20 Church Lane Mount Wilson

For those who have not heard of Mount Wilson, and its neighbouring village Mount Irvine, be prepared for a real treat.
This sleepy hidden gem would have to be one of New South Wales most beautiful villages, and if you ask any local from 'The Mounts', Church Lane is one of the most desirable locations.

Donna Buang at 20 Church Lane is like no other property on The Mounts, as it offers tremendous flexibility with its two residences that both have very different styles.

The approach is also about as romantic as you can get, wind your way down Church Lane past some of the most magnificent and famous garden residences in the village to find the unassuming entry to 'Donna Buang'.

The first impression is of mystery purely due to the long driveway lined with an avenue of cherry and liquidambar trees that spectacularly meet in the middle to create a leafy tunnel and a sparkling dappled light as you drive towards the residences below.

The main residence was built in the 70's in the 'Sydney School' style, an Australian style that was born and adapted as a regional interpretation of the influential architect Walter Burley Griffin.

This home has all the cues, the faced clinker brick, steeply raked western red cedar timber ceilings, vignette windows and the staggered floor levels. These houses were intended not merely to harmonise with their sites but to dramatise the extraordinary topography and vegetation.

And harmonise it does, the entry is spectacular with an atrium garden and a cleverly positioned skylight to nourish the plants.
The upper level of this room is a very pleasant dining area with French doors and steps down each side of the indoor garden that take you to the very generous lounge room with its cathedral ceiling, glass door opening on to a patio, combustion fireplace and the bay window banquette looking down over the garden parkland. The current owners have it elegantly furnished with tasteful mid-century modern furniture, befitting of the architectural style.

A hall leads to a bathroom, separate toilet and a master bedroom which is also very generous in its proportions, and it too also has a banqueted bay window and French doors. There is a clever but simple and capacious walk-in robe behind the bed. The vignette windows above the banquette look over fragrant Daphne and lemon verbena on to a spectacular 'wall' of rhododendrons.

From the other side of the indoor garden, a classic country kitchen is revealed, with its beautiful timber windows including glass-to-floor in the eating nook, and a huge plate glass window overlooking a row of Japanese maples and the bird-bath active with the diverse and beautiful birdlife of the area.

These windows bring the beauty from the gardens indoors, it is so lovely, so restful and a joy to be in.

Beyond the kitchen is a sun room that provides a practical 'mud room' functionality for moving between the house and the garden, yet continues with the lovely bay window banquette theme, and is open, sunny and substantial enough to be a very pleasant sitting area in its own right.

Off the kitchen is a butler's pantry where the current owners have their essential espresso machine set up, and hidden behind the kitchen is a surprisingly large laundry, together which make it easy to keep all clutter hidden from view!

Between the two houses is a large carport with parking for two cars, and garden store room (once a boiler room!). The aperture draws you down to the second, two storey dwelling that could not be more different from the single bedroom front residence.

Circa 1940 with some inserted modern touches, this home takes you back in time.

Constructed of local basalt, incorporating an even older, hand-built stone chimney, there are three bedrooms, one currently used as an office which is spectacular with a high ceiling and windows on three sides, the light just washes in creating a welcoming space that could be many things, an artist's studio comes to mind, an office obviously or just a terrific bedroom to wake up in!

Also on this ground level is a book room with both an open fire place and a combustion heater, and a bathroom. There is another entrance, providing access to another garden store room, and down to the vegetable garden, including blueberry bushes and a Meyer lemon tree.

Upstairs is a TV room, and two more bedrooms, one being a very cool mezzanine that overlooks the lower studio/office/bedroom.
The flexibility of this property is second to none, the large living room of this second home has potential to become a proper library, and with that open fireplace, a great place to read a book with the fire crackling on a misty day.

The gardens are a bit different too, many gardens in the Mounts are very high maintenance and require teams of gardeners to maintain, not so here, the gardens at Donna Buang have a parkland feel with large established trees - beeches, maples, camellias and cedars along with magnificent endemic Eucaltyptus - and rolling lawn overlooking the stunning Wollemi National Park, very beautiful in their own low-maintenance way!

So come have a look, this property is unique and well worth the day trip, the bonus being that you also get to see Mount Wilson in Autumn.

• Two contrasting residences
• Terrific location and Aspect
• Grid Connect Solar System with three phase power
• Reverse cycle air-conditioning
• Stunning mature trees