Recorded for the future: documenting NSW homes

For over three decades we have answered this question both by collecting historic materials connected to the home and also by commissioning photographic recordings of present-day houses and gardens in New South Wales.

We have photographically recorded homes since 1989. These recordings were often made at a point of change in the life of a house – for example, when it was about to be renovated or sold, sometimes after a long period of single family ownership. Some of the houses we have recorded were designed by well-known architects, others are simple suburban homes that represent a particular period or style and often just part of the house or even only one room or space has been photographed.

Many of the original recordings were done in the pre-digital age and a selection has subsequently been digitised. All of the photographs together with supporting documentation and research are held in the Caroline Simpson Library.