![3 /14 Shelley Street, Elwood - For Herald Sun Real Estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
3/14 Elwood's Shelly Street looks amazing today as well. It didn't look like that two years ago.
On an afternoon last February, Dennis Gargiulo and Josefine Alexanderson celebrated with a glass of whiskey after they and the previous owner bought the Frankenstein's Elwood Apartment.
The $683,000 purchase came with cracked walls falling from the ceiling, a front door that wouldn't close, and styling that was still described as interesting 50 years after being in the hands of its last owner.
3/14 The story of The House on Shelley Street could have been written by renowned horror novelist Mary Shelley.
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“When you walked in, it was like Frankenstein's house,” Gargiulo said.
“The galvanized pipes were rusted and clogged with mud that came downstairs even when I used the tap.
“It was a mess. But I saw the potential and fell in love with the building itself.”
Renovating this house, with its cracked walls and interesting decorations, was a monster project.
The integrated kitchen provides hassle-free style.
Since then, it has been rewired, re-piped and renovated. The bathroom features Italian tiles, and the fully integrated kitchen includes a refrigerator and dishwasher hidden from view.
When it went under the hammer yesterday, crowds gathered to purchase what was once Frankenstein's monster in bricks and mortar, holding umbrellas in place of torches.
But only one company brought in the checkbook, and it sold for an undisclosed amount within the price guide of $890,000 to $915,000.
After a happy end to their time at home, Gargiulio and her partner celebrated with champagne. But there may be another chapter ahead.
The apartment's size and spacious bedroom were also part of its appeal.
Before the renovation, the interior of the house had walls that were pulled away from the ceiling.
Gargiulo, a carpenter at Ideal Form & Co, did most of the work himself, from replastering the doorway to resizing it, while Alexandersson oversaw the styling.
“Some of the people who were testing wanted to know what it would be like, from Frankenstein's monster to something you'd see in Beverly Hills,” he said.
“Some people commented on Josephine's styling.
“And there were a few people who wanted my number for some jobs. So I might take on more Houses of Frankenstein.”
McGrath St Kilda principal Nicole Prime said the house was “falling apart” when it was sold to Mr Gargiulo and Mr Alexanderson, but had undergone significant renovations and had been improved.
![3/14 Elwood, Shelley Street - For Herald Sun Real Estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 768 1024"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
This home is located in a charming old apartment complex.
“They needed to bring it back to life,” she said.
And with the next owners set to be a lovely couple who fell in love with the house, she said it felt like the story had reached the right ending.
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