Welcome to the Family Madri … whoops, welcome to the Top End

The home at 216 Casuarina Drive, Nightcliff. Picture: realestate.com.au

A home that looks like it is straight out of Disney’s ‘Encanto’ has hit the Darwin property market, listed for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Architecturally designed by Steven Ehrlich and built by Tommy Valentine, the home sits on a 1740 sqm double block at 216 Casuarina Drive, Nightcliff, with 48.14m of coastal frontage.

The property has its own ‘ruins’ in the garden, a joyfully bright colour scheme throughout the home, timber accents, a pool and easy flow between the big indoor and outdoor spaces.

It is also being sold with furniture included.

Selling agent Jacob McKenna of Real Estate Central said the home was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity in the Darwin market.

“It’s such a rarity for a home like this to become available,” he said.

“This is the first time it has been listed for sale and it has been owned by the one family since its inception 40 years ago.”

The entry to 216 Casuarina Drive, Nightcliff. Picture: realestate.com.au

Inside, the home has a welcoming tropical feel. Picture: realestate.com.au

Mr McKenna said not only was the property unique, it was also on a double block in one of Darwin’s most iconic locations along the Nightcliff foreshore.

“The history of the home alone makes it a stand out,” he said.

In a recent interview, architect Steven Ehrlich said he was approached by the owners in 1987 to build a tropical home on a huge waterfront block.

“I think the original site actually had a hotel on it and the cyclone blew the hotel away,” he said.

“What I recall was there was just a great big slab on site that was the remnants of the hotel.”

Mr Ehrlich said the owners wanted a tropical home but, because of its foreshore location, they wanted it built out of blockwork.

“So that was the challenge in designing a tropical home, but not using traditional tropical building materials,” he said.

“Instead of being lightweight, all the walls are reinforced concrete and, to take advantage of the site and the breezes and being blockwork walls, we decided we would put a big veranda around the house to shade the walls and keep the sun off the walls.

The central roof vent and timber louvres help keep the home cool. Picture: realestate.com.au

The living spaces open to the veranda. Picture: realestate.com.au

“And then essentially, what we’ve done is ventilate the roof space, which you can see through the timber louvres in the walls and the ridge vent.

“The eaves are actually open and when the sun heats up the air between the ceiling and the roof space, hot air rises, and so it rises through the central roof vent and draws in cool air.”

Mr Ehrlich said in line with passive tropical design, the home was built on an east-west axis with an almost U-shaped design.

“Basically, the brief to me was to arrive at the house, enter through a formal portal and (have) it open up into this lovely big living, dining space,” he said.

Today, statement double doors welcome visitors into the formal entryway, which sits in a cathedral-style living space the runs the length of the home and has exposed rafters, roof vent and timber louvres high up on the walls.

Running off one end of this space there is a family-size kitchen, laundry, bathroom and dining room.

The property has beautiful grounds. Picture: realestate.com.au

And even its own ruins. Picture: realestate.com.au

At the other end of the home there are three bedrooms with built-in robes and a master suite with ensuite.

Above the bedrooms, a mezzanine level with full-height bookcases opens to a big balcony and views over the pool and the Nightcliff foreshore.

The home has expansive verandas, landscaped tropical gardens, mature trees and plenty of lawn space.

Mr Ehrlich said the home won the Burnett Award at the NT chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects Awards in 1988 and went on to receive a highly commended in the Robin Boyd Award at the national Australian Institute of Architects Awards.

The home also won the Housing Industry Association of the NT House of the Year Award.

The property is for sale via best offer by 3pm on Monday, August 25 and is open by appointment.

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