If you pass by Nikki Hansen and Matt Oboikovitz’s stunning Tudor home, you may admire its architectural details or how it complements the other unique and stately houses in Madison’s Nakoma neighborhood.
But step inside and something entirely different becomes clear.
This is a family home. A warm, beautiful, welcoming, evolving place for relaxing, recharging, having fun and spending time together.
Matt, a dentist, and Nikki, a photographer, moved in to the historic home three years ago, with giant Aussiedoodle Oscar and eight-month-old Annie more recently joining the party. Nikki’s sons — sixteen-year-old Barry, fourteen-year-old Aiden and nine-year-old Lias — split their time here and with their dad.
Adapting a house built in 1930 for a busy family of today has been a process, but Nikki and Matt are thoughtful in their approach.
“It’s important to me to respect the original character of the house,” Matt says.
That’s meant ripping out old carpet and overgrown landscaping, to let wood floors and natural light bring new life to rooms. But it’s also meant leaving dark wood trim and beams intact. And leaving some projects — like dated bathrooms and a mint-green kitchen — on the to-do list for awhile. They want to take their time to do things right.
“This is a timeless aesthetic,” says Nikki, who has filled the house with plants, beautiful textiles and some fun touches, like the black and white tile floor of the sunroom that she hand stenciled.
Another highlight of the house is its location, just a few miles from downtown. Matt and Nikki love being out and Annie has proven to be up for any adventure, happily sitting in her mom or dad’s lap at Madison restaurants and brewpubs.
“We’re just down to party,” says Nikki.
“We go out to eat all the time,” Matt adds.
When the boys are with them, the pace of life picks up.
“Weekends with them are really catering to wherever they need to go,” Nikki says.
But between swim meets and soccer practices, home is where everyone can reset. The boys can have friends over, or the family can just hang out together.
“I want my home to feel safe for my kids, for them to feel free to share how they feel,” Nikki says.
Home is also where Nikki has grown her photography business, expanding from portraits to include product and food photography for local and national companies and publications.
“Annie comes to all my shoots,” she says, adding that styling and shooting from home is more convenient when a baby is involved.
Nikki put her ongoing photography series documenting women artists on hold while Annie is so young, but she plans to pick it back up.
“I love doing portraits and showing what people do,” she says. “My photography is a way to give back to the community.”
And house projects, too, will ramp up once Annie gets a little older.
“This house is going to be a never-ending project,” says Nikki. “And we’re okay with that because it’s our forever home.”
Photos by Nikki Hansen.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and her family is always up for an adventure.