Dulwich House #Dulwich #realestate #history #Adelaide #TonyBlair

Dulwich House

Most people have a dream house they would love to buy if they won lotto. Dulwich House at Stuart Road, Dulwich is mine.  Set on 4,800 square metres of land, the home was built in 1880 by builder Robert Huckson. Huckson also built Martindale Hall in the Clare Valley.

Martindale Hall in the Clare Valley (I must do a post on
Martindale Hall - it is a fascinating place)

Robert Huckson not only built Dulwich House but lived there from 1880 to 1883.  In 1880, Dulwich House was only one of four houses built in the area.  Dulwich is a suburb just on the other side of the parklands and is very close to the city. Dulwich was laid out by Colonel William Light, the surveyor of Adelaide, and bought by a Captain of the Royal Navy, Daniel Ping, who leased it out to a local cattle dealer.

The land was eventually bought by John Hector, the then Manager of the Savings Bank of South Australia, who subdivided it.  For a number of years Dulwich was known colloquially as Hector's Paddock.

The gardens of Dulwich House have been much admired over the years and were largely the work of Joan and Neil Hopkins who owned the property for 70 years from 1941 to 2011.  The Hopkins were noted for throwing garden parties in the grounds of Dulwich House every year, to raise funds for charity.

Stables 

The decor of the house has not be changed since the 1960s.

The current owners have engaged architect Pauline Hurren to oversee major extensions and renovations to the property.  Coincidentally, our own bluestone cottage was built in 1880, the same year that Dulwich House was built and we used Pauline Hurren to do major extensions a few years ago.   Adelaide is like that.  Scratch the surface of any Adelaide person and you will find so many connections in common.  But perhaps the links go even further.  For instance, British Prime Minister Tony Blair lived just up the road from Dulwich House in Ormond Ave from 1955 to 1958, when his father Leo was a law lecturer at the University of Adelaide.

And in another nod to history and the interconnectedness of Adelaide, my great-great grandfather Augustus Winter was the secretary to Colonel William Light and was on one of the first ships to land at Kangaroo Island and then Holdfast Bay at Glenelg in 1836.  Perhaps the subject of a future post?

Muratti - an Adelaide institution #Muratti #cakes #patisserie

One of the many wonderful things about France is their patisseries.  There is art in the way French patisserie chefs make mini flans, gateaux, macaroons etc. There is even beauty in the manner your selection is packed into pretty little boxes. Luckily in Adelaide we have Muratti.

Yesterday my thoughtful daughter brought me home a selection.  Amazingly, I still haven't eaten any.  I'm admiring them.  But after this post I'll be making coffee and will be forced to choose. What a hardship.

Muratti was started in Adelaide in 1990 by Darek Pietka and Robert Ziolek.

You can sit in their cafe on Prospect Road and indulge in something sweet with a coffee, or take away and even buy online.

Muratti's selection includes cocktail cakes, gateaux, flans, logs, cheesecakes, crumbles, macaroons, croquembouche, danishes, croissants, quiches, biscuits, mini-savouries and chocolates.

Yummy.

Shaw and Smith Winery in the Adelaide hills #shawandsmith #wine #Adelaidehills #HansHeysen

Shaw and Smith Winery sits in the Adelaide hills near the township of Balhannah, just behind Hahndorf, once home to one of the most famous Australian artists, Hans Heysen.

German born Hans Heysen came to Australia at aged 7 in 1884 with his family.  Hans grew into a fine artist and was particularly noted for watercolours of majestic gum trees near his Adelaide hills home.

Shaw and Smith Winery is situated in the heart of Hans Heysen gum tree country.

The winery is noted for its cool climate wines of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, although it also makes Riesling, Pinot Noir and Shiraz wines.

The Balhannah vineyard was formerly a horse stud.

Adelaide Hills is home to 95 wine producers and over 4,000 hectares of vines.

The winery was conceived in 1989 over a long lunch between wine maker Martin Shaw and international wine judge, Michael Hill Smith.

Their winery and tasting rooms is set among the Balhannah vineyard.

The winery conducts wine tastings a little differently to most.  For $15, you are offered a taste of six wines accompanied by a platter of cheese and crackers. Very civilised.

A very pleasant way of spending some time in the Adelaide hills on a cool winter's day.

#2KW #Adelaide #Restaurant #food #wine

2KW restaurant, on the rooftop of the old Bank of NSW building, has a tapas style menu.
Food platters are meant for sharing.

It has a casual yet stylish atmosphere.

The entrance hall makes a statement with a bold mural and modern leather furniture.

Roasted heirloom carrot salad with cornbread and goats curd.

Crispy spice half duck with carrot, snow pea tendrils and walnut salad.

2013 Pike and Joyce Pinot Gris from the Adelaide Hills

Check out the earlier post on the 2KW bar here

Saturday realestate fix #realestate #adelaide #stirling

This 1850s built 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom sandstone villa is set on 3,451 square metres of land at Stirling in the Adelaide hills.   Founded in 1888, Stirling was the preferred location for many English immigrants to settle to escape Adelaide's baking-hot summers on the plains.  Only 16 km from the city, Stirling is home to many large villas set in magnificent gardens.  Stirling and other hills townships have a completely different climate to the suburbs on the Adelaide plains. Stirling receives an average of 46 inches of rain per year, making it the wettest place in South Australia.

This particular villa has maintained the heritage style of the building and gardens but has a modern 21st  interior.

Modern artworks and modern furniture work well within the classical bones of the villa.

There are beautiful views to the garden from all the windows.

There is a large butler's pantry off the kitchen, adjacent to the black-board door.

With nearly 3,500 sq metres of land, there is plenty of rooms for children to play and for garden lovers to potter.

You can see more images here.

Orange inspiration #orange #decor #design #houses #theconservatory #unley

It's back to The Conservatory on Unley Road to visit the orange room for a little inspiration.

Orange and green go so well together.

And orange has definitely been a trending colour in home decoration in the past couple of years.

I don't mind a touch of orange in my own home.

Orange even goes well in my otherwise neutral kitchen.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Out of the blue thai restaurant #thai #food #outoftheblue #restaurant #Adelaide #SouthAustralia

 Tom Yum pork dumpling soup

The motto to this story is do not judge a book by it's cover.  You will find some of the best thai food in Adelaide in this little, unassuming, basic cafe called Out of the Blue. (Not to be confused with the local TV cooking series called Out of the Blue with Michael Keelan and Michael Angelakis - although I'm sure they would love the food here).

The food is very reasonably priced and the staff are just lovely. If you visit in the evenings, you'll often find the owner's son doing his homework at one of the booths.

The cafe has a basic wine list - you have to love Adelaide and it's love for wine - even Asian restaurants have to cater for us.

eclectic touches

Is galvanised iron still on trend?

This is a good place for cheap authentic Thai food of excellent quality.  The rear courtyard is the place to be on a warm summer evening with friends.  If you are visiting Adelaide and looking for great Thai food in a relaxed and unpretentious setting, you will find Out of the Blue  about 50 metres from the City South tram stop on King William Road in the city.