268 Amess Street, Carlton North, Vic 3054

This gracious, family-sized Victorian balcony terrace was last offered for sale in 1985. Its owners, both notable figures in the international and Australian creative worlds, have imbued the home’s book-lined walls with more than 40 years of warmth and bohemian character. The owners’ contributions sit lightly within the home’s period details, its polished wooden floors, double-arched hallway, impressive wooden staircase, high moulded ceilings, original fireplaces and balcony ironwork. 

In its current configuration, the residence features, on the ground floor, a double-arched corridor, two bedrooms, a living area, character-filled Provençal kitchen, bathroom, separate laundry and vanity. The kitchen’s French doors open onto a tranquil garden. The second floor features a master bedroom with view over the balcony and streetscape, a second bathroom, and a vast, light-soaked living area, formerly two bedrooms, with floor to ceiling windows opening onto a large entertainer’s terrace, bordered by lush foliage and offering views of the sunrise and the rear garden’s gorgeously lush foliage and birdlife. The elegant warmth of hydronic heating pervades, and certain rooms also offer split system heating and cooling. There is full-height under-stair storage, generous attic storage and a spacious purpose-built storage shed at the rear fence-line. 

Behind its classically Victorian exterior, this unusually wide and deep balcony terrace offers some exceptional features, adding to its rarity. The first-floor living space could be returned to its former configuration, which provided fourth and fifth full-sized bedrooms, one featuring an open fireplace. Alternatively, this generously proportioned canvas could be transformed into a large parental retreat, with master bedroom, living area and its own terrace. The southern boundary of the property is bordered by Mary Street, conjuring up a range of light-filled, readily-accessible possibilities for those with the vision to renovate or build (subject to council approval) at the rear of the property. 
This grand terrace’s substantial proportions and its potential-packed positioning offer a rare opportunity that is not to be missed.