As one of the founders of hospitality group Sand Hill Road, Tom Birch’s working life revolves around restoring rundown heritage pubs and turning them into some of Melbourne’s most-loved venues. So, it wasn’t at all surprising that an older home with the potential to be transformed into something more modern – while still celebrating its past – was top of mind in 2013 when he was house hunting with wife Georgie.
They found what they were looking for in a classic red-brick Edwardian villa set on a roomy 878-square-metre block in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs. With its decorative cornices, high ceilings and leadlight windows, it wouldn’t have looked out of place in a period drama. At that time, Tom and Georgie were living in a tiny worker’s cottage in inner-city Richmond, so the four-bedroom house’s size and obvious charm – as well as the block’s invaluable rear access – certainly outweighed its location on a
