Home Stories: Ray Moon

Posted on 1 February, 2020

This week on Home Stories, Ashley Feraude answers the age-old question: ‘What’s it like in a real estate agent’s home?’ as he pays a visit to Ray Moon.

Ray Moon is a real estate agent, so on the way to visit his home Cass and I were hoping to see little directional signs on street corners saying, ‘Open Home: Stories.’

That would have made us feel special but, alas, no signs. Nevertheless, Ray did make us feel very welcome when we arrived, as he took us through the Palm Springs-inspired pink door to his Scullin home.

Ray shares his home with partner Grace, brother Richard and two exceptionally friendly pooches—Zahli and Lilly. Ray purchased the home three years ago, specifically wanting to be in this part of Belconnen. “I grew up here, my friends are here, and my family is too,” explains Ray.

If you read my recent story on Hopscotch’s Nick Parkinson, you would have picked up on a similar sentiment—a feeling of familiarity and connection tied to a specific suburb. For Ray, this feeling comes from seeing Belconnen’s ex-govvie homes. They take him back to his childhood, forming a link between his past and present self.

“It’s interesting,” he muses. “On the one hand, I really like this neighbourhood [as it is], but on the other I also want to be part of its change.”

It took Ray a while to find the right home, specifically because he was looking for a place with interesting bones to work with, as well as something he could improve—without taking the soul out of the home. And, as I hope you can see through Cass’s photos, Ray has done exactly that in a relaxed and classy style.

All those structures, staircases and interesting roof lines are original, but the living space has been extended to include a retreat room (record player and whisky included), extra windows that bring in more light and allow the garden to be admired, and—of course—walls painted, floors and carpets changed, and so on.

“It was fun walking around with my step-dad, who is a builder, pointing at things with suggestions and watching his reaction as to whether that was possible or not,” says Ray. Luckily for him, the majority was indeed possible.

I asked Ray if home improvement decisions were made through the eyes of a real estate agent with a decade of experience in knowing how to increase the value of a property.

“I guess I see a lot of homes and that gives me ideas,” said Ray, thoughtfully. “But this place Grace and I are creating is for us to live in, since we are going to be in Canberra—which we love—for the foreseeable future.

“Yes, every home is an investment, but really we just want to create something to enjoy together now—not later.” I know what he means, a home is an investment into our lives, rather than into itself.

At the same time, I feel there is a giving element to the way we set up homes we live in, that eventually, someone else is likely to love. For example, Ray put a lot of effort into creating a brand-new garden front and back. New soil, irrigation, planting, replacing the old laserlite pergola, establishing new decking…the whole lot.

He even had to remove a gigantic pizza oven, which required over two tonnes of concrete removal. While Ray says that he and Grace enjoy their outdoor space every day, he concedes that the true reward of all the work will most likely be felt by whoever is in here in a decade or so.

Ray and Grace are such lovely mild-mannered people that the cheeky side in me was really hoping to get a rise out of Ray with lame real estate jokes. It was hard though, because at home, Ray is his ‘home self’ as opposed to his ‘work self’.

That was, until I saw the kitchen, where I noticed that all appliances had been removed, and the bench space had zero clutter—a move used in the real estate game to increase the perception of kitchen space.

“Where’s the kettle, toaster and tea towels?”, I asked. Ray explained they were all in the cupboard. “And the coffee machine too?” Ray nodded. “So, you have to take out the machine and put it back every morning?” Ray nodded much slower this time and I caught Grace taking a deep breath and rolling her eyes. I guess you can take the real estate agent out of the house, but perhaps not the house out of the real estate agent.