The word "unique" is often bandied about in the real estate market, but a five-bedroom home up for sale in Canberra's Gungahlin district is precisely one of a kind.
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Set over three levels, 8 Ettrick Street, Crace appears unassuming from the outside, but inside is a collection of salvaged materials and custom-designed elements hand-picked by owner and builder Dan Fitzpatrick.
A glass staircase, three-dimensional timber floors and a green marble kitchen bench are a few of the standout features.
The house is being marketed for sale by Hive Canberra and has price expectations of more than $2.7 million.
Mr Fitzpatrick, who owns Canberra-based custom building company Megaflora Group and is also an architect, said while the property was always designed to be a family home, it was also a project in the sense of "exploring what was possible".
"It kind of has a bit of a hotel vibe coming here, something very special," he said.
The build was officially completed this year, though Mr Fitzpatrick, together with his wife and toddler, had been living in the home for some time as the finishing touches were added.
They purchased the 555-square-metre block in 2013, with CoreLogic records showing the greenfield site sold for $315,000.
But Mr Fitzpatrick said work really began several years earlier.
"I was already collecting materials and salvaging things from demolitions for up to five or six years before that, and collaborating with other people that were demoing," he said.
"Back then, there was a lot less value placed on sustainable [building] - it was kind of just an emerging market ... people were just throwing away great materials."
Among the materials that were salvaged and reused was cypress pine from a house in Red Hill and timber architraves and skirting boards from a home in Yarralumla.
Bricks were collected from other sites and used in the living room, while an old cement laundry tub found in the backyard of a Canberra home now lives in the downstairs bathroom as a repurposed sink.
Mr Fitzpatrick said it wasn't an easy decision to list the house for sale, but was doing so to fund a new housing project.
He said the eclectic home would appeal to buyers with a curious mind and someone who "gets a bit chuffed by little details".
And there are plenty of little details throughout the home.
The kitchen floors are an intricate puzzle of parquetry that resemble an optical illusion. Mr Fitzpatrick admits it was "a pretty intense idea" that now flows seamlessly with the rest of the house.
Brass door handles were handmade by Mr Fitzpatrick, as was a feature ceiling in one of the bedrooms.
A slab of green Brazilian marble is the centrepiece of the kitchen, and was one of last remaining pieces left in Australia.
"I found the marble through the team that did Nishi [Building in Canberra], they've got some pieces of that in the floor," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"So I did a lot of chasing and found one guy in Melbourne that still had some slabs. He said 'I'll see if I can get you some more', I didn't really specify how much we needed, and he rang up and said, 'No the quarry is closed, it's whatever's in the world exists and that's it'."
The home also features a self-contained downstairs studio, four bathrooms, a double garage and an outdoor swimming pool.
Hive Canberra director Josh Morrissey said the home's bespoke design had so far attracted families and young professionals.
"We've probably had about probably 150 inquiries in the first week and a half, which has been really good," he said.
"Probably 70 per cent of the interest has been families with hip-height kids ... predominately from the inner north like Downer, Ainslie, O'Connor that are really attracted to that style of architecture that's in there."
Mr Morrissey said custom builds such as this one seldom come up for sale.
"Everything in the house is a unique piece that's sourced from a unique place that really, truly does have a story," he said.
"And I think the fact that the owner has categorically said he's never going to build that again, just because of how long it took, makes it all the more rare."
With its current price guide, the house could break the suburb price record of $2 million, set in October 2021.
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