Tracy Renkin, journalist

First published in the TasWeekend magazine (The Hobart Mercury)

Anna and Paul Thomason fell in love with Tasmania when they holidayed here 13 years ago. It was the little snippets of England everywhere and the historic buildings the captured their hearts. Two years later they packed up their Queensland miners cottage. The house they chose was an “ugly duckling” clad with shiplap weatherboard and topped by a distinctive period butterfly-roof line in historic Richmond: a 1960s house still in its original form with big square rooms and high ceilings.

“We didn’t know anyone in Tasmania but we just wanted to try something new and make a fresh start,” recalls Anna. The family of four, became a family of five a few years later. “It’s great to live in such a gorgeous place like Richmond, where we are so close to everything; the mountain, the national parks, the beaches and the convenience of the airport and the city.”

Åt the top of their to do list after moving in was ripping up the old carpets, giving the walls a lick of paint and taking down the lace and floral curtains. “That instantly gave our home a bright and airy feel,” Anna says. Their corner block basks in full sun and Anna says they all enjoy the warmth of the morning sun as it streams through their big timber-framed windows into the main living spaces including their mischievous Weimaraner Willow (editor note - their dog).

A big plus in moving away from Queensland’s humidity for these keen green thumbs was the joy of transforming the garden from pretty much an empty canvas. They’ve been working on it since they first moved in and it continues to evolve and flourish. “We started off by planting over one hundred hedges which have grown up to be a living green fence,” Anna says. Next in the ground were silver birches, elms, maples, magnolias and roses. Two trees already in the garden are some of Anna’s favourites: a horse chestnut and a Mt Fuji. She still marvels at it’s pure white blossoms when it’s in flower and loves cutting its branches to display in a vase. The Thomason’s also have an impressive orchard with plums, peaches, pears, nectarines, cherries, passionfruit, kiwi fruit, raspberries, apples and apricots as well as all the citrus fruit trees. Anna gets to enjoy the garden from her studio where she runs her Salamanca Skincare Company business making creams and candles, diffusers and cleans ing washes.

“The gardens have been our main focus, up until now but now it’s time to transform the exterior and turn this ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.”

Anna says the house was a rabbit warren when they first moved in but they lived in it for an entire year - to get a taste of the four seasons, before they started to knock out a few walls. Seven years after moving in, they are just about to embark on their big renovations - the footings have been poured and Paul is a carpenter so he’ll be doing it himself. The renovation includes a new bathroom and laundry, a revamped kitchen with a walk in larder, an extra bedroom, an extension on an exisiting bedroom and lots of wonderful outdoor spaces including a large deck at the back which overlooks the Georgian architecture of St Luke’s Anglican Church. “We look out onto the old rectory from the kitchen window which is just stunning,” Anna says. “It’s a renovation to reshuffle the rooms to make it more workable for a family of five.”

Anna has a natural flair for styling and says surrounding yourself with special pieces can transform a house into a home. A deer antler from her childhood farm sits on a side table in the lounge room. She treasures a wooden box that was given to her when her father died when he was just 47. Inside she keeps one of his handkerchiefs, a pen, his comb and a couple of pocket knives. That box sits on an old pigeon hole shelf and is perfect for storing her magazines.

Family members smile back from antique store bought photo frames. Their cosy retro kitchen they are replacing is filled with pre-loved treasures like plates and white jugs Anna loves to collect. “I don’t go with trends, I just go with what I love,” Anna says. “Our home has a lot of antique and secondhand store furniture finds because they’ve got so much more character than newly bought ones.”