Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 30 September 1937, page 18


OVERTON LODGE.

RESIDENCE OF

MR. C. DE BERNALES.

A Big Building Scheme.

Large amounts of money have been spent on single residences in the metro-politan area in recent years, but when

alterations and additions now in progress are completed for Mr. C. de Bernales at a

cost of about £7,000, it is unlikely that any will compare with Overton Lodge, facing Napier and Broome streets, Cot-tesloe. An extensive garden is sur-rounded by 3,000ft. of walls dominated by balustrading designed in Italian classic style.

The house design by Mr. Bernard Evans provides for two storeys on the lower ground, and for one storey on the higher ground facing Napier and Broome streets. With new flooring space extending over 11,000 sq. feet, it comprises some 15 spacious rooms, and is being built in the Spanish Mission style.

A great amount of work has been ne-cessary to reduce sandhills so as to level the ground, and the surrounding wall and other walls in Italian style sub-dividing the grounds into terraces will provide a fine setting, for the home. Four sand hills have now been levelled, six tennis courts filled in, and a new main road, being a continuation of Napier-street, has been made. A private road across the ground is now being undertaken.

The additional rooms will provide a library study with French-polished pan-elled jarrah walls and ceilings and jarrah parquetry floors, three additional bed-rooms, three additional bathrooms, a large billiard room with French-polished pan-elled jarrah walls and ceilings and par-quetry jarrah floors, an additional large dining room and a breakfast room. Mr. de Bernales's bedroom will be increased in size, and the kitchen will be connected by an electrical lift to the servery.

All around the house will be a large verandah connecting with the staircase coming down from the look-out. There will be erected in the middle of the court-yard a large fountain, and beneath the fountain pond will be an electric lighting system by which the colour effects can be altered at will. Wrought iron grill work will be freely used in exterior orna-mentation.

Thirty-five Residences.

In about six months Mr. de Bernales will begin the building of 35 houses on the seaside front of his estate.