'Immediately, we wanted to buy it': The tree that sold a Drummoyne house

There's always one feature that sells a house. Sometimes it's a room, sometimes it's the way the light hits at a certain time of day, and sometimes it's something very, very specific.

In the case of 4 Queen Victoria Street, the feature that sold Stu White and his wife Jodie McGregor was a mature frangipani tree.

"As florists and lovers of all things botanical, we knew we could make it feature in any renovation," said Mr White.

Funnily enough, the couple hadn't even intended to inspect the property and instead stopped on a whim on the way to a different open home.

The owner at the time had refused to advertise the property online and had to be convinced to allow a signboard out the front.

"For the open homes, he sat down in the living room, chain-smoking and watching soccer on SBS while prospective buyers walked around," said Mr White.

Despite that, the couple knew it was the home for them.

"Immediately, we wanted to buy it," said Mr White. "We didn't even bother viewing the home we had originally planned to see."

Set on purchasing, the pair engaged their friend and architect, Vanessa Wegner, to have a look.

After viewing the home, Ms Wegner simply said "Don't miss this!"

However, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. The original owner changed his mind about selling and took the house off the market.

"The owner was emotionally attached to it, but now so were we!"

Not about to give up on their dream house, Mr White and Ms McGregor set out to convince the owner that they were worthy of his beautiful home.

"We wrote a letter explaining how we'd love to raise our three children here, how we were going to restore the original features and how we had our heart set on his house," said Mr White.

Fortunately for them, the owner agreed to sell and they were all set to create their dream family home.

"After moving in we realised why he was so emotionally attached," Mr White said. "The agent said to us, 'you'll love this house more and more every day.' And he was right."

The couple worked with Ms Wegner to reimagine the home for family life and entertaining guests.

"We wanted to create a warm and liveable home for our family that responded to the original cottage and the rear yard," said Mr White.

"As importantly, we wanted our home to be comfortable for guests and entertaining. Not just for us, but for our kids and their friends too."

Currently listed for sale with agents Chris Nunn and Hanna Kim from BresicWhitney Inner West, the two-level property now features five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study and media room.

"The house unfolds itself as you move through it," said Mr White. "The new addition is not easily visible from the street and the new and the old relate really well together.

"The new work does not mimic the old style of the original Federation cottage yet it has the same warmth and richness of the old building with an abundance of light and detail."

But it's the outdoor entertaining spaces where the home truly comes alive.

The open-plan living, dining and kitchen area opens up to a Vergola-covered alfresco space with built-in barbecue, open fireplace, pizza oven and built-in esky.

Further down is a heated swimming pool, sun-drenched lawn and pool house.

The couple say these additions have meant entertaining friends and family is a no-brainer.

"No-one ever has to ask 'are you having people over?'"

And what about the beloved frangipani tree? With help from their friend, Dave Clift, the couple were able to utilise the mature frangipani and dracaena together with their own plantings to "create a private oasis that flows from the house to create a lush resort feel that instantly relaxes you."

4 Queen Victoria Street, Drummoyne is currently listed for sale by Chris Nunn and Hanna Kim from BresicWhitney Inner West. The price guide is $5 million. An auction is scheduled for February 28 at 3.45pm.