton Bentleigh on 0431 473 701 or the Buxton Office on 9563 9933. ALL ENQUIRIES MUST INCLUDE A CONTACT NUMBER.
