8 Thorpe Street

Katoomba NSW 2780

2.11 ha.

House

Currently for sale - view listing

Overview

'Truly Unique'

When one thinks of the Blue Mountains tourist town of Katoomba, with all its attractions, cafes, lovely restaurants and eclectic shops, you do not necessarily think that in amongst all this you will find a grand home on acreage.   Hanley is such a property, the founders of 'Hanley' named the property after their home village in England and for much of its early life from the 1900s it was a fully operational farm with livestock, orchards and ponies, you name it, it had it: fun fact, near the entry gate in one of the 'Garden Rooms' is a magnificent Blue Gum that was brought back from their Tasmanian honeymoon and planted in the early 1900s.   Set on 2.11 hectares overlooking the Katoomba Creek, 'Hanley' might as well be in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful Blue Mountains, which gives it a feeling of absolute privacy, and to be honest, to replicate this feeling you would need to be in either the Megalong Valley or the Kanimbla Valley. But then you would not have the convenient access to all that the villages of Leura, Katoomba and Blackheath have to offer, would you?   The house itself is a classic rambling country home with wide wrap-around verandahs that take in the South, East and North aspects. These areas have a distinct 'Raffles' vibe with comfy arm chairs that overlook the stunning and well established cool climate gardens that the current owners have nurtured over the past 13 years.   There is a real feeling of arrival at 'Hanley' sweep into the lush gardens and pull up under the, Porte Cochère which is generous enough for two cars and allows for a graceful exit, as you step up onto the wide verandah and enter to the soaring central atrium.   I did say that this home has some theatre going on!  This atrium has direct access to a spacious rear deck that has district views across the property to the creek and beyond, adjoining the atrium you have a dining area and a comfortable lounge area. Behind the dining area is a bedroom, currently used as an office.    You will probably notice an intriguing door in the Southern wall, step through and you will find a lavish and luxurious couples retreat, the bathroom is generous to say the least with a free-standing tub, a large walk-in 'double shower' and a large double vanity. On the Eastern side of all this lavish luxury is the main bedroom, again, beautifully considered with French-doors that open directly onto the verandah, and a very accommodating walk-in-wardrobe.    Move back through the Atrium, and on the Northern side you will find the 'Snug', a classic Mountain's internal room with a Jet-Master open fire and a cosy enveloping colour scheme. What a great place to curl up and read a book with the welcoming crackle that you can only get from on open fire.    But do not be afraid!    If you just want to push a button there is ducted and zoned Reverse Cycle Air-conditioning that will heat the whole house in a flash and will always draw from the two 13.5kW Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries powered by 23kW of Solar Panels before reluctantly resorting to the grid. The electricity bill for the 12 months after the batteries were installed was just $165.71. Amazing! How good is that?  Behind the snug are three more spacious bedrooms, one with a walk-in robe, and another bathroom, this area would be perfect for children or guests as they will have their own separate space and can appear in the evenings, freshly showered and ready for dinner.   The kitchen too is a treat, accessed via the Snug, the rear deck or the verandah.This kitchen is a quality affair from Impala Kitchens featuring an Ilve 6 burner gas cooktop and electric oven, a Samsung French door refrigerator, 30mm granite island-bench and work surfaces with stools and those mesmerising sweeping valley views. Just to top it all off there is another more casual sitting area here also that has that direct access to those wide and very lovely verandahs.   Now that we have finished with the main house, let's start with the rest, on the lower level is a double garage with electric roller doors and direct internal access to the home, a laundry and a third bathroom (Garden Bathroom if you like), numerous store rooms, including a larder, and loads of under house storage along with another separate loo.   Phew! Stepping outside is an absolute pleasure, the gardens are a riot of all you would expect with clever plantings allowing a non-stop parade of colour and interest, there is even a summer house further down the property.  All this glorious display is irrigated with reclaimed water which as you would imagine, is a huge bonus as a garden of this size would be quite expensive to irrigate with town water.   So do come have a look, this is definitely a 'one of a kind' and is well worth the visit.  Rural life in the village, what could be more perfect!    -36 Panels (26 are Sun-Power panels with micro inverters) - 23 kW System -Detached, powered 'Summer-house'/Artist Studio -Return-to-base ADT Internal Alarm and Exterior security camera system (6X EUFY Bluetooth cameras) -All doors and windows have 'keyed-alike' locks – (inc. Lockwood deadlocks on doors)  -2X Rinnai Instant Gas Hot Water Systems  -NBN - FTTP  -Multi-zoned watering system utilising reclaimed water  -Detached, powered garage/tool shed  -Large partially covered rear entertaining deck featuring property views  -Gazebo featuring property views   -Extra wide verandah wrapping South, East and North faces  -Dual entrance circular driveway  -Garden and outdoor lighting  -4X secure Chicken Enclosures / Potting Sheds Fenced horse/stock paddock with plumbed reclaimed water  -Various Fruit trees/Olive grove. - 10,000 litre rainwater tank