When Brett and Simone Murphy first walked into this luxury Hyde Park villa about seven years ago, there was one thing that stood out to them.

“We wanted a home closer to the city. With the historic villa at the front, we weren’t prepared for the amount of beautiful light that hits you as you walk to the back where the modern renovation is,” says Brett.

“Coming from Sydney, where we lived in a small, dingy and dark apartment, this was wonderful for us and we were blown away by the amount of space and light in the house.”

Brett, who works in the energy division at Tesla, and Simone, a respiratory physician who frequently travels to the APY Lands, had been renting in Brighton for the past 18 months and were looking to move closer to the city.

The couple was drawn to Hyde Park for its “cosmopolitan village” feel and they were surprised by the quietness of Park Street, which Brett describes as “like an oasis”.

“We’ve just loved getting to know the village on King William Road especially. We’ve got our favourite cafes, restaurants, bars and haircut spots,” says Brett.

“Walking up and down, you recognise people and that becomes your village.

“On the weekend we just roll out the front gate on bikes or scooters and we can either turn left to everything on the Unley Road side, or right on King William Road and within five minutes we’re at Heywood Park, where the kids love to play in the beautiful park there.”

Brett describes the home as an early 1900s symmetrical cottage.

The contemporary extension by Studio Nine Architects was added by the former owners, but Brett and Simone have updated the interiors with new light fittings, including the striking Equalizer L chandelier by Eichholtz in the living area.

They have also added Epoxy flooring in the double garage and a Tesla Wall Connector for electric vehicles.

The single-storey dwelling has four bedrooms, including the master bedroom with its “hidden” ensuite.

“Basically, one of the wardrobe doors opens up onto the ensuite,” says Brett.

There is also a separate bathroom, a study and a living-dining-kitchen area with access to the spectacular views of the garden from the outdoor entertaining deck.

When they moved in, Brett says they began planning to create a tropical oasis with fish ponds and beautiful plants that were suitable for South Australia’s dry climate.

“There are four water spouts that are on all the time and we’ve got fish in there,” says Brett.

“We’ve spent a lot of time up there just fascinated by everything growing and living in the oasis.

“We also love spending time in the living area where we can look out onto the huge grass lawn where we can see our kids playing.”

Brett and Simone have taken advantage of the spacious hallways to hang their extensive art collection, including Indigenous artwork Simone has collected on her trips to the APY Lands.

Another highlight is a commissioned artwork by Justin Feuerring depicting two people holding hands, which the couple bought as a marriage gift.

“I went to pick it up and I said, ‘I don’t want to see it until we unwrap it together in front of our family and friends,’ because for me it was like a symbol of trust, which we wanted to make a feature of our marriage,” says Justin.

Although Brett says he already regrets selling the house, the family is now looking to move to the Adelaide Hills.

“It’s back to our philosophy around having an adventure through life,” he says.

“When you’re up in the Hills, you’re in another world. So, we’ve always thought we’d like to have a Hills adventure.”

The sale of 12 Park Street, Hyde Park is being handled by Stephanie Williams and Ben Clarke from WILLIAMS Real Estate.