House of the week

1920s charm of North Perth home retained                                                                                                                                                                                          

RENOVATIONS were completed less than a year ago on the 1920s home owned by Karina and Chris Hiller for five years.

“We fell in love with it and we didn’t plan to renovate,” Mrs Hiller said.

“We loved the location, but realised it was getting a bit tight for space when we had a baby.”
So the couple demolished the rear half to allow for an open-plan extension.

They installed a new kitchen, plus an al fresco area because they enjoy entertaining.

Mrs Hiller said they wanted to achieve “retreat-style living” as a change of pace for her husband, who owned a busy cafe in Burswood and wanted the chance to unwind in a tranquil villa-style house.

They combined elements from the old and the new to suit their lifestyle and they think the location is golden because it’s only a 20-minute walk to the city.

Mrs Hiller said she loved the house because of its originality and charm.

“It has ornate and dome ceilings that we never wanted to touch because you can’t find homes with beautiful old things like these any more,” she said.

Other features include a pool, open fireplace, airconditioning, bore-water reticulation and double carport.

NORTH PERTH
$999,000
189 Grosvenor Rd

Three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single- storey house with airconditioning, covered al fresco area, high ceilings, tropical gardens and open-plan living area.
Agent: John Parzycki 0418 923 226, L.J. Hooker Willetton 9457 9955  Source  :  http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,25867487-5013239,00.html 

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Ramsay fires back at Grimshaw

Days after a public rant aimed at Tracy Grimshaw, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has fired a second volley branding the TV presenter “sad” and “bitter” for defending herself.

Ramsay denied calling the Nine Network veteran a lesbian at a weekend appearance at Melbourne’s Good Food and Wine Show during which he also allegedly compared her to a pig, using an offensive photo as a prop.

Ramsay on Tuesday said he was “deeply mortified” that his intended joke had been blown out of proportion – and that was before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the chef’s comments reflected a “new form of low life”.

Mr Rudd’s deputy Julia Gillard and Health Minister Nicola Roxon joined the fray, saying Ramsay should confine himself to the kitchen and stop abusing women.

But there was no remorse from the TV chef after Grimshaw used her A Current Affair program on Monday to take him to task over his food show rant.

Ramsay on Tuesday said he’d never used the word “lesbian” to describe Grimshaw, and said she herself was guilty of a “disgusting” attack on his wife Tana, who’s due in Australia in two weeks.

“She’s obviously doing it for the ratings,” he said of Grimshaw, speaking to reporters after a run along Melbourne’s Yarra River.

On Monday, Grimshaw branded Ramsay a bully and an “arrogant narcissist”. She said he’d made “uninformed insinuations” at the food show about her sexuality, and she told her viewers she was not gay.

Grimshaw said that before a recent interview for her program, Ramsay had insisted she refrain from asking about his private life following allegations of a long-running extra-marital affair.

“We all know why,” she said.

She added: “… I’m not surprised by any of this. We’ve all seen how Gordon Ramsay treats his wife – and he supposedly loves her. We’re all just fodder to him.”

Asked if he could understand how Grimshaw felt, Ramsay told reporters: “I never once said the word lesbian, I was having a tongue-in-cheek joke – it was not at her expense.

“For me on a personal front, to see how sad and how bitter for someone to come out like that, for a renowned pro to come out and stoop that low, is disgusting.”

He said tapes of the alleged incident were being scrutinised by his lawyers.

Mr Rudd was firmly in Grimshaw’s corner on Tuesday, congratulating her for giving Ramsay a “left uppercut” in her reply.

“I think I can describe his remarks as reflecting a new form of low life,” he told the Fairfax Radio Network.

“I just drew breath when I saw the sort of stuff which was said about her. I just think that’s off and offensive.”

Earlier, Ms Gillard said the celebrity chef should stay in the kitchen.

“I think perhaps what he should do is confine himself to the kitchen and make nice things for people to eat rather than make public comments about others,” she said.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said there was no need for “women to be abused in our community at any level”.

Grimshaw said she had been overwhelmed by the avalanche of support she’d received.

The fallout from Ramsay’s rant has gone global, spreading to his homeland Britain and to the US and New Zealand.

Britain’s The Mirror sent up Ramsay in a report headlined: “Good thing Gordon Ramsay is such a sex god.”

“Gordon is such a handsome devil, a veritable sex god come to Earth to live among men, you can understand why he might feel that mere mortals are unworthy of his presence,” the report said.

The Mail Online carried a report about the outburst and the angry reaction it had generated among audience members and women’s groups.

US celebrity watcher Perez Hilton said Ramsay had gone too far with his “sexist, homophobic remarks”.

Source www.ninemsn.com.au

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Gordon Ramsay targets Tracy Grimshaw in rant

FOUL-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay has shocked a public audience by vilifying high profile Australian journalist Tracy Grimshaw in an obscene, sexist rant.

The putrid tirade, which included references to Grimshaw’s looks, sexuality and depictions of her as a pig, shocked audiences who went to see the celebrity chef at the Good Food and Wine Show in Melbourne.

Ramsay told an audience of several thousand people that Grimshaw was “a lesbian”, the Sunday Herald Sun reports.

