Lauren Bruce was immediately taken with this Benalla property.

Located across 3.5 leafy acres with direct Broken River frontage, the property was a gorgeous country oasis within the charming north-eastern Victoria town, with potential still to be unlocked.

‘The Guseli pool, wood-framed windows and the gum trees drew us in,’ says Lauren. ‘When I first walked in and saw the stained glass windows, the deck, the brick details, and the incredible view over the dam and the river, I fell in love.’

Originally built in the 1970s, the architect-designed house has an inherent warmth, and a lush green outlook from every room. ‘It’s 360-views of either the gorgeous garden, or the gum trees leading down to the river,’ says Lauren. ‘The street is lined with big beautiful tall gum trees and is the most beautiful street I’ve ever lived in.’

The property includes a pool and old tennis court — a feature common to the area. Lauren explains, ‘Many houses on the street have tennis courts… They still have little ladders in some places leading into neighbouring tennis courts because the street used to hold round robins in the 1970s and ‘80s.’

The floor plan is oriented towards a dam and Broken River beyond, best appreciated from decks around the house, which are directly accessible from all three bedrooms.

Lauren and her wife Hannah McNeill have made only cosmetic updates to most rooms, including pulling up old carpets to reveal a polished concrete slab. ‘The slab has this excellent aggregate through it, so it’s come up beautifully.’

The bathrooms required more extensive renovations to fix waterproofing issues, allowing to introduce some more playful mosaic tiles. The couple designed the updates themselves (Lauren studied interior design, and Hannah is an engineer), and worked with trades including McMaster Carpentry to bring them to life.

‘The tiles I chose were to echo the existing reds, browns, mushrooms and creams of the house,’ says Lauren. We chose a mocha coloured mosaic tile in the main bathroom, and a sand coloured tile of the same size (to tie the bathrooms together) in the en suite bathroom.’

Benalla is a town located 212 kilometres north east of Melbourne with a beautiful lake, art gallery, and the popular annual Benalla Street Art Festival.

Lauren and Hannah are moving for work, so they’ve made the regretful decision to place 17 McConnan Street, Benalla, on the market. They’ll miss spotting kookaburras and kangaroos on the property, the nearby river, and the fruitful local soil.

‘This has been the most wonderful home,’ says Lauren. ‘It’s a calm, quiet place that really can be anything you want it to be.’

17 McConnan Street, Benalla VIC 3672 is listed for sale with Peter Symes and Shayne McKean from Ray White Benalla.