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Fender Katsalidis architect and director Craig Baudin with Chris McCue in Australia 108. Picture: Mark Stewart
Chris McCue is the director of architecture at Carr.
Where do you live?
I live in a recently renovated 1970s-era brick veneer house in Balaclava.
What do you love most about your home?
Having just finished the renovation, I love the transformation that has taken what was a quite ugly and nondescript brown-brick house into something contemporary and reflective of my design principles.
Have you changed anything about your home?
I’ve done a top-to-bottom complete renovation.
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One more thing you’d change?
The planning zones changed a week after I submitted my planning application, which meant I couldn’t get another storey onto the house. So I missed out on adding a study on the top floor. I’d change the time it took to get organised enough to actually submit the application three months earlier, and I would have my study.
How many homes have you ever lived in?
Several rentals over the years. But then I bought a small apartment in Prahran, an Art Deco apartment in London when I lived there for six years (which I sold) and now, the Balaclava house.
The most memorable?
I lived in Shanghai in 2004 in a 16th-floor apartment. This was my first taste of living in another country where I started to appreciate how culture impacts apartment design.
How many homes have you ever bought and ever sold?
Four bought and two sold.
Your first foot on the property ladder?
The Prahran apartment, which I still own. Looking back, it was a good deal but at the time, I stretched to buy it.
Are you a keen or reluctant property buyer?
Very keen — I’m looking for the next project if I can convince my partner to move to another renovation project.
Highlights of your property journey?
The auction thrill was an adrenaline rush that released endorphins the likes of which I haven’t experienced since. But perhaps I got carried away!
The lowlights?
Buying my London apartment at the peak of the market and then trying to sell when the market hit hard times in 2010. It later picked up in 2016, which is when I then sold.
Brunswick Yard, a project led by Chris McCue.
Best property advice you’ve heard?
Buy the worst house on the best street.
Worst property advice you’ve heard?
You’ll know the house that moves you. In my job, I’m trained to see potential in any site so it makes it hard to be objective when making my own property decisions.
Tips for homebuyers?
Buy in an area you love, that will suit you and your family’s needs in the short and medium term, as time goes by a lot faster than we often plan for. Choose a house that is close to public transport and existing infrastructure — there is a lot to be said about moving into an existing community. For my next move, I’ll make a list of key criteria to tick off what I want in a house and try to score house options objectively. North-facing backyard? Tick.
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