Kip&Co co-founder and creative director Alex McCabe was a first-home buyer obsessively scrolling for the perfect property when she discovered her old double-fronted 1910 weatherboard in St Kilda.
She was drawn to its location, nestled at the end of a quiet street and right next door to a beautiful park that almost felt like it was an extension of the inner-city home. Originally from the Mornington Peninsula, she also loved that it had a ‘massive’ backyard for the area. ‘To be able to get all this greenery and peace, whilst being so close to the action of Windsor and St Kilda, was really a dream come true,’ Alex adds. ‘I honestly knew the first time I saw it that I needed to buy the place.’
Little did she know it would become her future family home that she would hold onto for more than a decade.
‘I bought the house back in 2011 and recruited Bobby to be my housemate/boyfriend about 2015,’ Alex says. ‘When I purchased the house, it was rocking a 1990s reno and was in desperate need of a little bit of love.’
It took her about five years of ‘quietly planning her dream renovation’, but shortly after Bobby moved in, the pair worked with architect Mike McManus on breathing new life back into the house.
They maintained the original building’s charm but transformed the spaces inside into something light, joyful, and elevated. Because after working on some amazing homes for Kip&Co, Alex says there were ‘no cookie cutter finishes allowed!’ when it came to designing the interiors for her own family home.
Her playful personal style is woven throughout the house, with unique details like honey onyx stone in the bathrooms, parquetry flooring and pink bedroom walls. The kitchen is another standout, thanks to the glamorous combination of the hand-stained brass cupboards and hanging garden, alongside a green quartz splashback. The beautiful hand poured pink concrete island bench is the cherry on the top!
‘It’s a real statement space but very informal and liveable,’ Alex says of the kitchen. ‘The large entertaining area is also such a versatile space, and in summer when you open that out onto the backyard you really feel like you could be anywhere in the world.’
With Alex and her family making a permanent move down to the Mornington Peninsula to be closer to family and friends, they’ve listed their beloved property for sale.
The home is so striking, it won the hearts of TDF readers last time we featured it in 2019, and even remains one of our most viewed home tours of all-time! Safe to say, it’s not every day a home like this comes on the market.
1 Lynott Street, St Kilda is listed for sale with Rohan White from Buxton St Kilda and will go to auction on 12pm Saturday June 24.
