25 Cosham Street BRIGHTON

Comments on 25 Cosham Street BRIGHTON

The importance of the superficial stuff has taken up my reflections since revisiting, the revisit of 25 Cosham - my wavering on absolute clarity, that I felt on my first visit in 2009 - is exacerbated by the fact, that to my eye, the superficials haven't aged as well as the enormous pedestal I placed 25 on says they should have AND my communication is a personal one, to a client who is across the other side of the world and will move on my say so alone.

25 Cosham was a masterpiece of the now in 2009 and if it is to be a classic of the future time; then I feel I need another to confirm, that any shallowness of my love, can in fact be supported with a depth of 2017 quality - a lot of the cutting edge in 2009 was lightweight - is the lightweight an issue in 2017.

What captures me about this home is basically everything - its spaces, its connections, its flow and its proportions - but more than anything I'm infatuated by its light and its feel - for instance when going up the stairs I have a feeling of freedom - with the rear doors open I feel Brighton and Spring - from the front, when it's a warm Summer's day and its prepared for presentation, I have a feeling I'm walking into something special.

But 25, one of my all time favorite girls hasn't aged as good as say a home I saw in the same week - 222 Esplanade West Port Melbourne - different price bracket, different home - but it was cutting edge 3 years ago and I loved it and now looks even better.

Why has she not aged so well and can some cosmetic surgery bring her back or will the lines that once were so perfect, be forever not quite so perfect?

She has not aged so well mainly due to some changes to the cabinetry, changed by the first owners - initially the pristine white finishes were so in keeping with eye lines of the "white house" - however that is taste Mal and you sir, are not the god of it.

Now another 4 years on, making 8 or 9 years since the build of 25 Cosham, the cracks of below-average maintenance have started to appear, best highlighted by the decking - it's a little rolly polly, rather than firm and natural - the kitchen does feel dated - its still sensational - but when the bar is/was so high???? And finally the driveway into the garage feels a little tighter - in fact I never noticed it before - that is how our eyes have changed with the bigger SUV's in the last decade.

I would have liked to have seen the real foliage completely covering the neighbour by now - but that is minor. The pool and the surrounds have to have questions asked around, are they still the antz pantz as they were then?

So Mal, what are you saying?

I still love her, but she's got older and she may well be the classic I initially thought she was - as her bones are in all tact - the skin questions and costs (which may be very little) need a second opinion from the potential new buyer, accompanied by either an independent builder or in fact the one who built it.

Footnote: July 2009 and our rating and comment from back then still holds today: "This is one of the best cutting edge, modern family homes you will see." I look at hundreds of homes per month, visit scores and buy 3 to 4. I would only see a handful of this quality per year. It's hard to fault.

Resold again in 2013 - both prices in the mid $5m's and both took longer to sell than expected as each had strong asks.