The Last Resort
The Last Resort
Follow the wild, inspiring, and sometimes chaotic restoration journey of Katrina McLarin and her wife, Brenda Laverick, as they bring Casa Nova House — a magnificent 1861 Oamaru Stone mansion in New Zealand’s South Island — back to life.
What began as a bold decision to buy a historic home soon became something much bigger: a hands-on adventure filled with restoration challenges, unexpected discoveries, big dreams, financial realities, laughter, frustration, and more than a few surprises along the way.
The Last Resort takes you behind the scenes of what it really means to restore and reinvent a heritage property when there’s no instruction manual and no guarantee that everything will go according to plan.
From uncovering the history hidden within the walls to navigating renovations, business ideas, relationships, setbacks and triumphs, Katrina and Brenda share the real story — the good, the bad, and the completely unexpected.
If you love historic homes, renovation adventures, New Zealand heritage, entrepreneurial stories, or tales of people taking a chance on something extraordinary, The Last Resort is for you.
The Last Resort
Ep 8 - New Home in Italian
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Series 1 of The Last Resort Podcast comes to a close with this final, reflective episode of Casa Nova House – The Journey. Over the past five years, Katrina McLarin has shared the highs, lows, and everything in between of restoring and transforming Casa Nova House. From its grand Victorian beginnings in 1861 to its modern-day reinvention, this stunning mansion has weathered the test of time and continues to adapt and thrive.
In this episode, Katrina reflects on the remarkable journey of restoring this historic treasure and turning it into a vibrant future. Casa Nova House’s story is far from over, and its legacy will undoubtedly remain a significant part of history for generations to come.
Casa Nova House - The Journey
