Cowper Street 'cottage' is actually a four-bedroom home on a 1045sqm block

There’s little imagination needed for this leafy cottage on one of Canberra's most famous streets. Despite its modest facade, 42 Cowper Street, Ainslie, covers a huge block within the heritage-listed precinct with taste and plenty of functionality.

Sales agent Holly Komorowski says it was the tree-lined street, blanketed in shade by overhanging branches that touch in the middle, that first impressed her when she viewed the home.

As you turn into the driveway, which stretches up to the double bay garage in the back corner of the property, a hedge along the footpath hides a blossoming crab-apple tree just before the front door, making a “very pretty facade”.

“When you first walk in and look down the hallway, which is quite wide, you have a symmetrical view directly through the kitchen to a window out the back garden,” Holly says.

“I was there on the weekend and there was a couple at the back with their little toddler playing on the equipment in the back corner. It was the perfect sort of lovely family scene, which I thought was a really wonderful feature in making the house feel so connected throughout.”

According to Holly, the home’s floorplan is designed to be flexible, making it great for families.

The master bedroom is separate from the other three designated bedrooms, so there’s more than enough privacy as children get older. Next to the dining area is a large rumpus room, which could also be used as a second living room.

The main living areas and the extension at the rear of the home are north-east facing, so there’s a great deal of unobstructed natural light pouring in throughout the day.

“But the plantings in the garden are strategically placed so they provide protection in the summer with lots of shady areas,” Holly says.

Two things the current owners love about living in the house are its location and its size. Positioned on a 1045sqm block, the property provides a rare opportunity to have a backyard and yet live super close to the city centre. The property has Ainslie shops right behind it, Dickson shops down the street, and straight through the football club is Braddon.

The home is surrounded by other heritage listed properties.

“So the street is going to remain consistent and people are really sympathetic to the precinct’s past,” Holly says.

“When the vendors secured the property a couple of years ago, it was a very modest cottage and just a small footprint on an extremely large block. So it gave them the opportunity to do a significant extension and renovation over the last 10 years.”

In the past year, Holly says more strength has come into the Ainslie market, with a number of sales giving confidence to those looking to secure a spot in the north. Most recently, a heritage home with similar dimensions sold for $2.15 million in the neighbouring Gray Park heritage precinct.

“It demonstrates that location and homes of character are well sought-after, and this one has both.”

42 Cowper Street will be auctioned at 12.30pm on Saturday 11 November 2023.

View the full listing.

Article originally written and published by The Riotact.