The kitchen cupboard doors are original. A small bench-top stove is used for baking, but the coal range is the only means of cooking. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration

The kitchen ceiling is treated pine but almost all the rest of the timber in the house is macrocarpa. Determined not to use toxic materials, the owners used tanalised timber only where it was absolutely necessary. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration

The dining room once had a chrome and tile fireplace and nicotine-stained wallpaper. The new fireplace was made by a local stonemason. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration

The cottage did not have a bathroom until the owners created this one using fittings from architectural salvage companies, collectors and family members. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration

Buxus hedging and an armillary sphere feature at the front of the cottage. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration

The blue-flowered anchusa, in the foreground of this photo, is one of Mrs O’Sullivan’s favourite plants. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN : Authentic restoration