When Maurice Violani and Jessica Yates bought a rundown Potts Point terrace in 2019, they did a massive designer reno, thinking they’d be sticking around much longer than three years.
“We fell in love with the house and we’ve created this Potts Point jewel,” says Yates, head of softlines and media at Amazon.
Paying $3.4m for the house the couple called in designer Tasmin Johnson, sourced the best Italian marble and did a $1.9m reno.
They completely gutted the 1890s terrace, even excavating an entire third level, with 2.8m ceilings, to create a third bedroom suite, study and cellar for 600 bottles.
Violani, Partner at Oc & C Strategy Consultants, is an avid wine collector. “It’s a serious, temperature-controlled cellar with Vintec fridge,” he interjects.
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Adds Yates: “There’s even an ambient media room, a perfect late-night drinks bunker with friends, right next to the cellar.”
It was a reno done for a longer-term stay: a kitchen with two top-of-the-range Gaggenau ovens, plate-warming drawer and double fridge; underfloor heating in the bathrooms; marble pretty much everywhere and premium finishes throughout.
To top it all off, they had Wyer & Co come in to do the landscaping.
It seemed they’d created the perfect luxurious inner-city home for the couple and their two daughters, Allegra, 2, and 11-month-old baby Gioia.
But at the back of their minds, Violani said they were thinking: “We love living in Potts Point and we want our family to grow up here, but what about when the kids get a bit older or we have another one?”
Then, late last year, the considerably larger four-bedroom “exciting opportunity” across the road hit the market.
Said Yates: “It’s the last unrenovated three-storey terrace … completely untouched from 1979 — we thought: why don’t we do the same thing all over again!”
Records show they bought it for $5.71m (it had last traded for $114,000 in 1979!).
They confirm they’ve engaged the acclaimed architect Luigi Rosselli and Tasmin Johnston for the transformation.
So now their current stunning three-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 81 Victoria St (with car space located off the property) is up for November 22 auction via TRG founder Gavin Rubinstein and colleague Matt Kemeny with a $6m guide.
And despite the market softening somewhat, strategist Violani is confident they’ll get a good result.
“It’s one of the most desirable streets in inner Sydney; a first grade reno and a fantastic product … you can never time these things perfectly,” he says.
Originally published as Maurice Violani and Jessica Yates’s stunning Potts Point marble palace hits the market
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