Home > Features > Feature listings > FEATURE LISTING: ‘This house is like a beautiful woman’

FEATURE LISTING: ‘This house is like a beautiful woman’

Amanda and Salvatore Pepe are selling their stunning art deco home, which has been the perfect setting for family life for these passionate cooks and entertainers.

Poised on a tree-lined boulevard at 10 Olive Grove, Hazelwood Park, this five-bedroom, two-bathroom home boasts a unique French art deco design.

Amanda and Salvatore Pepe purchased the 1939 home 11 years ago, attracted to the unusual design.

“I see this style as almost voluptuous; it is very curvy and inviting,” Amanda says.

“This house is like a beautiful woman,” Salvatore adds.

Standout features of the home include the fireplaces and a striking period bathroom, with every room flushed in light from bright picture windows that look out to the garden and park beyond.

“The master bedroom is particularly beautiful for the views because it is an east-facing room so it gets all the light and you really have a 180-degree view because it has the two curved windows on either side,” Amanda says.

Next to the master bedroom is a Juliet balcony that blends seamlessly into the house’s art deco design.

The little Juliet balcony is the classic place to have a gin and tonic or a glass of champagne on a summer’s evening because you look onto the setting and it is so divine,” she says.

The kitchen is truly the heart of this home, poised in a central position that allows the comings and goings of family life to flow naturally through it.

“We are both cooks and spend a lot of time in the kitchen,” Salvatore says.

Having the kitchen in the centre is perfect for us because people can arrive there and we have the lovely marble bench,” Amanda says.

“If we’re having a dinner party, we will always gather around it for drinks and then move into either the formal dining room or the more casual outdoor dining area for a meal.”

The couple has a strong passion for cooking, with Salvatore working as a chef for many years and founding the popular chain of Italian cafes, Cibo.

“I cook every day,” Salvatore says. “We cook all the time, it’s what we do; we cook and we enjoy.

“That is the Italian style.”

The home has perfectly accommodated the family of seven and their love for entertaining, with a swimming pool and spa bath for summertime and cosy indoor areas warmed by fireplaces during winter.

“We have a big family and all our kids are older now and partnered up, and a simple family dinner is 12 people, so we love sitting out in that undercover area,” Amanda says.

“Even in the winter months if you drop down the blinds and have the fire going it’s like another room and it is quite cosy.”

Amanda and Salvatore perfected the outdoor entertaining area when they moved in, creating the Mediterranean pergola by the pool.

“There is a pizza oven under there that Salvatore whipped up one day, being the Italian chef that he is,” Amanda says.

Amanda and Salvatore take pride in the established garden that offers blooms year-round and provides a lush surrounding while requiring little maintenance.

A lot of the fruit trees in the garden are trees we raised ourselves,” says Amanda.

“It’s a little mini orchard hidden amongst the decorative plants and it is actually a very productive garden.”

Nestled amongst the greenery are a cherry tree, two nectarine trees, a peach tree and some apricot trees.

As their five children have moved out, Amanda and Salvatore have decided it is the right time to move to a smaller property.

“We have celebrated a lot of milestones here so [the kids] were a bit annoyed at us when we said we would sell,” Amanda says.

“But it is way too big for two people so it’s time to downsize a little and have a bit more time not gardening and looking after a pool.”

Amanda and Salvatore are eager for a new family to come and enjoy the home and the location as much as they have over the years.

“You feel very much part of a community in Hazelwood Park because it’s used a lot by the Burnside Council for really significant events, such as citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day and carols during Christmas time,” Amanda says.

“It is beautiful to have as a backdrop to your daily comings and goings.”

The sale is being handled by Paul Konistis and Alexi Broikos of Refined Real Estate.

Tags: