A prominent landmark in Picton, the Smith House, is an excellent example of an Italianate style villa. It was built for Mr George Alexander Smith his wife and their 14 children on land they had purchased in Oxford Street in 1875. It appears in early photos of Picton and has always been a prominent landmark of the town.

A discovery, during renovation, of an uncovered weatherboard bearing the signature 'R.A. Storey, 9.30am, 7/12/1886' suggests that the house was completed in the late 1880s. Mr Smith, a builder from Scotland, set up as a builder in Picton in 1872 with Mr Thomas Philpotts after first working as a journeyman. All the timber used by the firm came from a sawmill owned by Mr Smith and Mr Charles Reeves. Many fine Picton buildings, including the hospital, Oxley's Hotel, the Council Chambers, the Anglican Church, were built by George Smith and Co. Mr Smith enjoyed rowing and at one point employed the entire Picton No.1 crew in his businesses, saw to their training, and made sure they had time off for regattas.

Smith Home is a two-storey Italianate villa with Gothic trim. The exterior of the house is clad in 0.3 metre rusticated boards of totara and rimu and the roof is corrugated iron. There are two extensive balconies on the second story and a veranda on the first. It has elaborate panelling both inside and out, deep bay windows, and ornate cornice and skirting work. The stairs leading up to the front door have four impressive lion statues, one on either side at the bottom and at the top of the stairs. When Mrs Margaret Lee restored the exterior of the house in 1978 every panel was replaced in a manner in keeping with the original design of the house. Upstairs there were originally seven bedrooms. Mr and Mrs MacArthur, who brought the home in 1945, ran a boarding house for 3 years, then in the 1950s dived the interior into flats. Mr and Mrs Scheffler carried out further internal alterations in 1989, and again by current owners Richard and Imogen Fawcett in 2002.

From 1945 Mr and Mrs MacArthur ran the house as a boarding house, and in the 1950s they divided the house into 3 separate flats for accommodation. It was then again used as a private house when Mrs Margaret Lee purchased it in 1965, but was returned to accommodation when it was purchased by Mr and Mrs Scheffler in the mid-1980s. Since this time Smith Home's main use has been as accommodation as opposed to a private home, although current owners, Richard and Imogen Fawcett, use the first story of the house as their private living area, with the second story housing 3 separate accommodation apartments. It has had various internal alternations in order to meet needs of changing uses - namely for accommodation purposes. The Smith Home, now called Sennen House, is currently used as luxury apartment accommodation.

Since its construction Smith Home in Oxford Street has been a prominent landmark in Picton. The Smith House has social significance for its connection to Mr Smith, a well-known businessman in early Picton. Smith Home has historical value through its association with Mr Smith and also aesthetic significance as a town landmark. It is of architectural interest as an example of an Italianate style villa.