Derelict 160-year-old house had been empty for 40 years when they found it. Look at it now

The house at Fallow Farm was just a shell of Ōamaru stone when owners John Adams and Jan O’Sullivan first saw it.

The couple, originally from Christchurch, had been searching for a big renovation project to take on when a friend told them about a ruined house sitting neglected on a local farmer’s back block on the outskirts of Herbert, about 21 km from Ōamaru.

“When we found it, it hadn’t been lived in since 1972,” says Adams. “The roof had gone, so rain had got in. All the flooring had gone, the mouldings around doorways and ceilings had gone. The only thing that hadn’t gone was the stone walls and foundations which were in beautiful condition.”

Inside, the house had been “extensively stripped”. There was nothing left, just a stone shell, surrounded by overgrown sheep yards.

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This didn’t deter the Adams-O’Sullivan duo, however, who tracked the local farmer down, and offered to buy the house and a 13 acre (5.3 hectare) section around it, with the aim of returning the home to its former cosy glory.

“We knew he would have to subdivide 13 acres off his small farm, which was going to compromise it and make him alter his method of farming because of consent issues. So it had to be a very attractive offer,” Adams says. “We offered him $400,000, which was probably three or four times its market value.”

They’d been warned that others had tried to buy the 1862-built property, but the farmer had said no every time.

Something about the couple’s plan appealed, however, because he agreed to their offer. Adams and O’Sullivan took ownership in 2010. Then the real work began.

For the next four years the couple commuted to the property every other weekend from Christchurch while tradespeople cracked on with the work, shoring up the building and putting plumbing and power back in. The couple moved in full-time in 2014.

“We employed tradesmen for six years, and then it was at a stage where I could take over a lot of the finishing work. Then we turned to restoring outbuildings, and we are barely finished now.”

But what a finish it is. The couple have only minimally modernised the home, instead opting for a more authentic restoration. The kitchen has a range. Painted tongue and groove walls, vintage tiles, and a 1860s concrete sink complete the period look.

The bathroom is museum-pristine, with painted pressed tin walls, a rustic claw foot tub, and period appropriate sink and loo – right down to the wooden toilet seat.

Both Adams and O’Sullivan have fine art backgrounds, which they gave free rein in the decoration of the home.

“We’re both very motivated by aesthetic considerations, to the point where we will sacrifice practicality sometimes,” says Adams. “The visual appearance of things is very important, so it had to be exactly right.”

Throughout the restoration they avoided using “toxic” new building materials, and attempted to make the work as sustainable and ethical as possible.

The home is insulated with Terra Lana, the natural wool insulation made here in Aotearoa-New Zealand. The wallpapers are heritage papers, rather than vinyl; the kitchen and bathroom flooring marmoleum, rather than lino.

In compliance with the building code, the home has also been earthquake-strengthened.

Outside, in the 1 hectare curtilage around the house, O’Sullivan has created extensive, formal and cottage-style gardens, with hedged beds, a reflecting pond, and an abundance of flowers.

To the back of this area, Adams has a large vege patch, orchard, and greenhouse which keeps the couple in food year round.

The garden has drawn a huge number of native and exotic birds to the house, as well as whistling frogs, that sing all around the house during the season. The property also has a pond and fresh water which attracts native and introduced ducks.

“It’s a wonderful climate. It’s actually milder than Christchurch, it’s not as cold in winter, and it’s not as hot in summer. It’s very, very pleasant,” says Adams. “It’s a very attractive area, being Otago, with its landforms.

“The lifestyle here is far more self-sufficient than is possible in the city and that’s something we’re going to miss hugely.”

Adams, 72, and O’Sullivan, 67, are finding the upkeep of the property harder, and say Otago is too far away from loved ones in Christchurch.

“We have created a lifestyle that takes a lot of work. But also we realised we were entering the final chapter of our life and decided that friends and family were paramount.”

The two-bedroom, one bathroom property is for sale by deadline, which closes on March 30. The listing is with Jan Meikle for Harcourts Oamaru.

While homes.co.nz estimates the property to be worth about $580,000 to $650,000 based on the RV – considerably higher than the average for Herbert of $390,000 – Adams does not believe that reflects the true value of the home. It is difficult to put an accurate price on the property as there is nothing comparable in the vicinity, he says.