Every now and then, a truly unique property comes on the market.
A celebrated Elizabeth Bay landmark, Puddle Duck at 11 Roslyn Gardens is an architect-designed conversion of a classic Elizabeth Bay corner store.
We take a behind the scenes look at this local icon.
Introducing 11 Roslyn Gardens
Sitting at the end of one of the grandest rows of Victorian terraces in the city, 11 Roslyn Gardens is a truly unique building on one of our area’s most beautiful streets.
In 2013, we sold 11 Roslyn Gardens for $1.4 million. Remarkably, at that time it had been in the one family since 1948 – an incredible 65 years.
Since then, not only has the market moved on significantly, but 11 Roslyn Gardens has also undergone a modern reinvention with a spectacular architect-designed renovation. This includes a rooftop addition that has made the most of the incredible bones of this New York-style building.
The classic corner shop reinvented
11 Roslyn Gardens has a coveted mixed use zoning, allowing a shopfront on the ground floor and residential accommodation above. This quintessential corner shop has been reinvented several times over the years.
A 1933 photo of the famous “Brent Terrace Row” next door, also shows number 11 on the corner of Bradley Lane. At the time, it was a grocers called “Garden Stores”, with a classic tiled front and signs advertising “Cash & Carry” and “Daily Deliveries”. This was a time pre-supermarkets, when self-service did not exist. People would wander down to the local grocer, who would laboriously weigh and measure everything you purchased – making it a skilled and respected job.
Five years earlier, in 1928, Garden Stores had advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald for a “Junior Salesman … aged 19” with “grocery experience”.
Fast forward to more recent times and many locals will fondly remember 11 Roslyn Gardens as the home of Puddleduck Laundrette, providing an essential service to many Potts Point residents who didn’t own a washing machine (particularly those in smaller apartments) or preferred to outsource.
Now, it’s home to Juno & Sons, an awesome fine food store and cafe specialising in restaurant quality food, groceries, great coffee and homewares. It’s the modern reinvention of the corner store.
A dramatic architectural reinvention
Co-owner Adam Marshall lived in the building before and after the dramatic renovation, naming it Puddle Duck after the laundrette.
“It was the Puddle Duck Laundrette when we bought the building, and we continued to operate it until the enormous electricity bills from those big retro 1970s clothes dryers came in,” he says.
“It looked very cool, people used to go there for photo shoots.”
Adam commissioned Tobias Partners, to undertake the re-design for the DA approval, with a modern addition that is intentionally set back from the heritage terraces next door.
“Puddle Duck is at the end of the row so we are lucky to get northerly sun all day – the sun pours into the roofspace,” he explains.
“High ceilings, a voluminous staircase and floor to ceiling glass provide a sense of space and light, and the roof hatch provides great ventilation in summer, keeping things cool”.
“You can lie in bed and look out the window at the sky”.
Life inside a “Swiss army knife”
Adam says the development was planned to enable flexible living and added value to the property, allowing them to rent out the lower level and shop, while living upstairs.
He describes the building as “like living in a swiss army knife” where everything is purpose-designed. The quality fixtures and fittings were built to last and hidden extras like laundry chutes and storage make for streamlined and efficient living.
“It’s very easy to lock it up and leave – in that respect it’s a house that is like an apartment,” he says.
“The garden is wonderful: very low maintenance and self-sustaining,” he explains. “It’s got olives and mulberries, a full vege garden with salad leaves and tomatoes and a citrus tree. Plus, there’s an ice bath on the roof”.
“The Puddle Duck is a really unique house and made us very happy, so I hope someone else buys it and enjoys it. It’s a great investment, and beautiful to live in,” Adam says.
11 Roslyn Gardens is on the market
On the market for the first time since its stunning transformation, Puddle Duck at 11 Roslyn Gardens has a unique flexible layout that would equally suit an investor or family, including an intergenerational one.
Designed across four levels, it features a ground-floor shopfront, currently leased to Juno + Sons cafe. Level two can function as a self-contained two-bedroom apartment, while above this sit levels three and four, offering a luxurious residence of scale and refinement, with excellent views.
Alternatively, levels two to four can be enjoyed as a single family home, offering three bedrooms and multiple spacious living zones.
With two distinct outdoor entertaining areas including a rooftop garden sanctuary, it also offers a prized garage and storage space with an additional leased car space available. It also features luxe fixtures and fittings, airconditioning, security, electric blinds and shutters.
If that’s not enough, 11 Roslyn Garden’s location is unbeatable.
It’s situated in a leafy location in one of Sydney’s most desirable neighbourhoods – right on the cusp of Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point and Rushcutters Bay.
11 Roslyn Gardens is due to go to auction on 18 October 2025.
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