Wonderland

Back in April 2024, just a month before renovations began, Edmund Cook and Ellen Christina Hancock visited the house to spend half a day capturing its essence — the parts I fell in love with and the elements we hoped to preserve. The house had been left in a derelict state for three and a half years, yet it held so much potential. It was like a box of shadows, light, and history - quietly waiting to be stirred by daylight and remembered with care. Our goal from the beginning was to bring it back to life without losing the quiet magic that made it enchanting in the first place.

There were treasures everywhere; in the windows, the floorboards, the fragments of original features, and the textiles carefully stored away, waiting to return home. Watching Edmund and Ellen discover the space for the first time and seeing them fall for it the way I once had, was deeply moving. Their fresh perspective allowed them to document it with sensitivity and clarity, preserving the feeling of the space before anything changed. Ten and a half months later, none of us had seen the house during the restoration, and I was both nervous and intrigued to see their reaction.

The word faithful stood out most to me, it captured everything I had hoped for. The renovation was never about reimagining, but about revealing and enhancing what was already there. That sense of care and intention was at the heart of every decision. The film we created together weaves the before and after in a way that feels honest and gentle, an archive of transformation rooted in respect. What has emerged is something truly special. A wonderland, rediscovered.