EACH WEEK, WE ask an Irish person with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home.
Laura Maher Hora has lived in her self-build home in Co Meath with her husband and two children since May last year.
“We had always wanted to buy an old Georgian house, full of character, but after searching for a few years and not finding the right one we decided to build our own,” says Laura.
“In a way it worked to our advantage as we were able to design a layout that worked for us whilst including all the the features of an original Georgian home.”
Now my job is to add a layer of character to it!
This week, Laura (@theirishcountryhome) chatted us through her favourite spot in her home: her kitchen.
The kitchen is the heart of our home. We designed it as a large open space with a dining area and sliding doors leading into our living room so that it would be a really sociable space. I love having people over and feeding them so the large island makes for the perfect buffet table on those days.
We have three sets of French double doors leading out onto our patio and garden so not only can I keep an eye on the kids while I’m in the kitchen area, but I get to enjoy the amazing views from this side of the house. We were so lucky with the site we got to build our house on as it has the most exquisite views from every window.
I would love to say my inspiration for this room came from all the fabulous Instagram accounts that I now follow, but I didn’t even know they existed when we were designing our house. I only joined Instagram after we moved in so I missed out on a lot of great ideas. I got most of my inspiration from Pinterest, kitchen magazines and The English Home Magazine, which I adore.
Our AGA was a non-negotiable when we started designing our kitchen. Even though we wanted a more modern country kitchen, both my husband and I came from homes where the AGA was the heart of the kitchen so we both wanted to bring that warmth into our own. It is a dual control AGA do we can turn it off in the summer and use the electric module for cooking.
The three stools are where we sit when we are reading the papers, having a quick snack or chatting during meal preparation times. The atrium above the island brings so much extra light into the kitchen and I love the moulding on it. It adds an extra layer of sophistication to it. There are also some faux flowers in this pic as the only downside of the AGA is fresh flowers don’t last as long with the heat. The upside to faux flowers is they look good all year around and require no maintenance!
I have a pantry off the kitchen so a lot of my storage is in there so it allows me to keep the worktops pretty clutter free which I love. The space feels clean and airy that way and it gives me more of a work space.
The rest of our home is similar in style. My style is mostly classic with a twist of modern. I want my home to look good but I also want people to feel relaxed in the space and not worry about knocking something out of place. I love for rooms to look classic and elegant but also warm and inviting. I have two small children so our home will be a work in progress for the foreseeable future!
I honestly did not tidy for this picture. I am quite a neat freak when it comes to our home and I just work better when things are in their place. Since having kids, I feel like I am constantly tidying and that has spilled over into how tidy I keep the house. Obviously, it does not look like this all the time, though!
Do you have a spot in your home that you’re particularly proud of? Do you enjoy styling the different rooms in your house? Are you always adding and changing little things to make your space stand out? If so, we want to hear from you! Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your home for a chance to feature in My Home in One Photo.
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