How architect rebounded from rocky housing start

PHOTO: Rob Mills is the founder of Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors. Source: Supplied

Esteemed architect Rob Mills bounced back from a rough first-home buying experience to create his dream pad — and now it’s for sale.

Rob Mills is the founder of the award-winning Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors.

He has made some big property moves of late, listing both his city and coastal homes, in Armadale and Lorne respectively.

The Lorne property easily eclipsed its $3.65m-$4m asking range to fetch $4.8m in December, while the Armadale abode remains on the market.

Mr Mills listed the properties after deciding to split his time between Melbourne and Sydney as his practice expanded to include development sub-branch by RMA and interstate offices.

Follow his property journey below.

First home

It was 1989, I was 27 and just married, we had a deposit that was $30,000 and a budget of $90,000. The market was going up by $10,000 a week and we ended up spending $160,000 on a weatherboard Victorian in Kew.

The month after we bought, it dropped in value because of the recession. And I lost my job. But that was the beginning of Rob Mills Architecture — I went out on my own and went from there.

We renovated that house and lived there for four to five years. It was a great family home with a beautiful garden. We doubled the size by putting on a two-storey addition, and restored the original part of the house. We did it all ourselves.

Current home