Light Fantastic

Ciara and Kevin used muted neutrals, organic textures and crisp white walls to transform a dingy semi-detached house in Belfast into a light, bright home, full of sunshine.

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A 48” television in a terracotta living room was not Ciara’s idea of the ideal home, so when her then fiancé Kevin suggested his bachelor pad as a contender for their first home together, her heart sank. ‘Kevin had bought the house in 2000. It was his first property and not only was it a good investment but it was also really handy to the nightlife of South Belfast,’ says Ciara. However, with barely enough time to enjoy it, his work took Kevin to Dublin and rather than incur all the expense of selling the place, he decided to rent it out – until, that is, he met Ciara on a weekend back in his home city. ‘Kevin had been away for about five years by this stage and although we had a kind of long-distance relationship for a few months, thankfully he was able to re-locate back to Northern Ireland and after a whirlwind romance we decided to get married in 2007!’ says Ciara, who immediately start scouring property websites for their first house together.