MORE than 2000 years ago the Romans were using underfloor heating, but Australians have been slow to take it up.
Not so at this Beaconsfield home where its travertine floors are snuggly warm in winter and, with an eight-star energy rating, you can bet they’re cool in summer.
Solar panels and a solar hot water system mean all that warmth is also just about free from the sun.
A series of three skylights in the kitchen/dining area remove the need to turn on lights on all but the gloomiest of days: they allow in heaps of light and, unlike the older versions, are very attractive.
Sitting in a new housing development on Curedale Street, this three-bedroom home is a thoroughly modern abode and well suited to family life.
The ground floor is the beating heart of the home, a generous open plan kitchen/dining/family area.
The life blood is no doubt the long galley-style kitchen, with its sweep of white stone bench tops, and plethora of white cupboards and drawers.
What I thought was a pantry is a scullery, with oodles of storage space, and a roller-doored hatch to the kitchen to store all those useful gadgets that otherwise take up bench space.
Floor-to-ceiling glass opens onto a timber decked alfresco area, complete with pool, and a cubby house for the kids.
The bedrooms are on the second level, where there’s a play area for the kids.
The main bedroom is a spacious, with a walk-in robe and ensuite, and a balcony from which to enjoy Freo’s great sunsets.
Keep climbing the stylish stainless steel and timber stairs and you’ll discover a loft retreat, a sweeping space currently used as an office, but which could easily be a teen bedroom, or activity room, with a kitchenette for making a cuppa without having to head downstairs.
This lovely family home is walking distance from Beaconsfield primary and South Fremantle senior high schools (soon to be transformed into a swanky college) and of course the great Sunday farmers market at the high school.
And there’s no shortage of shops and cafe just down the hill.
by JENNY D’ANGER
46 Curedale St, Beaconsfield
high $900,000s
Linda Digby 0402 122 267
Lauri Curtin 0422 478 150
dethridgeGROVES Real Estate 9336 1166
