RTÉ's Home of the Year: From schoolhouse to dream house
Jacqui and Robert Naughton's home in Mayo. Pictures: Joe McCallion
You could say each room in Jacqui and Robert Naughton’s home is like a classroom in interior design.
Built in the early 1900s, the property was a school at one stage and had already been in Robert’s family when the couple purchased it in 2020.
Jacqui and Robert live in the renovated village residence in Mayo along with their two sons.
“We think it’s the oldest house on the street or in the town,” says Jacqui, an interior decorator.
She and Robert completely renovated the building to restore it as a cosy family dwelling.
Robert adds: “Over the course of its life it’s been a girls' secondary school from, I think, 1952-1961.
“My parents bought the property in 1977. I lived here for nine years, I think.
“My parents lived here until they both passed away and we took over the property in 2019."
“It had been vacant for probably about four years."
Now the one-time schoolhouse has been selected as the fourth finalist to proceed in the 2023 Home of the Year competition.
“It was nice to retain it as a family home; we brought it back to life,” says Robert on the RTÉ One series.
“When we moved back here we were the only family living on the street and since then two more families moved to the street.”
Architect Hugh Wallace loves that this build is enjoying a new lease of life.
“It is so important that these houses are refurbished, lived in and loved," he says.
Jacqui describes the interiors as "traditional country style" and tried to restore the character of this historical building which had been lost over the years.
“We did all the work ourselves; we literally gutted the place,” she says.
Robert adds: “We’ve a similar taste in how we want things to look — and I get told what to do!”
The couple lived in the United States for five years and as the judges roam from room to room, they notice an American accent at certain points.
“I know one of the judges, Sara [interior designer Sara Cosgrove], is from Mayo and I’m delighted to be back in my home county,” adds Jacqui.
Both Sara and architect Amanda Bone are fans of the residence’s “restrained colour palette” inside and out.
On the ground floor, Amanda believes one area is “overly packed” for her liking: “I don’t feel this furniture does justice to the actual bones of the house.”
Hugh disagrees: "I don’t feel anything is wrong, it is perfect.”
Jacqui and Robert’s favourite spot is at the kitchen island.
“We sit around the island a lot; if the island could talk it could tell a lot of stories,” says Jacqui.
All three judges love the kitchen, particularly Sara.
“It’s the heart of the home, and for me, I’m absolutely loving the colour palette, fresh blue and white; it actually reminds me of my mother,” she says.
Amanda adds: "The light is coming from the south, it’s going to hit bang on where the favourite spot is.”
But the next direction this trio is headed for is the bathroom.
There Hugh is stopped in his tracks by what he describes as a “collection of jugs and a very big cup”.
Sara puts him right as to the use of the latter. “I think that’s for pee,” she informs him sweetly.
Hugh is still bemused: “I thought it was for tea; I’d a lesson today, I just thought they had very big coffee cups in Mayo.”
An Amanda-pleasing luxury awaits through the next doorway — a sofa in the main bedroom — while a few steps further, the second bedroom's decor transports all three at full gallop to the western movies of their childhoods.
“You know that American vibe, I feel like I’m in a log cabin,” says Hugh, while Amanda waxes lyrical about her dreams of “driving the biggest pick-up truck on a dirt track in Wyoming”.
Hugh and Sara each award the property nine marks while Amanda gives it a seven.
“It’s great to see a village property restored and lived in by a family bringing life back to a community,” says Hugh.
For 26 years, home for Jean and John Farrell was a Victorian house.
During that time, was perfect for a growing family, but as their children moved out, the couple followed the dream they held of building a contemporary dwelling in the garden of their former property.
Now they live in a modern newbuild, with a sloped garden. The challenge was to capture the light and the spectacular views, they add.
Jean and John worked closely with their architect and builder to make sure the home was sympathetic to its surroundings.
The property is spread out over four floors to maximise the challenging site.
“All the living spaces are upstairs, so we ended up with what people might term as an upside-down house,” says John.
Jean describes their interior style as “very contemporary, very functional and exactly what we wanted”.
María Alcazar and Michael Swan live in a duplex apartment in Kildare along with their daughter, Sofia.
They bought the property in 2001 when it was still very much a shell, so they set about putting their own stamp on it.
Over the years they have done lots of work to the home, including extending the footprint of the kitchen, installing floor-to-ceiling bookshelves for their reading corner, redesigning the layout of the mezzanine level and installing Crittall-style doors to increase the amount of light in the space and redesigning the layout of the bedrooms.
María loves that their apartment is full of natural light, space and colour and that it makes a perfect family home.
“It’s mostly open plan and quite colourful,” says María.
Michael adds: “We just went a little bit mad.”
As María raises the question of style, Michael says: “I just want to clarify, I have no style. I was just happy to live here, to turn the key and move in.”
Light was important to the couple. “We knocked down two walls, we made it bigger, it just transformed the apartment completely, it really changed everything,” says María.
Michael adds: “It was María's vision. I would have just knocked a hole in the wall [and said], ‘It’ll be grand’.”
Their favourite spot is perched on their L-shaped sofa, he adds. “If you’re sitting down there in the morning, it’s perfect for looking out in the garden, and in the evening it’s the prime spot for the telly.”
The couple's take on the judges' impending visit sums up why we all tune in to : “If they like it, great, If they don’t, we’re not precious about it. It’s just that it is our home, it’s where we live,” says Michael.
All three judges admire the “bright and bold” elements of the apartment.
Sara and Amanda are disappointed when Hugh awards the apartment seven marks out of ten. “It was a cacophony of colours, of items of furniture but I did find it, even for me, a bit overcrowded,” he says.
- Home of the Year airs on RTÉ One on Tuesdays at 8.30pm and is on the RTÉ Player
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
