Trevor and Wendy Nye bought a vacant block of land in High Street, Morpeth but council regulations required them to design their new house with consideration to the ­former house’s heritage.

The outcome has been spectacular, with the ghost of the house that formerly stood on the site brought back to life in the form of the  new Settlers Rest Cottage.

“The new house had to be designed to match the old 1860s house that had been demolished years previously,” Mr Nye said.

“It was a requirement of Maitland [City] Council so we worked with EJE Architecture, who are heritage specialists, and they came up with a design for the house.

“It needed more living space than the original but we were able to preserve the ­concept that it’s an old house.”

The re-imagining of the house has also attained critical acclaim, scooping a Master Builder Association award for custom built homes under $350,000 at the 2013 Excellence in Building awards.

“We had a lot of discussions with the council about heritage planning,” Mr Nye said.

“It took a few months to find out what was practical to ­recreate the old house.

“So we used things like lime-wash paint on the brickwork on the outside and aluminium windows instead of timber, and Bartlett Homes who built it did a top, top job.

“It’s a Victorian-style place so we have these beautiful Tasmanian black-wood timber floors and three-metre high ceilings but then things like LED energy-saving down lights and solar panels on the roof for hot water.

“So we’ve combined ­modern technology with the old style to recreate the house as it was.” 

Mr Nyen said he and his wife love their new home.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” he said. 

“We’ve been working on the gardens on the weekends and every day three or four people will stop and say what a beautiful house it is and how great it is what we’ve done to try to bring back the old house that stood here. 

“It’s really satisfying.”