When stylist Tess Newman-Morris first laid eyes on Fairweather — a 108 square-metre shack on ‘the edge of the world’, Bruny Island, Tasmania — she knew just how special it was.

‘I had recently lost a friend to a very sudden illness, and what she had longed for was a simple life by the sea. I was overcome with gratitude… and so grateful for life itself,’ she explains.

Tess and her husband Jack purchased the charming property and set about completing an ‘un-renovation’.

She explains, ‘We wanted to return the shack to a simplified, authentic version of itself.’

Built in 1906, the shack was originally green and yellow, had a carpeted verandah, plastic blinds, a laminate kitchen with blue lino, yellow carpet throughout, and tiny postage-stamp windows. It had charm, but even more potential.

Tess and Jack stripped it all back, revealing hardwood timber floors, Baltic pine lining boards and bark-covered ceiling beams.

The pair collected salvaged materials in Victoria, packed their trailer full and on various occasions, drove the nearly 24-hour trip to the remote island to complete most of the renovations themselves.

They installed salvaged windows and French doors; hand-built the kitchen and living room shelving from reclaimed rafters; re-wired, re-stumped, re-clad; and eventually landscaped and built a low-maintenance garden.

Tess’ grand plans for creating an interior filled with pale blue walls, timber ship models, concrete pelicans, colourful kilims and even a surfboard wrapped in sisal rope faded away the more time she spent in it.

‘I just kept removing things,’ she explains. ‘The interiors needed to entirely honour the place. Less is more in this case… the shack has ended up being simple, so your eye can be at ease.’

What started as a hopeful six-month renovation plan was finally finished, seven years later.

‘The remote nature of our island means when you run out of screws or sandpaper, it’s two boat rides and a five-hour round-trip to Bunnings,’ says Tess.

Trades are also hard to come by or in high demand. ‘It was a slow process, and we were learning skills on the job, but in the end it felt right,’ she says. ‘We’re not great at rushing, or compromising, and we did want an adventure after all!’

Now, every few months, she and Jack pop down to Fairweather together, and come summer, they pack up the car with family, food and ‘Christmas loot’ to spend six precious weeks at their quiet retreat.

‘It’s our greatest joy to recalibrate ourselves back onto island time and reconnect with the wonderful Bruny community,’ says Tess. ‘The feeling you get from a remote location like this is addictive, nature is king, and reverence comes easily.’

Recently, Tess and Jack have opened up Fairweather as a stay, so others can also enjoy the beautiful connection to nature the remote shack offers.