Over the three years it took to restore our heritage cottage in Oatlands, Tasmania — the place we now call Petit Château — there was one night that will forever be known as the Best Night Ever.
We’d fallen in love with the cottage for its quiet charm and sense of history. Walking through the original rooms one day with our builder and architect, someone noticed a section of flaking wall paint — beneath it, a bright green powdery layer was starting to show through. Our architect looked closer and explained that green paint, especially in buildings this old, may come with a toxic history. Popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, many green pigments were made with arsenic. The risks weren’t worth it — the paint had to go.
So, in full protective gear, I spent an entire day covering the room in Peel Away gel and sheets, making an absolute mess in the process. Days later, I started removing the laminated layers — all but one, which was just out of reach. My very tall teenage son Harrison offered to help. He braced himself on the wall, jumped up to grab the sheet… and promptly put his size 12 work boot right through the plaster.
I was furious. For about a second.
As the hole in the wall crumbled open, I spotted something unexpected: sandstone. I reached in, broke off more render, and revealed a full metre-wide section of beautifully preserved convict stone. I called for my husband, Stu. The excitement in the room was electric — what if the entire interior was sandstone?
“The house was telling us who she wanted to be.”
Within minutes, the three of us were up and down ladders, chisels in hand. Each layer crumbled away, revealing the quiet beauty beneath. It was a moment of complete joy — covered head to toe in dust, the floors rubble, but hearts completely full. I still call it my favourite night in the house.
In the second front room, I repeated the Peel Away process — even though we hadn’t found the same green paint, I wanted to give the walls the best chance of surviving another hundred years. Once again, the render peeled away, and sandstone revealed itself.
Not every wall in the original cottage ended up being sandstone. Some sections had been covered in concrete render, which risked damaging the stone if we tried to remove it. We chose to leave those areas, knowing the exterior stone could still breathe. Our builder also later added proper underfloor ventilation when he replaced the rotting floor and improved the front easement to prevent water pooling beneath the house.
Some houses whisper. Ours insisted — gently, but clearly — on being returned to stone.
There were two other moments I knew our cottage wanted to stand proud in her sandstone heritage. The first came when we had to gently nudge a leaning exterior wall upright — a large chunk of render above the window fell away to reveal perfect stone. The second was when we replaced the modern front door and trim with a traditional Georgian frame. Once again, the old render crumbled, and the stone showed through.
Not every renovation moment is pretty. But some are pure magic.
Today, if you visit Petit Château, you’ll see those beautiful walls for yourself — layered with history, softened by time, and proudly standing in the place they’ve always belonged.
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