Michael Voss and his family purchased the property at 72 Clifton Street, Malvern in 2017 after waiting for a property to come onto the market in the area.

“When we first moved to Adelaide from Brisbane, we lived in Glenelg for 12 months,” Michael says.

“At the time, our children attended Walford Anglican School for Girls and St Peter’s College, so we needed to move closer to make life a bit easier for everyone.

“We ended up choosing the Malvern area and then it was just waiting patiently for a house to come up because they don’t appear on the market very often.”

The family was immediately attracted to the historic significance of the three-bedroom, three-bathroom property.

The 1910 bay-windowed villa had strong bones, but was in need of a facelift – thankfully, Michael was up for the task.

“We knew there was going to be a lot of work involved as there is a lot of detail that is needed in these properties,” Michael says.

“We weren’t going to achieve it all at once, so we tackled it in a few phases.”

They started by making changes to the layout of the home; knocking out some walls and adding others, replacing the old roofing and redoing the floors.

The wet areas were tackled next, with the main bathroom being so large it “felt like a project in itself”.

Finally, the main living area was renovated to create a modern, open-plan living space with plenty of natural light and an expansive kitchen with modern appliances and a butler’s pantry.

While bringing the property into modern living, Michael ensured it kept its character charm – maintaining the heavy, wooden doors and keeping original lead lighting.

“Being able to put the detail back into it, even just little things like putting the bluestone steps back at the entrances, felt really important,” he says.

The large backyard is perfect for hosting family events with plenty of space for kids to run around while the adults enjoy relaxing on the porch.

“We hosted plenty of different barbecues and we had some great times in the home, entertaining whether it was for professional reasons or if it was simply for the school communities we were involved in.”

The studio out the back was loved by the kids who entertained their friends there, but on weeknights, it became Michael’s study as he prepared for upcoming Power games.

“That’s where I got locked away so I didn’t annoy anyone and nobody could hear me screaming,” Michael says with a laugh.

“I got evicted to the back room and I could go late into the night going over games back there, but nobody really cared because it was my own space.”

The renovations didn’t end when Michael and his family moved to Melbourne after he took on a new role as coach of Carlton Football Club.

“Since we moved out, we decided to finish off some of those renovations and now that it is all done, it feels like the appropriate time to sell the property,” Michael says.

“Someone will be able to walk into the home and be able to love the three, four years of effort we put into it.”

The sale is being handled by James Robertson and Nic Pernini of Ouwens Casserly Real Estate.