Beautifully Bespoke

The owners of this house renovated their occasional holiday home in Co. Down in order to make it work for their family 365 days of the year.

We took on a full renovation of the house four years ago in order to be able to permanently move here and live in this beautiful part of the country,' they explain. We always enjoyed spending time here and knew with some changes that it would be perfect for us.'

The front of the house was changed with the addition of the sandstone steps and door frame. We love traditional features and working with a local stonemason came up with this design to make the entrance to the house more substantial. The exterior was rendered in a peachy salmon shade and they complemented it with the front door painted in Farrow & Ball Brinjal.'

In the entrance hall, they replaced the existing stone tiles with a classic black and white tile design and lightened up this area by painting the existing 1950's mahogany panelling in Farrow & Ball Pigeon. The addition of Mallow wallpaper by Morris & Co above the picture rail adds even more personality to this space. A large floor-standing mirror has been deliberately positioned to enlarge the area, reflecting light and the staircase.

Leading off the hallway is the couple's dining room, where they have kept the original mahogany in the bay window. 'It really is a house of two halves', homeowner Christine explains. 'One part is dramatic and dark, while the other is light and bright.'

In this colourful room, the picture rail is painted in Brinjal to give that connection to the front door and the couple used Farrow & Ball Oval Room Blue on the lower walls and Farrow & Ball Stiffkey Blue above the picture rail and below the cornicing, which is painted in Rangwali from Farrow & Ball.