One corner to become everything.

In its current form, the home carries the hallmarks of classic Paddington - fireplaces, ornate ceilings, timber floors - paired with a flexibility that reflects how people live now. A separate self-contained apartment, adaptable retail or workspaces, and a deep courtyard speak to both lifestyle and income potential. But it’s the approved vision that reframes everything.

Conceptualised by local design firm Suzanne Green Interior Architecture and Design, the DA-approved plans elevate the site into a 5-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom residence with a separate studio, double garage, pool and a dramatic underground cellar designed for entertaining. It’s a scheme that feels both expansive and precise - future-proofed for multigenerational living or creative work-from-home arrangements. For owners Beatrice and Layton, they see it as catering to a life lived with scale and intent.

“It’s a great story actually… we were living near Woollahra village and needed a place to live while renovating,” Beatrice says. “We weren’t looking for long, but Layton was really keen on us inspecting this home. It needed so much work, I didn’t feel I had the capacity to take it on. But we viewed it one week prior to auction, on the most perfect autumn day and I just fell in love with the sun drenched backyard. It’s an incredible site in Gurner Street, with a perfect north/west rear aspect.”

What followed was a week of decisive clarity. “I did all the due diligence I could in one week - speaking to our architect Suzanne, heritage architects and planning consultants to see if they would support the vision we had. Once I got confident, we knew we needed to buy this,” she says.

That vision began with a simple but transformative move - connecting the main house to the rear cottage to unlock scale and flow. “I knew instantly what I wanted to do with it - the most obvious opportunity was to join the main house to the rear cottage and expand the internal living space,” Beatrice says. “We had a few priorities - four bedrooms, parking with rear lane access, a pool, and later we added the underground cellar and a rear studio.”

The collaboration with Suzanne Green became a careful balance of ambition and rigour. “It was a bit of push and pull… she’s so diligent and detailed, she needed to ensure our approach was feasible with council,” Layton says. “She directed us in a way that made it work - from a design perspective and structural perspective with engineers, heritage and planners.”

Emerging from the process is not just a larger home, but a layered one. The underground cellar, accessed via a sculptural spiral stair, is conceived as both a functional and experiential space. “Our vision was to have glass cellar walls as you come down the stairs - it could be a really amazing feature without interrupting the overall theme of the house,” Beatrice says. Above, the master suite expands into something more indulgent. “My brief was ‘a Sex & The City robe’ and Suzanne made it work.”

For all its future thinking, the project remains grounded in place. Paddington’s enduring appeal lies in its contrasts - heritage exteriors concealing unexpected interiors, long-standing institutions alongside new energy. “That’s the beauty,” Layton says. “You never have to leave.”

There’s a certain gravity to a project like this - the time spent, the approvals, the clarity of vision. “The DA process was not easy… 2.5 years of planning, designing, multiple submissions and waiting,” Layton says. “But it was so worth it. Seeing the response from the market has been so validating.”

For the next owner, the opportunity is unusually complete. A home with presence, a plan with purpose, and a location that rarely offers this breadth or flexibility.

It’s the kind of project that doesn’t come along often - and doesn’t need to be imagined from scratch.

This property will go to auction on Saturday, 9th May at 3pm.

View the listing, with DA renders : 38 Gurner Street, Paddington