Award-winning innovative stunner in Petrie Terrace

WHEN it comes to building homes, Alan Newitt is no stranger to producing the incredible, but his latest creation at 36 Sexton Street in Petrie Terrace may have topped them all.

The stunning four-level property named Karinya – the aboriginal term meaning ‘Peaceful home’ – is heading to auction at Howard Smith Wharves on Monday 12 August.

“I’m a fourth-generation builder and my son is completing his final year in Construction Management at QUT, so it’s fair to say building and renovating homes just flows in our veins,” Mr Newitt said.

“Back in 2015 I was looking for a new project and one day I was driving past this vacant block of land that was going under the hammer, so out of interest I pulled up and ironically, it was a Ray White auction.

“I spoke with the agent who encouraged me to register, and ultimately I bid just to get the auction started, but another bidder carried on before choosing not to go any further and he ended up walking away.

“Before I knew it, I was the highest bidder negotiating with the owner, where we ultimately agreed on a price to seal the deal.

“It’s fair to say my wife was less than pleased that I had bought a 162sq m* block of land out of the blue, but the more I thought about, the more I realised I had just bought a very unique parcel of land.”

Mr Newitt said the whole build took 60 weeks, but the planning was meticulous, with 13 or 14 revisions to the original plan.

“I have to say that Evan from Focus Architecture and Denis from Mullins Designs worked together seamlessly, producing an absolutely outstanding job, and deserve a lot of credit,” he said.

“The block had been built up previously and as such, allowed us to include a basement level which is extremely rare, and myself and my close friend, who has been a carpenter for over 50 years, carried out all the carpentry work from start to finish.

“I’m very much a traditionalist and I wanted the property to fit in with the surrounding homes so it could do the community justice and enhance the street’s appeal.

“My instructions to the architect were that I wanted the home to be very traditional on the outside, but ultra-modern on the inside, and details like the external lace work help to make the property look like it has been there since the early days of Brisbane.

“Every single feature, from the hand-crafted wine cellar down to the dressing room layout, have been meticulously designed to exude class and provide functionality for the owner.

“We also wanted technology to be at the heart of the interior and the house is the first in Australia to incorporate the latest Apple Nero voice control system throughout, that allows functions such as lighting and remote operated blinds, to be turned on and off from speaking into your mobile.

“This innovation, and others like being able to monitor the CCTV from anywhere in the world not only makes this house one-of-a-kind, but it makes it ultra-safe for families too.”

36 Sexton Street took home the Queensland Master Builders award for ‘Best use of small sites’ in the 2019 Brisbane category, but the community to Mr Newitt, was the most rewarding.

“The people around here are absolutely fantastic. Throughout the build there was nothing but support from this wonderful neighbourhood,” he said.

“I’ve never known another community where they would offer up their driveways for your vehicles or their yards to use for storage for tools and scaffolding.

“Whoever lives here will be a part of a special community, and because of that, it will appeal to pretty much every buyer demographic.

“We’ve had everything from the neighbourhood Christmas party to people literally setting up easels to paint the home, and the positive feedback has been overwhelming.

“To give something back, we opened the site up to QUT and they used the project to allow their Construction Management students through, which provided the students with the opportunity to see and ask questions about residential building techniques that they’d only been exposed to in lecture theatres.

“We’ve built this house so when someone renovates it in 150 years they can say ‘wow, this was so well made’ and I believe we’ve created a landmark house to complement the area.”

Ray White Spring Hill Principals Sam Mayes and Matt Lancashire said the fact the property was built by a highly-regarded builder as his own future residence spoke volumes.

“As soon as you step through the ornate metal gate and wander up the tiled steps, you know you're walking into something special,” Mr Mayes said.

“Once you've turned the aged-brass door handle, you step into a modern residence that seamlessly blends life-enhancing smarts, with glimpses of architectural perfection.

“The home chef will adore the gourmet kitchen with a suite of stainless steel, integrated Smeg appliances and sweeping, quality Caesarstone benchtops.

“There's a dining room, plus a lounge room with custom cabinetry and a fireplace you can flick on with a remote control. Bi-fold doors allows the living space to spill out to the large, tiled alfresco.

“On the first floor you’ll find two comfortable guest bedrooms, both with French light doors that allow you to step out to the lovely north-facing deck,” My Lancashire said.

“On this level, you'll also find the luxe master suite. A grand dressing room with dedicated shoe racks, pull-down hanging rails and a full-length mirror, plus a stunning ensuite with floor-to-ceiling tiles and an oversized shower.

“Upstairs, a beautiful fourth bedroom with a raked ceiling, charming dormer windows and its own ensuite would make for a glorious guest suite.

“And last but not least, the polished timber stairs lead down to the basement where a 400-bottle wine cellar awaits, along with a stunning recreation room with a heated polished concrete floor.”