Mad Men-style Harry Seidler's 1952 Thurlow House, Blakehurst listing

Mad Men-style Harry Seidler's 1952 Thurlow House, Blakehurst listing
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

The 1952 Thurlow House, Blakehurst has been listed for sale.

It's been described as a Mad Men style home, being virtually untouched.

Family members have described it as a "forgotten modernist original."

The 9 Stuart Street offering sits on a 1336 square metre block.

No price from the Modern House agency, but around $2.5 million has been tipped.

The 1952 house by architect Harry Seidler is being marketed as part of the important collection of early houses by one of Australia’s great architects.

"Research indicates Thurlow House as being number sixteen of eighteen houses completed by Harry Seidler within the first five years of his coming to Australia," the marketing advises.

Built on a waterfront site sloping down to the Georges River, in Sydney’s south, its split-level interior offers soaring voids, textural stone and timber-lined walls, and a seamless connection from inside to a deep covered verandah overlooking the river.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, a study and bathroom, all looking out to the river.

On the lower level is a spacious living area, dining room and kitchen, all connecting to the covered balcony.

Off the kitchen is a laundry opening to a north-facing drying courtyard and garden.

While in mostly original condition, the house is in need of some repair, but offers design hunters a rare opportunity to rejuvenate a brilliant Modernist house on the waterfront.

Little is known about how David and Marjorie Thurlow came to commission the design.

Soon after Thurlow House was built, it was published in a French magazine, l’architecture d’aujourd’hui, celebrating work by young architects from around the world.

Marjorie Thurlow called this house home until 2011.

Penelope Seidler recalls Thurlow House as “a real gem”, and we would encourage its next custodians to connect with the office of Harry Seidler & Associates to help undertake works that maintain its original design integrity.

Photography: © Michael Nicholson

 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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