The Space
If you like experiencing interesting architectural spaces – especially modern design influenced by Japan - I think you'll love my new Drew Heath designed Bondi home. The bamboo garden on a moonlight summer night will take you half way to heaven. We've designed everything from the king-size beds in all bedrooms to the underground music room/theatre to make your stay as gorgeous as we can. Three rooms are currently available (Sanctuary, Skylight, and West Wing) and all are listed separately.
I'll give you some details in a minute but first let me tell you where it is.
Bondi, Tamarama, Bronte
I told my Brisbane cousin once that Bondi was the centre of the universe and he said “It might be the centre of your universe maybe.” But honestly, being in the heart of Sydney's three iconic eastern beaches is the best possible place to stay in Sydney. Each beach has a completely different feel from the others and they're all connected by a stunning cliff walk (with an aboriginal carving of a whale if you know where to look). From my home on the ridge between Bondi and Tamarama, you can walk to Bondi beach in five minutes (500 metres), Tamarama beach in five minutes, and Bronte beach is five minutes along the walk from Tamarama. I swim at one or more of these every day so I know how long it takes.
The city is a short bus or bus/train ride away (or 15 minutes by taxi) and many of the beautiful places of Sydney – Hyde Park, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Art Gallery, Rushcutters Bay, Centennial Park – are on this side of the city.
I have a real espresso machine here and I'll gladly make one for you but we're surrounded by great cafes and restaurants. Some of the best breakfasts and salads are literally just around the corner at M Deli Cafe and then there's the Three Blue Ducks restaurant at Bronte which is brilliant and surprisingly affordable. It was started by some surfing friends who all studied with Tetsuya. (There's some snapshots of these and other places above.)
But about the house...
Wide open multilevel space, king-size beds, en-suites...
Drew (Drew Heath, interesting Sydney architect who has just won the state's top residential award) has designed the house with exposed steel columns and beams and walls of multi-hued glass louvres. It's full of light and ocean breezes.
There are three bedrooms available. Each one is huge and has it's own en-suite and king-size bed. (Reminder: this listing and calendar is for the SANCTUARY room. :-) The en-suites for Sanctuary and West Wing have heated floors and towel rails and both these rooms have bay windows. The Skylight bedroom has ventilating skylights. (My bedroom is also available if I'm not here and that has a balcony overlooking the bamboo garden.) The bedrooms have naturally oiled timber floors – mostly spotted gum and recycled Ironbark from an old wool shed in Dubbo.
The house is spread over multiple levels so you've got no problem in having space to yourself. If there's four of you and you want two bedrooms and a self-contained private area, we can shut off the part containing Sanctuary and West Wing with a heavy sliding divider.
The living space is huge and on the lower level, opens out to the bamboo garden. This kitchen/dining area has a Jarrah slab table that can comfortably seat 12 people.
There's an underground music room and theatre with big screen and surround sound for a rainy day. And a DVD rental store a couple of hundred metres away with any amount of films and a big section of foreign ones.
Shopping, Cooking, and Eating
Around the corner on Bondi Road (about two minutes walk) there's a great organic food store, a fruit shop, a bakery, newsagent, two convenience stores, a gourmet pizza shop, and several coffee shops. Bondi Junction at the top of the hill has about everything you could possibly need - cradle to grave.
If you like to cook, I've got great kitchen facilities (ovens, cooktops, dishwashers) and plenty of fridge space and two big dining tables to eat from. Actually I should mention that almost every Saturday, my friend Yoshiko, the exquisitely creative chef and author from Healthy Soy Cooking, is teaching cooking classes in the Jarrah kitchen. The classes are fusion and Japanese and the dishes a mix of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, yeast-, and dairy-free. Extremely healthy and very tasty. You're welcome to join the classes and Yoshi offers my guests a 20% discount but you do need to book in advance. Classes are from 10am to 2 or 3pm. That means the Jarrah kitchen is not available during those hours (plus an hour or so before and after for preparation and cleaning) but the other main cooking area is available.
From the Airport and Getting Around
A taxi from the airport will cost approximately $45 and take around 20 minutes.
A bus from the airport will be $8 to $9 and take around 45~55 minutes.
Buses run up and down Bondi Road to Bondi Junction and the city 24 hours a day. All buses stop at the express stop just around the corner on Bondi Road. Bondi Junction is a few minutes away at the top of the hill. From there, trains run to the city and beyond every 10~12 minutes from 5:00am to midnight.
You can buy combined bus/train/ferry passes at the local newsagent that are great value.
If coming by car, the parking in the street is restricted to 2 hours but there is unlimited parking in the adjoining streets. The problem is that it's in high demand and at night the closest spot may be up to 200 meters away .
Hmm... what else...
If you want to work out, my recommendation would be the Bondi Icebergs (5 minutes walk away) for swimming laps. They also have a gym (extra cost) and a sauna. But of course there's the beaches for soft sand running and there's various exercise equipment along the cliff walk between Bondi and Tamarama that you can use for free. And free filtered drinking water fountains too. How good is that? The government is interested in your health!
For picnics, Bronte beach is my favourite. Or the hillside at Bondi. They're both magical in the late afternoon when the pine trees cast long shadows over the grass. There are barbecues at Bronte and Tamarama.
We've got fast wifi here of course and if you need one, I can loan you a Nexus tablet while you're here.
The house is equipped with a keypad entry system. When you book I'll set a key code for you and email it to you. No need to worry about keys.
I can't think of anything else just now. If you've got any questions, email me. Either I or Lindsay or Rie (my friends and caretakers) will respond. One of us is almost always here.
Love to see you.
Best,
Kerry
