Stretching out over several street frontages and still occupying an impressive plot of 2600 square metres (once more than 13 hectares), this imposing bluestone mansion in Kew is one of Melbourne’s most significant homes. D’Estaville was originally built in 1859 in the Classical Revival style for Victoria’s first attorney-general, Sir William Stawell. Designed by Knight & Kerr, the architects responsible for Victoria’s Parliament House, it’s the only private home built by the eminent practice. And what a truly extraordinary property it is.
“I recall being told that if you were serious about entering parliament, the first step was to live in a great house, giving you credibility,” says architect Brett Nixon, director of NTF Architecture, who worked closely with the practice’s project architect Ben Ellul,
