I am retired and will be in Italy for a month in May and June. My home of over 40 years is a fully renovated terrace house in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. I have carefully renovated the home whilst taking great care to maintain and preserve the original Victorian style and features. The resultant is a large seven-room two-storey Victorian Terrace (built in 1901) ideal for a couple or a family with small or older children. Upstairs is the master bedroom with a built in wardrobe, a balcony veranda and queen size bed; a second bedroom with a double Victorian bed and a Tasmanian Huon pine Victorian wardrobe, and a third study or bedroom with a double futon sofa / bed. There are two bathrooms; one downstairs and a second with an upstairs shower/bath.

Downstairs is a fully equipped renovated large kitchen. Cooking is a passion; hence the home offers quality appliances and utensils throughout (Miele, Smeg, Cusinart, etc.) extensive recipes books and a walk in (midget only) pantry. The kitchen adjoins a sunny large living dining area overlooking a well-established garden. The front room is more formal with a Persian rug, four-seater sofa and stunning custom-made mirror. The second room is a less formal TV room. The entire house has polished Baltic floor pine original boards covered with Persian and afghan rugs, central heating throughout plus two working and highly effective Victorian fireplaces downstairs. There is a range of original Australian and overseas art throughout the house.
The leafy front and back gardens are a mixture of Australian natives, numerous roses, and bulbs. Part of the backyard garden has been converted to a vegetable garden with extensive herbs, lettuces and other vegetables in season and an outdoor dining area.

Canning Street has previously been voted the best street in Australia not surprising with a plantation down the centre, perfect for children kicking a football or playing cricket; and rows of restored Victorian homes. I am in the most attractive Northern end, two blocks from the Nicholson Street shopping strip which still has remnants of its Italian culture of fifty years ago and includes two butchers, two green grocer, a fish monger, two excellent bread/bakeries, numerous cafes and small restaurants. You can also venture a few blocks south to the upmarket Rathdowne Street shopping strip which again has numerous small exclusive restaurants, trendy wine bars as well as the Carlton Library and Curtain Square a popular playing area for children.

The house is walking or cycling distance from the CBD while Melbourne’s two most prestigious tertiary institutions; the University of Melbourne and RMIT are even closer. North Carlton generally is a highly sought after inner suburb full of cafes, restaurants, boutique clothing stores, bookstores, cinemas and the renovated Carlton Baths with gym facilities and parks. Canning Street is also the designated cycling street where the bikes dominate and I am happy to share my much bike. I am also a grandmother of two gorgeous grandchildren of just four and almost two and have toys, books, and a highchair available if needed.

The house is also close to funky Brunswick Street and Smith Street in Fitzroy and bus stops and trams stops are a short stroll away. I walk and cycle to a large variety of inner city locations including the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the Carlton Gardens and the Exhibition Building, IMAX Cinema, Melbourne Museum and the internationally renowned Melbourne Zoo.