It sat on seaside real estate worth millions of dollars in one of Western Australia’s premier suburbs and laid claim to some of the most beautiful ocean views in Perth.

Yet, the 120-year-old landmark home Le Fanu​ had fallen into ruin so badly that, for a while, it seemed no-one was game enough to take it on.

But, with foresight and years of hard work by a renowned architect, committed owners, the State Heritage Council, the Town of Cottesloe and an extremely dedicated builder, the extensive restoration of one of Perth’s most famous heritage-listed houses is finally complete.

Le Fanu was built in 1893 for the wealthy general manager of the Bank of Western Australia, Henry Diggins Holmes, his wife, Marion, and their three children.

Standing on an oceanside block on the corner of Marine Parade and Salvado Street in Cottesloe, the stately house has been admired by many for decades, even as it fell into disrepair.

Originally named Banksia and later renamed Le Fanu in honour of a former Anglican archbishop, the landmark single-storey, Federation Queen Anne-style residence was one of the first houses in Cottesloe, along with Tukurua.

A prime example of a grand beachside home, it reflects the affluence created by the gold boom of the 1890s, with features including thick limestone walls, a turret, gables, ornate chimneys, a ballroom and a wood-panelled study.

The Holmes family had a significant effect on the cultural life of Western Australia through banking and charitable activities, and Henry and Marion Holmes were founders of the Ministering Children’s League Convalescent Home in Cottesloe.

In 1945, Le Fanu was bought by the Anglican Church, which continued the charity work of the Holmes, and the house was used as a meeting place for religious organisations and groups. The 17 rooms included five bedrooms, a light-filled ballroom, allegedly used as a chapel, a drawing room, a formal dining or reception room, a formal lounge, a second lounge room, a sitting room, a family room, a kitchen with walk-in pantry, an enclosed veranda, a study and a cellar, with ceiling hooks where meat was once hung.

In 1973, it was sold as a residence to a Mrs J. Fenwick (now Mrs Drake-Brockman) who took it on with the aim of restoring it as a beachside retirement home. However, it was a huge job and as she was also coping with a farm at Esperance, the house slipped into disrepair and eventually into ruin.

Its sale became controversial when it went on the market in 2009. The 1492-square-metre block with 36 metres of ocean frontage was valued about $15 million. Yet, the house was put up for sale for the reduced price of $6.5 million, as it required millions of dollars of restoration work. It later sold for about $4.5 million – yet required more than $10 million to restore.

The owners purchased the house in 2009 – bravely taking it on as their very first renovation project – and Zorzi Builders was chosen as the building contractor.

Zorzi Builders business development manager David Reynolds praised the owners for their commitment to the mammoth project and their willingness to bring the house back to its former glory, no matter the cost.

“Without them, the house would have likely died a horrible death.”

Mr Reynolds said Zorzi was honoured to have been trusted with the restoration.

“The renovation came with extensive restrictions by council and a lot of builders weren’t given the go-ahead,” he said.

So strict were the council restrictions that even the furniture to be placed in the house had to be approved – years before the house was even complete. Le Fanu was the last restoration designed by architect Ian Hocking, one of WA’s best-known heritage practitioners, before his death in November 2014.

“No residential project in WA has involved this level of conservation works, nor this level of urgency,” he said in 2010.

The work required that the extensive stonework be restored, with the salt-affected limestone walls taken apart slowly and each stone bagged and numbered to be restored and reused for the new walls. Wherever possible, original features were saved, including the ornate fireplaces and the tiny Federation mosaic floor tiles that were painstakingly removed and restored. The grand ceilings were repaired, new windows hand-forged in steel, an upper storey added and an impressive 10-car garage, with marble floors and solid jarrah cabinetry, carved into the stone beneath the house.

Zorzi Builders worked with MMA Interiors on the interior design, which included features including new leadlight windows, marble floors, chandeliers and a fully restored wine cellar. The work won Zorzi Builders the Overall Best Alteration and Addition title in the Master Builders Bankwest Housing Excellence Awards 2015.

Maya Anderson writes the blog House Nerd at house-nerd.com.