Robinson Chen-designed Wheeler House, Richmond sells

Wheeler House, part of the Lonely Planet history in Richmond, has been sold for $2.11 million.

Falling short of its reported $2.5 million plus hopes of late last year's RT Edgar expressions of interest campaign, it had $1.8 million expectations when more recently listed through Hocking Stuart. 

It sold to the Woods family.

Wheeler House was listed by vendor Phil Anderson, proprietor of Northcote lounge bar The Purple Emerald, who bought 39-41 Rowena Parade from Natasha Oberoi, of the noted Indian hotel family for $1,225,000 in 2003 when she moved to the Yarra Valley.

Designed by the architectural firm, Robinson Chen with a cutting edge design, it was initially the home of Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler having been before that the site of the company's offices.

Architect Kai Chen gave the house pink and teal green exteriors, something of a test case against heritage color schemes, when built in 1989.

The 35-square residence first sold at $971,000 when in 2001 the Wheelers were off to their new house by the river in Hawthorn. They had paid just the $92,000 in 1986 for the Richmond property, with its 2001 auction price rated as the then highest residential price for a single dwelling in Richmond.

Their first publication, shortly after they arrived in Paddington in the early 1970s, was a $1.80 travel offering printed in Glebe.