A grand old door that once graced the entrance to the dining room in the former Hotel Nelson has resurfaced after three decades in storage and will get a new life in Wakatu Lodge.
Melissa and Simon Floyd moved the historic two-storey villa from Nelson to the Moutere in 2023, where they pieced it back together and have been working on the monumental task of restoring it ever since.
Along the way they have picked up period pieces to add to the restoration,] and Melissa’s latest find is the dining door from the hotel that once sat on the site that has become the Nelson Provincial Museum.
“I went on Marketplace and saw it and had to have it!”
The door was discovered during a cleanout at a demolition and salvage business where it had been sitting, waiting for a new home. It needs some work and the glass will need to be repaired, but etched into the glass is the name of its etcher, former independent Nelson MP, Harry Atmore.
The signwriter, painter and decorator was first elected in 1911 as an independent member of Parliament and used to ride his bicycle around the city. Nelson was adorned with his acid glass etching and his gold-leaf work graced the spire of St Mary’s Church.
The door is a fitting piece to add to Wakatu Lodge, and Melissa says Harry Atmore’s work is another story to tell that helps keep that era alive.
Through her research on the historic villa, she has discovered it is even older than they thought, with records pointing to it being built in 1890 and the first baby arriving the next year.
It has been a hard slog over the past three years, with numerous disruptions delaying progress, but Melissa hopes they will finally be able to move into the house towards the end of the year to “camp”, while living amid the chaos of renovation.
“It takes so much time. We’re not even at the pretty stuff yet – but that’s the part that will come together quickly.”
On the floor of one room, she has various pieces of glass spread out that she is working into leadlight windows for the main entrance. Walls and floors are at different stages of rebuild, insulation is in the walls and the rooms are filled with various pieces that will be used in the final stages.
While the house has a wee way to go, a five-lamp lantern in keeping with its era now graces the centre of the shingled turning circle in front of the house. Beyond that, a large wrought-iron gazebo will make a statement long before the house gets its finishing touches.
Melissa no longer has to try to visualise the end result in her mind, because ChatGPT has produced photos of the individual rooms, complete with the wallpaper, fireplace tiles and decorative fittings she provided to it.
It has also produced images of the outside of the house, freshly painted and complete with the path and garden leading to its entrance.
“That’s what keeps me going. I’ve visually got these pictures now.”
