Mount Eliza is a beachhead for modern Australian home design with many of the earliest examples of Merchant Builders homes as well as iconic gardens featuring native flora. Preceding David Yencken and John Ridge of Merchant Builders were Bryan Petit and Ron Sevitt, who set up shop in Sydney with the express purpose of bringing good design to a broader public, a model successors like Merchant Builders developed into a mainstay of residential architeture.

Petit+Sevitt homes were bold with high ceilings and rooms that connected to create a living zone where families could be together without getting on top of each other, and parties where everyone could find somewhere comfortable to land. The two ran their design and building company for the better part of 30 years out of Sydney with offices servicing Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra. More than 3,500 homes and prestige properties for architects such as Harry Seilder were built from the 1950s onwards.

However, it was Niel Clerehan’s designs for low-line, split-level homes that addressed a perfect confluence of national identity and prosperity. Australians had the means to own their own homes and wanted something that captured the unique landscape and outdoor lifestyle. Balconies and courtyards were as much a feature as high ceilings with exposed beams.

Today, the legacy of Petit+Sevitt continues under the direction of the Petit family with homes that blend relaxed living and contemporary demands.

RT Edgar is currently listing a Petit+Sevitt home at 33 Old Mornington Road. Open for inspection this Saturday, 8th February from 12-12:30pm or call 03 9776 3369 for more.

Learn more at Merchant Builders: Celebrating a fifty-year legacy and Modern House.