As They Like It

This four-bedroom semi-detached in Co. Monaghan is home to Oana and Bogdan along with their daughters Smaranda and Miruna, not forgetting Robbie the Bichon Frise.

- BARBARA EGAN

'Riverdance, which I watched over and over, along with U2 music videos on MTV with that stunning landscape in the background, that was pretty much what I knew of Ireland before we moved here fourteen years ago,' says Oana Baciu of the couple's choice to move to Co. Monaghan in 2007. 'It looked beautiful, and although I knew nothing of the history, I knew Ireland had a wonderful culture.' Their eldest daughter Smaranda was nearly three when the couple decided to leave their native city of Iași, a university city known as the cultural capital of Romania. Bogdan had a degree in law and a postgraduate in IT. Oana, who qualified as a primary school teacher, had retrained as a hairdresser as it was far better paid. 'But we wanted to bring our children up under a different system than the one we had there,' she explains. 'We really liked the idea of living in Ireland, and from the beginning, my goal was to completely integrate into life in our new country.' They decided on Carrickmacross as Bogdan already had a cousin there - they travelled here when he found a job on a building site, and Oana initially worked as a waitress.

Fast forward to 2021 and Bogdan works in IT and bookkeeping and Oana has her own hair salon and concept store in Carrickmacross, sharing space with the sleek Danish furniture of D40 Studio. But Oana has always had a real interest in interior design and Bogdan is one of those people who can turn their hand to anything, and that is why their house is so original.