When Vicki Clarke, her husband Aidan and their two children set foot in Melbourne’s historic Rathgar mansion in 2012, they knew it was the start of a special and, at times, consuming relationship.

“We immediately fell in love with her old bones and majesty,” Vicki says. “We could see we could make something quite special.”

Eleven years later, and at a “very, very significant cost”, their vision has been realised. Now, the Clarkes have deemed the time right to list their expansive five-bedroom Melbourne home, which is on the prestige market with an $18.5 million to $20 million guide.

Rewind to 2016, and the couple’s big plans to restore the grand dame to her former glory (and then some) hung by a thread. Exhausted after a lengthy and frustrating planning process, the couple were faced with a choice: sell up and start over, or unearth a new plan to transform Rathgar.

“We were actually going to leave the property and move to LA for 2XU,” says Vicki, referring to the global sportswear label co-founded by her husband Aidan in 2005. 2XU, worn by the likes of Julie Bishop and Pippa Middleton, is now owned by LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton Asia.

“We had a very nice ‘come to Jesus’ lunch at Daylesford at the Lake House,” Vicki recalls. “It was, effectively: ‘What do we do? Are we leaving to Malibu or Santa Monica, or are we staying here?’”