Mosman Bay heritage sandstone mansion ‘Musgrave House’ features on new Foxtel TV show

THE historic Musgrave House in Mosman Bay - built in the 1880s - will star in the premiere episode of a new TV show on Foxtel showcasing Australia’s best homes.

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

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GRAND Mosman mansion Musgrave House is the star of a new TV show looking at some of Australia’s best homes.

The heritage sandstone property, on McLeod St, will be on the premiere episode of I Own Australia’s Best Home on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Home channel next Wednesday at 8.30pm.

The 19th Century Victorian house features six bedrooms, a huge open kitchen, multiple living rooms, a gym, pool, wine cellar and charming wraparound verandah overlooking Mosman Bay.

The show’s interior designer co-host Gillian Khaw said she had always dreamed of peeking inside one of Mosman’s sandstone mansions.

“I actually spent a lot of my youth there catching the ferry - I went to school on the north shore - and looking up at all the Mosman Bay sandstone houses and wondering what was inside them,” she said.

“So for me it was a real personal treat.

“The house is the quintessential Mosman sandstone house.”

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

Ms Khaw said the family home underwent a transformation after the owner bought it in 2006.

The property was looking its age, with deep interior wall colours, velvet curtains and heavy gilded furniture.

Now it is a light, sophisticated entertainer’s home with a whitened colour scheme and a relaxed mix of French provincial and contemporary coastal finishes.

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

“What struck me about it was there was nothing about it that was sort of ‘olde worlde’ heritage,” Ms Khaw said.

“(Owner) Karen really brought it into the here and now and she’s given it a real casual, coastal vibe which is what I would do in a house like that.”

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

“I think that’s quite a refreshing modern take to living in an old building; you sort of have to make it more casual.

“Karen has painted it in one colour, in quite a chalky, nothing stone colour.

“So she has almost dumbed down what the architecture is, but it’s still unmistakably grand.”

Ms Khaw said the theme combined Hamptons and French provincial.

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

“Some might say that Hamptons are a very now sort of style and French provincial was a look that perhaps preceded the Hamptons and used to be a more popular style,” she said.

“While these styles go in waves, because Karen has combined them both out of her genuine admiration for them, I think there is more timelessness to what she has done.”

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman’s first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

Ms Khaw said the owner had “a real loyalty” to the home.

“Karen’s holding on to this house because she absolutely loves it,” she said.

“People renovate and move on, but she’s in it for the long haul.

“It’s hard work and the upkeep is expensive, but it’s her labour of love.”

Musgrave House, on McLeod St in Mosman, is one of Mosman's first homes and was for sale last year with expectations of fetching more than $10 million. Picture: Supplied

If you want to stay in this luxury home, Musgrave House is listed on airbnb starting at $2000 a night.

The house accommodates up to 12 guests.

The advertisement promises privacy and seclusion at the end of a discrete cul-de-sac, surrounded by a handful of handsome homes dating back to the 1880s.

Although Ms Khaw said the owner of Musgrave House wanted to hang on to the property, records show the home was for sale in 2012 and again last year with a price tag of over $10 million but failed to sell.

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