Take a trip to France with this outstanding home!
The French styling of the stunning La Provence on Belmore Road in Melbourne, Victoria, is sure to capture the hearts of new-home buyers with its steep mansard roofs, double casement windows and elegant symmetry.
La Provence wears its own heart in signature wrought-iron cresting along its hipped slate roof. In the best French tradition, La Provence’s unique stylised motif appears throughout the home, along with the classic fleur-de-lys and a signature “E” for the home’s creator, Englehart Homes.
According to Englehart Group managing director Ron Englehart, La Provence exemplifies traditional French styling combined with contemporary luxury. He points out the home’s classic portico twin columns, four upper-level double windows with curved tops protruding beyond the eaves, stylised black wrought iron, curves and proprietary rendered mouldings.
“We have taken everything to the highest level possible in every aspect of this house,” Ron says, adding that it was challenging finding the appropriate quality for the rendering, tiling and flooring and designing proprietary mouldings for finishes.
French influences are found throughout the home, which was designed by Englehart Homes in conjunction with specialist architects. The references to tradition are complemented by contemporary features including an outdoor kitchen, lap pool, lift and spacious family zone.
The entry hall is light-filled, elegant and spacious thanks in part to a 3.4m-high raised ceiling. A burnished European oak floor sweeps through the ground level, starting with a sumptuous formal living area off the entrance foyer. Clever ceiling detail includes a drop bulkhead to conceal curtain fittings and added signature provincial curves, which are repeated in a complex, carved marble mantlepiece surrounding a modern gas Jetmaster fireplace.
At La Provence’s heart is a curved stairway, spiralling from a central lobby to three bedrooms with ensuites. An intricate handmade leadlight dome over the stairs floods the lobby with light. Ron says the skylight was a labour of love, constructed with more than 1200 individual pieces of glass.
Just beyond the stairs is a study or guest bedroom with shelving and a small concealed robe. The powder room with shower is close by, as is a large, well-appointed laundry which opens to an external service area.
Move into the family zone and turn left to the kitchen, meals and living area, which boasts a relaxed family living and entertaining layout in elegant French-inspired style. The oak parquetry sets off a spacious, light interior where Calacatta marble flows over the waterfall-ended island bench and other work surfaces, including in the concealed butler’s pantry. All joinery, including doors throughout the house, is finished in two-pack. Miele stainless-steel appliances and a fully integrated Liebherr fridge and freezer complete the cordon bleu fitout.
At one end of the kitchen zone is a conservatory-like dining area for up to 14 defined by a curved bay and surrounded on three sides by long windows. The family living area opens to an outdoor loggia with dining, outdoor kitchen and television and an 11.5m wet-edge tiled pool lapping the house. To complete the entertainment zone, an internal media room has a curved rear half wall embracing an arc of recliners facing the screen.
While La Provence on Belmore Road offers a main bedroom suite and two bedrooms each with ensuite bathrooms, the flexible floor plan can accommodate up to five bedrooms and study. Double doors from the main bedroom open onto the central stairwell and landing, creating a natural division between the main suite and children’s rooms.
The triple-chandeliered main bedroom has casement windows opening onto a marble-paved Juliet balcony above La Provence’s portico. Walk-in robes extend either side of the walk-through to the bathroom, with full-height walls, floor and vanities in a rich, earthy marble used in bathrooms throughout the house. A freestanding bath, spacious shower, twin vanities and smart wall recess complete a five-star sanctuary.
As all Englehart designs are custom-built, clients have flexibility with layout, design and features to suit their needs and budget. In line with this, the company is launching a little sister to La Provence, Mon Reve, as an alternative for clients interested in French-inspired design.
Englehart Homes, founded in 1980 by Ron Englehart, has won more than 100 awards at state and national levels including HIA Professional Builder of the Year, Master Builder of the Year and awards for energy efficiency. The Englehart Group is a member of the Housing Industry Association and the Master Builders’ Association.
(03) 9810 2800; engleharthomes.com.au