When the crowd reacted with gasps, he said: “What? I’m not saying she’s a …”

The phrase that Ramsay used was a highly derogatory term often used to describe lesbians.

Ramsay also showed a picture of a woman – who appeared to be naked – on her hands and knees with the features of a pig and multiple breasts. 

Tracy Grimshaw,” he told the audience. “I had an interview with her yesterday – holy crap.

“She needs to see Simon Cowell’s Botox doctor.”

Ramsay – who later dismissed the comments as a joke – went on with more innuendos about Grimshaw’s sexual preference and activities.

The crude remarks did not impress Channel Nine chief executive David Gyngell, who phoned Ramsay to tell him they were inappropriate and that he had gone too far.

Just a year ago, the celebrity chef had been lauded as the network’s saviour, with his programs Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares rating highly.

Mandy Saunders was at the food expo with her two children and elderly mother.                                         

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing – it was disgusting,” Ms Saunders said.

“The show is meant for families. That was way out of order.”

Anthony Kavroulas was also in the audience at Ramsay’s performance.

“What can I say? It was totally sexist,” Mr Kavroulas said.

Women’s groups also expressed their disgust, saying it was wrong that Ramsay was making money by comparing women with animals.

Melinda Tankard Reist, from Women’s Forum Australia, said Ramsay’s sponsors should dump him and he should leave Australia.

“Ramsay’s sexist and demeaning actions are offensive to every Australian woman,” Ms Reist said.
“Why should he get paid for depicting a woman as an animal and publicly deriding her looks?

“He shouldn’t be making money through the verbal abuse of women.

“Gordon Ramsay is no longer welcome here. The sponsors of his trip should immediately remove their support and send him packing.”

LG, a major sponsor of the Good Food and Wine Show, said it did not want to comment on the incident.

Ramsay appeared on Nine’s A Current Affair and was interviewed by Tracy Grimshaw on Friday night.

During the interview, he commented on Grimshaw’s facial mole, asking: “Is that a wart? It looks like your little sister’s on your lip.”

Grimshaw appeared to take that remark well.

But A Current Affair executive producer Grant Williams said yesterday the chef had gone too far and should stick to cooking and lay off the comedy.

“We know Gordon Ramsay sets out to shock, but if what we’re being told is true, we’re very surprised,” Williams said.

“Frankly, although it’s plainly a joke, it’s out of order.

“Gordon has proved here that he doesn’t need to be in the kitchen to create a nightmare.

“As a comedian, he makes a pretty good cook. Maybe he’d be better off at The Chaser.”

A spokeswoman for Ramsay said the stunt was just a joke and should have been taken as one.

“He really respects Tracy Grimshaw as a journalist. It was just a joke,” Sarah Armstrong said.

“She interviews him every time he comes to Australia. They have a great relationship.”

Source www.news.com.au

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Arthur Marshall selling his home in Mandaruh

FORMER politician and tennis ace Arthur Marshall is selling his Mandurah canal home to move back to the city. 

The one-time TV sports commentator and father of Channel 9 newsreader Dixie Marshall said his house of 10 years was “on the best block on the canal” because of its dual water views.

“From a canal’s point of view it is on what is called a T-junction. You look right, left and ahead and all you have are water views,” he said.

With an estuary to the west and the canal to the east, every room in the home has a water view.

Two studies, a bedroom and the open-plan lounge, dining and kitchen are on the ground floor.

Tall windows reach to the second storey, allowing breathtaking water views. A wide entertaining area leads to a private jetty.

There are three bedrooms upstairs, including the master with ensuite, walk-in robe and balcony overlooking the canal.

The other bedrooms have built-in robes and a shared main bathroom.

A lounge with a balcony makes it ideal for guests or a teenagers’ retreat.

“I asked the architect to make it feel like you were on a ship and when sitting in the lounge upstairs, it is just like it, with water everywhere,” Mr Marshall said.
The home has airconditioning, an alarm and double lock-up garage.

“One of the best things is the huge reserve next to the house,” Mr Marshall said. “Not only is it great to kick a footy with the grandkids and go for a walk, but it allows for plenty of visitor parking.”

72a Waterside Drive, Dudley Park
$1.95 million
Four-bedroom, two-bathroom canal home with water views, open-plan living area, upstairs lounge and private jetty.
Agent: Peter Lindsay 0429421942, Elders Real Estate Mandurah 95359111

www.news.com.au

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Buliding your dream home

When choosing your land and house package think carefully on how you live before choosing the right house for you.         

Make sure the floor plan fits the way you live.

Design your house for you and your life style, you’d be surprised at how many houses don’t fit the way people really live.

I remember when people actually used their living rooms and wouldn’t have dreamed of sitting in the kitchen, much less thinking of it as the centre of the house now 

But that’s exactly what’s happened over the last three decades.  Other changes have occurred too: home offices have become increasingly important, as have master bedrooms, en suites, activity rooms, alfresco’s and pools.

 Any well-designed house must be functional ,  people define their space needs as ‘informal and formal’ or ‘public and private’ rather than thinking of their plan as a series of rooms.

 So think about the way you really live, design your floor plan accordingly, and you’ll be taking the next step towards a well-designed house.

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