The Prahran home of Lucy Hill and family
Lucy’s favourite piece of art by Thornton Walker in the front room
Front room details – painting by Thornton Walker
Today’s beautiful home, framed by a wraparound Victorian verandah and surrounded by generous gardens, has the feel of a rambling country farmhouse, but is located right in the heart of Prahran! It’s a hidden gem, just off Williams road… yet feels a hundred miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city and busy local shipping strips.
The home belongs to Lucy and Tony Hill, and their three children Sam (15), Celia (13) and Julia (12), and Audrey the sausage dog! The family have been here 10 years. In that time Lucy says they’ve done almost nothing to the property, except for the garden which Lucy has fully planted – gardening is her forte and one of her favourite past times. ’The house itself is in need of a renovation, but each year goes by and we do nothing, and that is part of it’s charm’ she says.
‘The attraction to the house was it’s space in inner city Melbourne’ says Lucy. ’It’s known to locals who walk up to Victoria Gardens as ‘the farmhouse’ she says. Lucy’s favourite part of the old Victorian house is the verandah which wraps around the side, and the lofty ceilings inside and large proportioned rooms. I must agree these features do give this unique family home it a truly magical feeling – it’s so rare to find a Victorian home in Melbourne relatively untouched, with such generous proportions and gardens this close to the city! No wonder the Hill family have been here a decade already – I’d be holding onto this one too!
Huge thanks to Lucy for having me and for feeding me a delicious lunch during my visit!
Master Bedroom
Bedroom details
Portraits of Lucy’s children in the hallway by Zai Quang
Dining room
Dining room details
Loungeroom detail
Shared girls bedroom
Details from the girls’ room and back end of the house. Top left – painting by Mirka Mora.
Farmhouse back door!
Kitchen detail
Stunning farmhouse exterior and Lucy’s gardening skills on display!
Ivy covered exterior and audrey the dog!
15 Comments
Beautiful! This is like my dream home … lots of envy here! She has a lovely sense of style.
How lucky those kids are to grow up & have the best of both worlds – garden & city living!
I live just around the corner from this gorgeous gem of a house. It’s located in the most magical street in Prahran and I stroll past it most days on the way to the park with my baby, daydreaming about what some of the houses look like inside. Thank you for giving me the treat of actually seeing it – every bit as charming as I’d imagined! What a wonderful escape for the ownes from the hustle bustle of Chapel St, yet with all the conveniences of it so close by! It’s a keeper!
Oh my god, this has to be close to perfection! Location as well as a gorgeous house – not to mention that garden. WANT!
What a beautiful home and garden. I love looking at the beautiful old houses in Prahran. Thanks for the tour!
I also live around the corner and like Nat wander along the street wondering about the houses. Thank you for this special tour. A delight which I can now recall when I walk past.
This home has a real sense of calm.
Lovely gardens, wonderful entrance!
How beautiful! I could definately see myself living here. :)
gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous……I would love to live there. I am pretty sure I met Audrey this week at Como Park and she was super cute.
What a peaceful sanctuary, thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous house and garden!
Love this house! Audrey is devine too
Amazing. Lucy has allowed this home to show it’s beauty. Her design is skilled in it’s understatement. Loverly.
Oh my! This house is positively dreamy! I’ll be obsessing over this one for a while! Yum!