Australian Fashion Designer Collette Dinnigan Sells Up

SELLER: Collette Dinnigan
LOCATION: Underwood Street, Sydney, Australia
PRICE: On Request
SIZE: 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms (total)
DESCRIPTION: This unique property occupies one of Paddington's largest individual land holdings at 824 square metres. Flowing over three separate titles with dual street access, this remarkable offering boasts three individual residences.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Given that Your Mama appeared in all our baggy-eyed glory on the boob-toob in Australia last week we felt it necessary to discuss some celebrity digs Down Under so that all Your Mama's mates in the southrun hemisphere do not feel neglected by all this talk Hollywood and New York. Fortunately, late last week we received a covert communique from Debbie Downunder who pointed Your Mama's beady and greedy little eyes towards a three parcel property in Paddington (that's a part of the scenic city of Sydney, puppies) owned and listed for sale with an undisclosed asking price by famous fashion designer Collette Dinnigan.

We can already hear some of you snotty fashion people trying to furrow your Botoxed brows and hissing, "Collette, who?" In case you do not know, Miss Dinnigan happens to be a very accomplished clothing designer Down Under and, frankly, all around the world. The flaxen haired and sun kissed Miss Dinnigan's budding empire includes stand alone boo-teeks in both Australia and London and, additionally, her frocks and fripperies hang in fine retail emporiums like Jeffrey and Barneys in New York, Harrods in London, The Swank in Beijing and Hong Kong, Boutique 1 in Dubai, Podium in Moscow and in many other posh shops in just about every other city where rich ladees buy expensive, flirty and decidedly feminine clothes. Miss Dinnigan's designs have been donned by famous ladees like Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, Angie Jolie, Elle Macpherson and pin thin Tori Spelling (who in the interest of her children needs to make some peace with her momma).

Previous reports reveal that Miss Dinnigan paid $4,100,000 (AUS) for her Underwood Street compound in 2002, a number that according to our money conversion contraption amounts to $3,408,105 (US) dollars at today's rates. Listing information indicates the Dinnigan compound is one of the largest individual land holdings in Paddington. Miss Dinnigan purchased the property with her former partner, the former pop star turned tee-vee presenter Richard Wilkins, with whom she made a baby. Somewhere, we don't remember where, we read that Miss Dinnigan bought her baby daddy out of the property when they busted up. We also read, and we don't remember where since our gin addled brain forgot to bookmark the page, Miss Dinnigan's property was expected to bring in $10-12,000,000 (AUS), an amount our conversion contraptions says amounts to 8,312,000-9,975,000 U.S. dollars.

According to listing information provided to Your Mama by Debbie Downunder, Miss Dinnigan's current crib includes a 3-story main house with 3 bedrooms and 3 poopers. The property also includes a small studio style apartment (with kitchenette and bathroom) above the detached two-car garage at the rear of the property and another freestanding weatherboard cottage adjacent to the main house that has a private veranda and private pooper but does not have a kitchenette. We're not sure this property is our particular real estate cup of tea, but we'd chop our toes off for two detached guest units in which to stash visiting friends and family, particularly Sister Woman's rather vociferous children who just about made Your Mama and the Dr. Cooter crazy with bickering last weekend. We love those children dearly, but holy hell they could probably wake the damn dead with their near constant cacophony.

But we digress...The main floor of the main house includes a narrow entrance hall that leads directly to the bottom of the stairs. This in not a good set up for the feng shui since it encourages money to slide right down the stairs and out the front door. At the front of the house are a trio of room that include a media room and lounge, both with fireplaces, and a smaller sitting room that opens to a deck and inner courtyard. Beyond these three rooms are a glassy dining room which overlooks the swimming pool and the kitchen/family room which opens to the backyard through to two sets of floor to ceiling glass sliders. We appreciate the layout of the kitchen and the ability to open up the family room area to the outdoors is truly dee-lish, but we can already hear our imperious house gurl Svetlana kvetching about having to clean all the stainless steel that has been used on the kitchen's work island and along the back wall behind the range.

The second floor includes a study with built in cabinetry flanking a third fireplace, a small bedroom which we'd toot suite turn into a dressing room and a long narrow bedroom that opens through four sets of french doors to a wrap around balcony overlooking the back yard. All three rooms share a good sized, spa-like and sky lit bathroom with gray veined white marble walls. Up one more floor is a third bedroom with private pooper and and slim balcony that we do not recommend for acrophobics.

The lush gardens include tall stands of bamboo for privacy, behemoth banana plants and a wee but beautiful bougainvillea being trained to grow above the glass sliders to the family room and along the underside of the vine wrapped balcony that encircles the master bedroom on the second floor.

Miss Dinnigan will be downsizing and decamping to another property in Paddington that she reportedly purchased earlier in the year for more than four million (Australian) dollars. Miss Dinnigan's new digs are said to have been originally erected in the 1880s and to contain 5 bedrooms and a heated swimming pool in the back yard.