For Emma and Diego Atterbury, it was always going to be about the sun.

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Raised in country New South Wales and South Africa respectively, the couple relocated to nipaluna/Hobart in the late 2010s for work (Emma) and love (Diego). The seachange delivered on almost all of their non-negotiables: employment opportunities, a relaxed lifestyle, and affordable real estate. With average temperatures several degrees lower than what the couple were accustomed to, though, a home in Hobart had to deliver on access to sunshine. When a 1920s property in West Hobart was placed on the market for the first time since it was built, Emma was all but convinced that it was her dream do-er upper, but it needed to pass the warmth test first.

“While it was listed, I would walk up from the little two-bedroom flat we were living in at the time, morning, noon and night, to see what the sun was doing,” she says. “I didn’t really care about the state of the property - that’s all fixable - but you can’t change the orientation of a block and how the sun hits the house.”

As it turned out, there was much to undertake to restore the property to a livable state, but its sun-drenched spaces were enough to convince the Atterburys that this was their new home. Purchased in mid-2019, Emma and Diego spent six months rewiring, replumbing and reflooring the property before moving in.

“What was most important to us was not making changes to the home, but trying to preserve its original features,” Emma says. “The kitchen, laundry and two bathrooms were sympathetically replaced, but we otherwise looked to restore the home back to its former beauty.”

Emma and Diego repainted the interiors themselves, and local window restoration company Sash Solutions saved all of the home’s original windows, including a number of leadlight features in the bedrooms and hallway.

“The leadlight windows in our bedroom were one of the main features I fell in love with,” Emma says. “There’s a stunning view over the Derwent River, and we really enjoy the sun pouring in over the window seat we had built.”

The property’s sprawling garden has become Emma & Diego’s favourite space, and a significant focus of their home improvements. A Japanese maple and two weeping cherries create a warm welcome to the house’s frontage, while the backyard is an inviting area for the couple to spend time with friends and their young daughter. Generously planted out with crabapples, camellias, conifers and perimeter hedging, the back garden also features patio spaces, new timber decking, vegetable patches, a sandpit and a trampoline.

“We barely have wheelbarrow access to the back garden, so most things have been brought in by hand or buckets,” Emma says. “I love gardening, so it’s been an exciting challenge to take on, and I really adore selecting, planting and nurturing each of the plants that now make up the part of the home that we use most as a family.

“Our friends often ask if we’re building the botanical gardens back there and, to be honest, if that’s what it grows to be in 20 years’ time, I will feel like I have achieved my life’s work.”

Firmly settled in Tasmania, Emma & Diego make the very most of Hobart on their doorstep, walking to work, daycare and the local Sunday farmgate markets. They are also regular hosts, inviting friends and family to stop by for a drink or meal, or to stay a while.

“Because of our location, it’s a very busy house, with lots of visitors popping in, typically to find us in our yard clothes pottering away outside,” Emma says. “We love to have barbecues on the deck, and dinner parties in our warm living space, and we often have friends and family from interstate stay with us - you can explore Tasmania so easily from here.

“To us, this house is home for now and maybe forever. From the moment you walk in, it oozes warmth, love and kindness. It’s the home I’ve always dreamed of.”