AFTER SPENDING SEVEN years living in a converted shed at the back of her mum’s garden, purchasing a new home was something Emma Clair and her husband had put a lot of thought into. 

“Living in the shed, which was a one-bedroom studio, gave myself and my husband the room to save, but we had definitely outgrown it,” she says. The couple had a laundry list of criteria when house-hunting, but a top priority was that their new place “felt right”. They found what they were looking for in a four-bed in Kilpedder, Co Wicklow.

“It was the first house we viewed and we instantly fell in love with it,” recalls Emma Clair in the first video instalment of our Home Is… series with Bank Of Ireland.

Not only does the couple’s new house afford them each “the space to do our thing”, it has also been a place to instantly fill with memories. Not just new ones, but old ones too.

“Everything has come from somewhere,” says Emma Clair, speaking about the furniture in her home.

All our things have a story or come with a past.

Moving in just as the country went into its first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 might have been an obstacle for some first-time buyers, but Emma Clair says it allowed the couple the time to really get to know their new home – and to get decorating, too.

The happiest lockdown discovery? “We found out that we could order tins of paint online,” says Emma Clair. “We constantly had boxes of paint and wallpaper arriving!”

Eighteen months on, the couple have truly put their stamp on their “sanctuary”. Watch the video to see how they’ve made their home their own, from hand-me-down family furniture to flamingo wallpaper.

Whether you’re buying a home or making one, talk to Bank Of Ireland about home improvement loans. Find out more here.

Lending criteria, terms and conditions apply. Over 18s only and not suitable for students. Bank Of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.