THE daughter of the original owner of this Osborne Road abode delighted the many punters at last week’s home open with tales of East Fremantle’s early days.

“How it all used to be bush. She remembers the laying of the first stone and the digging of the first stumps, and going to school across the road,” the agent says.

She also remembered where the original art deco home ended and the sweeping open-plan extension started, which given the seamless way old and new meld is pretty impressive.

Jarrah floors, ceiling roses, deep skirting, high ceilings and lovely timber-framed windows topped with coloured glass panels keep the heritage feel of the home within a thoroughly modern context.

A mix of she-oak and jarrah on kitchen benches and cupboards give this huge space a country-cottage feel, and the golden-brown casuarina panels of the huge, three-door pantry are beautiful.

Banks of french doors off the living and the dining area lead to a verandah/alfresco area that wraps around the home and overlooks the pool, a swathe of grass and raised garden beds.

High fencing has created a very private and peaceful zone–a feeling enhanced by a huge mural over the pool of a lighthouse, the sea dotted with yachts, backdropped by rolling green hills.

The five-bedroom home sits comfortably on its 814sqm, with room for mum dad and a tribe of kids, and a formal lounge, or theatre room.

The parents’ “suite” is a huge space with a generous walk-in robe and ensuite and a sitting nook, or study.

With the lovely Richmond primary school literally across the tree-lined street the kids can be waved off over a cuppa whilst sitting on the broad front verandah.

There’s no shortage of shops and cafes nearby, and the East Fremantle foreshore and parkland is a short walk away.

by JENNY D’ANGER

55 Osborne Road, East Fremantle
auction Sun, February 28, 2.30pm
David Bombara
0413 803 807
Acton Coogee
9434 8200