Private Collection by Spicers is dipping its toes in the Victorian market, welcoming its first member – Abingdon, in the Melbourne fringe town of Sassafras.
Found on a three-acre plot in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges, Abingdon is perched on the peak of a mountain, overlooking Melbourne, the You Yang Mountains and the bay in the distance. The five-bedroom retreat (catering for up to 10 guests) provides stunning vistas and the lush forest surrounds offer solitude, silence and seclusion.
Each of the five grand bedrooms are en-suited with a separate bathroom. The dining area opens to a large conservatory-style family room, which flows onto an expansive front and back terrace for entertaining where there is a large pool. Inside there’s the romance of a wood-burning fireplace matched by the barefoot comfort of underfloor heating.
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Conceived in the late 1960s, Abingdon was the result of a year-long search for the perfect plot of land at the peak of the Dandenong Ranges by the late Richard Lord, who was born in Abingdon on Thames, England. Lord was influenced by English design, sought to create a traditional American interpretation of the quintessential English country home.
When the owner, Mr Lord, was unable acquire his preferred timber in Australia, for the house frame, he purchased an entire hardwood timber mill in Oregon and subsequently imported tonnes of the hardwood to commence construction. Abingdon’s builders went to incredible lengths to source the finest materials with double brick and Coldstream stone featured in the stately walls. The flooring is solid American white oak; natural bluestone and marble are used throughout the interior while the roof is shingled in slate. The woodshed, barn and potting shed are made of timber with cedar-shingled roofing.
Abingdon is grand, but gracious and welcoming (there’s a baby grand piano), luxurious but relaxed. A private driveway leads to a double garage, and there’s space for up to six cars near the barn.
The kitchen features a professional-grade, fully equipped kitchen with Carrara marble bench tops, coffee machine, a five gas-burner La Canache cook top, a teppanyaki grill, and enough Plumm glassware and (three) wine fridges to keep your dinner party in high spirits.
Abingdon is a short drive from wineries in the Yarra Valley and within walking distance of both Sassafras and Olinda villages, which are abundant with galleries, shops and cafes.
Rates at Abingdon start at $2,500 per night, with a three night minimum.