34 Illawarra Road, Flemington VIC 3031

Nothing quite prepared us for the happiness this home (circa 1906) and street would provide us when we purchased it back in 2008. We completely underestimated its character – ‘happy’ yellow weatherboards and enormous amounts of sunlight that pour through the windows which always helped put a smile on our faces as we have woken up and enjoyed its beauty.

We also underestimated the community feel: street parties held every Christmas, horse training (there are still operating private stables around the corner near Racecourse Road) in our street almost daily, truly wonderful neighbours (we are determined to stay in contact), regular meet-ups at the Crown Street Stables park and cafe. We have lived in both suburban and inner-city Melbourne prior to Illawarra Road and have never experienced a community feel like here.

In 2009, we put the decking, garden beds, motorized awnings and motorized driveway gates plus actual driveway in – brick, by brick. Soon after, we placed flooring in the attic roof plus insulation and the garden shed for our tools … for our next project.

In 2010, we arranged for solar panels on our roof (many more purposefully installed than we required) and we’ve had the joy of barely paying anything for our electricity bills ever since. It’s common we get credits or at most, have a bill around $30 during the winter months.

In 2011, we created our smaller ‘third’ bedroom for the arrival of our first born. This room has been loved so much that our daughter has requested not to move to the larger second room that we offered her.

In 2013, we replaced the somewhat leaning front fence and garden with our picket fence and garden (kindly designed by one of our lovely neighbours). You may notice the front pedestrian gates have been designed so that our fur child (a westie dog) can run on the grass rather than run on the road given her lack of road sense.

In 2015, we finally merged a cupboard laundry into our now larger bathroom. We have really enjoyed the extra room and enjoyed the ability to relax in the long bath tub.

During the last year, we have truly enjoyed the benefits of what we created here plus embraced this wonderful area where we have been able to walk to every convenience imaginable: post office, library, bank, every restaurant cuisine, public transport options everywhere, easy access to bike paths along the Maribyrnong or the city.

We wish the next owners as much happiness as we have experienced.