Kate Langbroek and husband Peter Allan Lewis bid farewell to historic St Kilda house
Television and radio presenter Kate Langbroek and husband Peter Allan Lewis have sold their 169-year-old St Kilda house, where Langbroek penned a best-selling book from the attic.
Comedian Kate Langbroek and her husband Peter Allan Lewis have sold their St Kilda family home for a multimillion-dollar figure.
Since buying in 2004, the couple modernised and extended the circa-1855 house named Fenagh Cottage while retaining its period facade.
Langbroek is known for co-hosting current affairs show The Project and the drivetime radio show Hughesy & Kate alongside funnyman Dave Hughes, which ran for almost two decades.
Along with her husband and their children, Langbroek departed from the program to temporarily live in Italy for two years.
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Upon returning to Australia and while living at the St Kilda home, she penned a best-selling book titled Ciao Bella! Six Take Italy about their time overseas.
Belle Property St Kilda principal John Manning declined to comment on the home’s sale price, but industry sources indicated it was in the vicinity of $2.5m.
The five-bedroom house headed to auction with $2.5m-$2.7m price hopes in September but it passed in and was then listed for private sale, before selling this week.
Mr Manning said the new owners, a family with a keen interest in history, had fallen in love with the pad’s colourful past.
The residence at 7 Burnett St was originally built for George Watson, a racehorse owner, Melbourne Cup race starter, member of the Victoria Racing Club’s first committee and founder of the Melbourne Hunt Club, a fox-hunting club.
“Someone said it was one of the first five houses built in St Kilda, I’m not sure if that’s true or not,” Mr Manning said.
Fenagh Cottage features a front veranda, sunken family room, formal living area and dining area.
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A hidden trapdoor set in the floor opens up to reveal a wine cellar underneath.
In the main living area, there is a sandstone gas fireplace, plus vaulted ceilings.
The kitchen is fitted with an island bench, pendant lighting, and stainless-steel ASKO and Smeg appliances.
Double doors from the main bedroom open out to the back yard with a in-built trampoline and rear terrace.
Langbroek previously told the Herald Sun that she and Mr Lewis moved into the house when their daughter was just three weeks old and their eldest son 18-months old.
And Langbroek finished writing her book in the attic which she described as “really private and removed from the rest of the house, it’s like a secret space”.
“With the beautiful afternoon light streaming in, I would be transported for a few hours every day, ‘til I came down for dinner,” she said.
“Also Ciao Bella has gone on to become a bestseller, and is now optioned for a TV series, so I think that room – and house – is also very good luck.”
Mr Manning said Mr Lewis and Langbroek loved St Kilda and were planning to upsize to a new, larger home nearby.
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Originally published as Kate Langbroek and husband Peter Allan Lewis bid farewell to historic St Kilda house
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