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Stunning Hills cottage brought back to life

A Stirling home has been lovingly restored and, with a flexible floorplan, can easily accommodate a growing, active family.

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Simon Dwyer and Patricia Varga bought the circa-1860-built home at 12 Oakbank Street in 2013, captivated by the potential the property offered in the Adelaide Hills they loved so much.

“We’ve always wanted a lovely old cottage that we could do up and bring back to its former glory,” Mr Dwyer says. “We loved its location, its proximity to the cosmopolitan main street of Stirling. We’ve always lived in Aldgate, Bridgewater and the surrounding suburbs, but we’d always wanted to live in Stirling just because we loved the family feel and the sense of community there. At the time we bought it, the home itself looked tired, old and unloved and I really had a vision of what we could do to it – we wanted to bring it back to its original 1860s look.

12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.

“The home had its original front two rooms and over the years the former owners added a lean-to extension off the back, and another one on top of that, so we took all of that off and took it back to the four outside walls and the two hallway walls

“We had to take out the floors because when we walked on them it was like walking on a trampoline.”

12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.

The couple created their masterpiece by rebuilding foundations, recreating fences, repointing the home with original matching Aldgate Quarry stone sourced from a neighbour’s garden (which were originally from Mr Dwyer’s property) raising ceiling heights and creating a two-bedroom detached building they ended up turning into a garage.

12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.

“The whole process took a long time and cost a lot of money, but it’s been worth it,” Mr Dwyer says. “I wanted this to outlast me and be around for another 200 years, and now it will. We hadn’t planned to sell just yet, Ideally we’d have been here for at least another five years, but we had the opportunity to buy 80 acres by the coast and we’re now going to rescue abandoned and abused animals. But we will miss this place.”

12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.
12 Oakbank St, Stirling. Pic: supplied.

The home has three bedrooms, a luxe bathroom, an open-plan kitchen dining and living area, ample outdoor entertainment space and landscaped grounds, and that garage and workshop area Mr Dwyer says could easily be converted into an additional two bedrooms. “Every day people walk by and tell us they love it – I’ve never been prouder of anything in my life.”

Price: Contact agent.

Agent: Harris Real Estate, Josh Biggs 0407 604 041, Jack Hodgson 0423 029 621.

Originally published as Stunning Hills cottage brought back to life

Read related topics:Adelaide

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/adelaide-sa/stunning-hills-cottage-brought-back-to-life/news-story/0e2a5bb10320a27e4d2d106a240ef0bf