Entry threshold in top image and main hall on the left.

A slightly lame but informative collage of the Library. I love the “conversation seat”.

Dining Room collage – the wall colour in this room was absolutely divine.

The Nursery is full of gorgeous objects – I particularly loved the rocking horse, timber toys and many beautiful teacups.

Small Bedroom in bottom two images was in the process of being restored, and it was also impossible to photograph without a wide angle lens {especially “on the dodge”}. I absolutely adore the lamp in the right image.

The Museum was also in the process of being restored. Top images shows the wallpaper which has been uncovered under the layers of wallpaper & paint.

The kitchen was possibly one of my favourite rooms, even though it was quite humble in comparison to the rest. {How do you like my super dodgy collage in top image? I kind of like it.}

More details from the Kitchen – I love the giant map in top right image, and the willow pattern ceramics. It was interesting to see how they used to weld broken plates – notice the two little dark lines on the plate in right corner of the bottom image.

Dairy next to the kitchen was full of interesting ancient “cookware”. My favourite were the tin jars in the bottom image – brilliant patterns and colours.

Top two images are from the rear courtyard. Bottom two are taken in the space underneath the house which used to be a food store.

Beautiful bay window which belongs to the Drawing Room. Why don’t we build bay windows in contemporary architecture any more? They are completely amazing! Oh and a little proof that I actually was there.

Beautiful gardens and trees with amazing colours.

Front door to Runnymede and view of surrounding gardens.

I spent a glorious long weekend in Hobart last week visiting a dear friend and her gorgeous family. It was my first time in beautiful Tasmania, and it definitely won’t be my last.

So… a bit of a funny story… I knew that Hobart was a place where Husband’s grandfather grew up. And I also knew that the particular house in which he grew up was very beautiful, and that it had been sold by the family to the National Trust back in the 60s. What I didn’t know was what it was called – or rather, I completely forgot. When I arrived to Hobart, I told my friend and her family about the house, but I couldn’t tell them the name. They tried to look it up for me on the net by searching the surname without any luck. When I finally spoke to Husband, he told me that the house was called Runnymede. My friend and her mum almost couldn’t believe it.

Friend – “Runnymede?!  Wow! That’s an amazing house and ONLY one of the most significant historical houses in Tasmania!”

Me – “Oh really? Doesn’t surprise me, cause that’s the way I roll.”

Actually, I never said that. But I wish I did. Instead, I felt a bit like a bad wife and daughter-in-law for not realising how significant this home actually was and for forgetting it’s name in the first place. So I did what all super awesome wives and daughter-in-laws do {*nudge nudge*}, and I went to visit. As luck would have it, the weekend I was there National Trust celebrated it’s 50th birthday, and they opened their doors to Runnymede free of charge. It was meant to be.

I wanted to share with your some of the photos I took of this truly magnificent home. The truth is, no photography is allowed inside the house, but I’ve never been much for obeying the rules. I snuck as many photos as I could, although I was not able to photograph the main bedroom and the drawing room as they were permanently attended by staff. Husband reckons I’m a complete bad-ass. Perhaps he’s right. I reckon I just love taking photos of beautiful things.

If you are ever in Hobart, I highly recommend a visit to Runnymede. The house is a fine example of colonial architecture, situtated in a lush garden that overlooks New Town Bay on the River Derwent, and stunning interiors which have been restored to their original condition.

61 Bay Road
New Town TAS 7008
Australia
P: 03 6278 1269
Monday – Friday 10 am – 4.30 pm
Saturday – Sunday 12 pm – 4.30 pm

architecture australia history hobart interiors runnymede travel