My Home

A home on Rutherford Street that once housed one of the early settler families of Nelson is now home to the Ransom family of five (plus four chickens). Tom Ransom and his family have spent much of their time over the past five years restoring the heritage home in the most sustainable ways they can to be a comfortable family home, sometimes taking a break to enjoy camping in their much-loved tipi.

Tess Jaine

Where is your home and who lives here?

Our home is up near Rustic Cuisine Café (best lemon tarts in town) at the top of Rutherford Street. It’s the original 1862 house of the Snow family who arrived on the settler ship ‘The London’. It’s built covering the top of a small rise, known locally as ‘Snows Hill’. Marijke and I and our three children, Ollie, Esme and Zoe live here and have been in the house for nearly five years.

What inspired this look?

The house itself, inspires you to remember the past. We often think of all the different people who have slept, worked and relaxed here. Our possessions fit that feel as they are mostly all second-hand and have memories from our past. Our kitchen is kind of a shrine to the Isle of Wight where we used to live, with pictures, beach photographs and a framed Isle of Wight Festival poster.

What piece would you never part with?

I have a massive Persian rug that my mum, who was once an antiques dealer, gave me. It’s been with us both here and in the UK. Before I could afford a house, I lived in a tipi in a former royal hunting forest where I was a ranger for the Forestry Commission. This rug and several other possessions in the house come from this time. I also have a collection of metal trunks I used to keep the mice out and a mini wood burner with an oven to do baking. We still have a tipi now and use it for camping trips. With a fire inside, rugs and cowskins on the floor, the tipi is still as much our home as the house.

What’s your favourite spot in the house?

I think the outside verandas where you can sit on a sofa and read or look out on the garden. The first time I saw a sofa on a veranda was on that Crosby Stills Young and Nash album. It’s kind of unusual in the UK, but I knew one day I would do that. It’s either there or standing next to the wood burner in winter, warming your bum on the fire and listening to Radio NZ. Where do you shop for homewares?

Almost exclusively, we go second-hand. When the local auctioneers and guys at the Recycling Centre know you by name, you know you have a bit of a habit. New stuff just feels like the planet, or someone has been exploited somewhere along the line. Plus, like the whole house, I would rather it had a past life.

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Have you done any renovations?

Heaps. We have repaired and repainted the exterior woodwork, replacing rotten weatherboards, facings and fascias and repairing the original sash windows. Where they still survive, I have kept as many of the original weatherboards as possible. The most intense work we completed was in removing a wall in the kitchen to open it up to the living space and put in a new wood burner. We did most of the labouring work ourselves, making sure we had a structural engineer and building consent for the beams and their supports. At the same time, we lifted and re-laid the rimu floor, fixing piles, insulating and digging out soil so there is enough clearance under there. We did all that work during winter, so had a few cold breakfasts, balancing on the joists. If money was no object what would you get for your home?

I would buy more original artworks from local artists. I work as Nelson City Council’s Arts Adviser commissioning public art for the community. We have a real wealth of artists and galleries here that need support. In my view, it was the arts that helped get us through all the lockdowns, reading books, watching films, and listening to music. Creatives saved our sanity.

1. The Ransoms ‘went out on a limb’ at an auction to buy their eight-seater, teak dining table. 2. The piano has been in Marijke’s family for many years and travelled with the family down from Waiheke Island. 3. Tom says every home should have a wood burner or open fire. Having the flames inside the room reminds Tom of his days living in a tipi. 4. The kitchen showcases memoribilia of the couples’ time spent living in the Isle of Wight. The hanging clocks hold original nails from the home. 5. The kitchen is a carefully constructed mix of old and new, with the cabinetry being one of the only ‘new’ things in the home.