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The Great DomestiCation

Cate

At the end of 2017, after 3 years of nomadic life since leaving London, I moved to Ireland. I did this on the basis that I had to live somewhere, and in Ireland British people have the right to live independent of the EU – it was a safe haven from Brexit, which had left me determined not to return to the UK again – aka, Brexile.

Since rental yields in Ireland are amongst the highest in Europe, the sensible thing to do financially was to buy a property. On an emotional level, less sensibly, I wanted a really nice bathroom. Of course, with rental yields being so high, every habitable place I found I was in competition with investors – who thought nothing of outbidding me by €15K. After the devastation of finding the “perfect” place (two bedrooms, two bathrooms, in an apartment complex just across the river from the ~6 month rental I’d found on arrival) only to be dramatically outbid, I got real, defined my parameters, vowed not to get emotionally caught up in a place again, and accepted that the extent of the renovation work might be much more than “just” a bathroom.

Eventually, I found a place that fit my parameters. A 3 bed 1 bath townhouse in an apartment complex. There was parking, and it was empty and clean (unlike some places), but had had essentially nothing done to it since construction, well over 20 years prior. It was a shell.

I had planned to hire an interior designer, but after (also) being SOL there, I found a project manager, and set out to see what I was capable of on my own. My goal: the feminine smart home, modern, vibrant, but not overwhelming, everything with either purpose or beauty (but preferably both). At that point, I owned a desk, two exercise balls, and an assortment of art. I was really starting from scratch, and as my friend Camille said to me some time into this endeavor, I “really did go from zero to fully domesticated very quickly”.

To start with, the things you don’t see in the pictures. Every room has underfloor heating – so much better in the cold Irish winter. I was very intense about this, vowing that I would “be warm in February”, only to learn that not all Februaries are quite as cold as the only one I had then experienced. This means the radiators don’t have to be as big, and in practice I rarely turn them on. All lighting is Hue, so I can control the colors, and keep rooms warmly lit in the evening – which helps with sleep. There are Sonos speakers throughout the house, typically music is playing from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep. Similarly, there are 4 electronic diffusers and 3 reed diffusers throughout the house. As I set about creating each space, I asked, “how do I want to feel?”, and scent is an important part of that.

I thought about designing the house much like designing a user interface. Knowing my own limitations I eliminated texture – no wood – because it’s much harder to match and would make ensuing decisions more complicated. Instead I opted for the same base of mid-grey flooring and pale grey walls throughout, and then on top of that built out each room’s character. Whilst all the colors would be too much together in one space, they all work together, creating a sense of harmony and progression. In each room then, there were two decisions – accent wall color, and blind color. Much more manageable than creating every space from scratch.

Kitchen

I wanted the kitchen to feel vibrant and energizing, like a sunrise or a sunset. The pink wall and pink and orange blinds, coupled with a large flower arrangement on the kitchen island make this a space that I’m always happy to walk into. The pink shelf brings the pink from the opposite wall across the room, and the mirror creates more light and space. In this room, I opt for fresh and clean scents, like Eucalyptus or Tea Tree.

The kitchen is from Cash and Carry Kitchens, and was designed by Marie. I really like the white look, and it allowed me to buy high end white appliances and have them fit in, without dealing with the annoyance, flakiness, and limited selection of built in ones.

All the appliances came from Ann M at Harvey Norman Little Island, who was incredibly helpful.

Other notable items:

Living room

I wanted the living room to feel relaxing and peaceful, like dusk. The blankets and the scent of lavender make this a cosy place to chill out at the end of the day.

Hall

An early decision in the design of the house was to paint the staircase orange. There were various suggestions to carpet the stairs and make it a more neutral space (aka cheaper and unappealing), but I went fully the other way!

I wanted to create a connection between the kitchen and the hallway, and rather than let the hallway be bland and boring, create a light and beautiful space – this is particularly apparent at the top of the stairs, where the mirror, statement light fixture, and glass doors make what could be a small dark space feel light and spacious. It creates a lot of warmth and generally makes the house feel welcoming, especially when combined with fresh but neutral scent, such as fresh cotton.

Bathroom

In my work on this renovation, my first stop was City Tiles and Bathrooms, where I told a lovely man named Barry that I was determined to have the bathroom of my dreams (modulo the depressingly small size of most European bathrooms). For me this meant: a rain shower and storage.

Note the little details in the shower – the shelf to put your leg when shaving, and the built in shelves. Finally! A shower with enough storage space for all my products without being messy. The cabinetry gives me space for all my beauty products, my beauty product stockpile, and even the storage of towels. Underfloor heating and a surprisingly powerful towel rack keep this room dry and warm all year round – even in February.

The light fixture conceals three Hue bulbs, which allow me to create the perfect evening lighting.

Office

I wanted my office to feel energizing and creative, but also cosy. As I was working from home even pre-pandemic, I wanted to create a space where I would be happy to spend every working day! I like to scent it with something energizing like orange or mint.

Despite the impression the pictures give (wide angle lense on the newer iPhones is amazing), this is the smallest room in the house, and given there was no way to make it feel bigger and spacious, it was unsuited to a minimalistic approach. Instead I went for a kind of creative clutter. I love this room, everywhere I look I find something to inspire me. The hanging egg chair gives me a space to relax during breaks in a long day.

Guest room

I wanted to create a guest room that would feel like a beautiful sanctuary for anyone who came to stay in it, whilst also providing extra storage space that I desperately needed with the corner wardrobe and under bed storage. I believe the only scent for a bedroom is lavender.


My bedroom

The final room, my bedroom, which I wanted to be a space where I felt happy and inspired to wake up every morning. I painted the wall my favourite shade of pink, and filled it with items that I find beautiful – as well as the comfiest, cosiest bed linens I could find.


Other credits…

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