94 Barkly Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057

Lynne and I and our two daughters moved into 94 Barkly Street in 2002 from Glen Iris. It was immediately obvious what a friendly neighbourhood this was, with neighbours coming over to introduce themselves and to advise on which were the best restaurants, bars and music venues around the corner in Lygon Street.

We enjoyed the spaciousness of the house, with plenty of room to be together and room to do our own thing.

The house is great for entertaining, with a patio out the front and a large yard with a BBQ at the back, along with plenty of floor space inside for mingling. We have had some memorable gatherings here. The front, side and back gardens are pretty much maintenance free.

Lynne thinks the design of the kitchen is the best. Everything is within easy reach, and there is plenty of storage for all things kitchen and dining. The water feature also has a way of calming the cook!

While the double garage is great as a garage, I also regularly use it as a rehearsal studio for my jazz group.

Most of the major improvements to the house were made by previous owners, but we have added to the kitchen storage and bench space, built bookshelves, renewed the weatherboards on the upstairs extension and renovated the plumbing. We have also had the roof renewed and installed solar panels thereby reducing our electricity costs significantly. There are LED lights throughout.

It is the way that the house lends itself to comfortable living that we will miss the most. It makes sense to downsize now that the girls have established themselves elsewhere, but we hope to find a smaller house in the local area and remain a part of this terrific neighbourhood.