NO sooner had the vendor of this Maylands home mentioned dolphins than two appeared—as if by magic. Actually it really was magic watching the pair working the still waters for fish. With a couple of pelicans, an assortment of water birds and maggies warbling overhead, Harry Potter couldn’t have conjured a more mesmerising scene. “Feel…

THE history of this Raglan Road, Mt Lawley home is written on its walls. Well at least on the dining room wall, a huge wall-paper mural of images of the area, overlaid with a map of the district—and newspaper articles documenting the home’s past. I was here a year or so ago, but barely recognised…

LIKE his better known Irish counterpart St Patrick, St Mirin is said to have driven all the snakes from the Scottish island of Cumbrae in the 700s. The brass plaque of this magnificent federation home in Mt Lawley says Cambrae, but I’m betting the original owners named it for their home amongst the heather and…

FROM the elevated timber deck of this Menora home you can imagine you’re in the wilds of a sub-tropical paradise far from civilisation. As far as the eye can see there’s nothing but rolling green grass and soaring mature trees and greenery–and sky. Dumbarton Crescent is one of a handful of homes in the area…

Everyone raves about “new car” smells. But what about new homes? “Mmmm, fresh paint and brand new carpet,” I thought, unlocking the front door of this three-bedroom townhouse. It’s so new not so much as a cup of tea has been brewed in the kitchen, and the aromas mingled on the cool air of the…

THERE’S a touch of ancient Roman amphitheatre about this 21st century apartment complex on Terrace Road, Perth. Soaring panels of sandstone, topped by columns, curve gracefully around a circular drive, which is dominated by a huge central water feature. With its cobblestones I could picture Marcus Aurelius driving his chariot to the door. The Romans…