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Georgie Marks, owner and design principal of George Marks Design, and her partner Ben Coombs ushered in the start of 2020 by locking eyes with their dream home — on New Years Day, no less.
They spied the three-bedroom modernist home for sale in the window of Warlimont & Nutt in Mount Martha, quickly contacted the agent and by the next day had inspected it in person.
By that same evening Georgie had completely remodelled the home using 3D software. And in February 2020, they purchased it.
The couple are only the second owners of the home, having bought it off the original owners who built it themselves in the 1950s. The home had barely been touched since, even the five different coloured carpets inside remained the same.
‘It was ready for reawakening,’ says Georgie.
Determined to preserve and breathe new life into the period home, Georgie first tackled structural changes, which included stabilising the front end and rebuilding the existing structure of the house.
‘We needed to enhance the footings, correct the interior framed structure, realign walls and improve thermal properties with new glazing and insulation,’ she explains.
‘While the process was at times tedious, it felt like we were respecting the original build in order to welcome a new age style of living.’
The home sits perched among the towering gum trees, with a view to the ocean — just 350 metres down the road — and is surrounded by birdlife. ‘It feels as if we’re living in a treehouse,’ says Georgie.
In fact, when searching for inspiration for the interior palette, Georgie needed only to look out the windows to find it.
She selected an eye-catching dark green G Lux ‘Da Vinci’ marble for the kitchen bench, and a palette of ochres, greens and silvery hues throughout the rest of the home to mimic its beautiful natural surroundings.
The home stands exactly as it did, but updated for modern living (and not too dissimilar from Georgie’s original 3D modelling back in January 2020).
‘It didn’t require obnoxious design outcomes that competed with the modernist period style,’ she says. ‘It required a rebirth with clever, efficient design thinking to better the house and support contemporary family living for us and its future occupants.’
The renewed home is now on the market and ready for its third owners to make it their own.
13 McLeod Road, Mount Martha, VIC 3934 is listed for sale with Vicki Sayers of RT Edgar.