95 Lyttleton Street Castlemaine, 3450 VIC

French Provincial Grace on the Hill

6 5 4

There is a particular kind of light in this part of Castlemaine, soft, filtered through box and ironbark, the kind that seems to slow the day down. At this exceptional property, set on approximately 2.85 acres and locally known as "The Yellow House," light falls over a home designed by architect Michael Rigg, a residence shaped by French Provincial grace and grounded in the landscape of central Victoria.

Set back high on the hill in one of Castlemaine's most prominent streets, the home enjoys a quiet privacy, screened by garden and bushland, yet only 800m (approximately) from the centre of town. A long, sweeping asphalt driveway winds up through the grounds, building a sense of arrival before the house comes into view. It is this elevation, and the views it commands, that gives the property its particular magic, a sense of being entirely apart, while never being far away.

The rendered and bagged exterior walls were chosen to weather and fade the way old buildings do in parts of France. The yellow of the facade echoes the native grasses on the distant hills, while the slate blue-grey of the doors, windows and shutters matches the surrounding wattles. Inside, the walls turn soft white, minimal and almost monastic, a quiet counterpoint to the softness of the sandstone flooring underfoot. Every detail carries the same sensibility: considered, restrained, unmistakably elegant, the kind of beauty that reveals itself slowly.

The interior unfolds around a dining and living space of exceptional scale, where high ceilings and sandstone floors are matched by four sets of French doors, framing the garden from every angle and drawing it inside. Light moves through the rooms across the day, catching stone, timber and the soft white of the walls. The living room, a grand 7.2m x 5.2m, steps down from the dining space and gathers around an open fireplace built in the French tradition, complete with its own little door for the wood pile, a room made for quiet evenings and for gathering the people you love.

The kitchen, fitted with a porcelain double butler's sink, a 900mm gas cooktop, custom-made range hood, Miele dishwasher, marble benchtops and a walk-in pantry, opens through an intimate dining nook to French doors and the east terrace, the kind of corner made for a slow breakfast in the morning sun.

Upstairs, the main bedroom is a retreat in itself, with an adjoining study, a walk-in robe leading to its own ensuite with spa bath, shower, vanity and toilet, and views that stretch over Castlemaine to Mount Alexander. A second bedroom on this level opens to its own Juliet balcony, looking out over the west garden towards Kalimna Park, a lovely place to wake, while a central bathroom on this floor serves with a shower, vanity and toilet. A gallery-style second living space, lit by north light across 4.1m x 7.1m with its own private staircase, leads in turn to a further bedroom or office with sweeping views. Additional bedrooms, each with private access and ensuite, are arranged across the ground floor, five in total, giving the home real flexibility for multi-generational living, or the makings of a boutique short-stay offering for those drawn to the region's food, wine and arts economy.

Set apart from the main residence and backing directly onto Kalimna Park, a separate self-contained guest house adds further scope again, ideal for extended family, visiting guests, or its own income stream. It incorporates two configurable living and sleeping spaces, kitchenettes, an open fire, and private terraces of its own.

The garden unfolds in tiers of dry stone walling, forming quiet terraces in shades of blue, white and grey. Buxus hedging, clipped catmint, lavender, santolina, roses, rosemary and conifers sit alongside olive trees, quinces and oleanders, a Mediterranean planting palette held close to the house before it softens into the surrounding bushland. On the west terrace, a vine-covered metal pergola offers a place to watch the sunset settle over the hills, a glass of wine in hand, the light turning gold, then rose, then fading slowly into evening. On the south, stone steps lead down through individual terraced gardens, each a small, private world of its own. A covered entertaining area with its own bar extends the outdoor living further still, made for long lunches that drift into warm, unhurried nights on the terrace, with a pétanque court close by for lazy afternoons among family and friends.

Beyond the garden, the grounds take on a more rural character, with a dam and sheds adding practical scope to the property's considerable land holding. All of this sits on approximately 2.85 acres, offering not just space to live but space to consider what comes next. The property includes current approval for a three-lot subdivision (PA287/2022), subject to council conditions, presenting development options few landholdings this close to town can offer.

And it is this closeness that sets "The Yellow House" apart. Kalimna Park unfurls at the doorstep, a green threshold of bushland, spring wildflowers and prolific birdlife, kangaroos, wallabies and echidnas among them, while the view carries on to Mount Franklin and beyond. Yet the galleries, studios and long black coffees of central Castlemaine are only minutes away. Few addresses in the Mount Alexander region offer this combination: privacy and position, elevation and elegance, all within a five-minute walk from the heart of town.

For Sale $2,150,000

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