See inside the colourful family home that's playful yet practical

Irish Examiner Home Editor Eve Kelliher discovers how designer Emily Cunnane and owner Rebecca Griffin created the look

The decor throughout their home is inspired by interior design features in southern Spain, according to the owners. Pictures: Alex Urdenata, https://www.instagram.com/aleucv/

It's a space that’s guaranteed to get their friends’ words flowing so it’s no surprise the conversation pits of the 1970s inspired the open-plan living area in Rebecca Griffin and Jason Loughrey’s home.

A custom-designed U-shaped sofa sits pretty to create a super-sociable focal point in the room.

“The sofa in the lounge space was designed to feel like a ‘room within a room’ and was inspired by the ‘conversation pits’ of the 1970s,” says Emily Cunnane, who masterminded the interior design.

“It took a total of nine layered fabrics to make it into the statement piece it is now.”

Rebecca and Jason built their dream home from scratch.

The husband-and-wife team together with an architectural technician created the three-bedroomed newbuild they share with their twin sons, Alex and Seb, 14, in Straffan, Co Kildare.

“It’s on my parents’ land, behind my parents’ house,” says Rebecca.

The living space in the Straffan, Co Kildare, home.

They laid the foundations in December 2019 and Rebecca adds they didn’t know exactly what they wanted design-wise for their interiors until they were living there.

Enter Emily Cunnane, creative director of InSpace, who design-managed the project. Emily arrived onsite in spring 2020 and the family moved in on December 28, 2020.

As Emily says, the result is a home that “breaks the mould of the traditional country house”.

The couple’s travels, particularly in Granada in Spain, influence the interior design, as do living spaces in Morocco and Mexico, according to Rebecca — and of course, Emily’s ideas. “Emily just opens your mind, she sees things you could never imagine,” adds Rebecca.

“Emily drew up a design plan for us, which made it so much easier because we could work to that plan. Because we had Emily onboard early, at the planning stage, we didn’t have to drill out any bits of wall or change light fittings, when the electrician came along, for instance — it ensured everything flowed nicely,” says Rebecca.

The homeowners were keen for their house to be “a bit different” — but practicality was a key consideration.

“I wanted a home that was colourful but that also functioned well — it’s a family house first,” Rebecca says.

Deep blues and greens vie for attention with lime and a rich purple

once you enter. “The homeowners wanted something that was hardwearing and a country house (they have two energetic young boys), but also wanted it to be non-traditional, and inspired by colour and their travels,” says Emily.

Spanish and Mediterranean vibes are reflected in the “colour, plaster finishes and bright textiles”, adds the designer.

The eye is also drawn through a large window to the landscape beyond. “Visitors are invited to sit and take in the view on the curved bouclé sofa,” says Emily.

Two paintings by Ruth Cassidy flank the picture window in the living area, and these suggested the shades used in the upholstery.

A custom-designed U-shaped sofa is the living room’s main focus, which creates a social space.

Cool colour codes are a theme throughout this home’s custom-designed kitchen, from the blue-tinted concrete worktop to the honey-hued microcement bathroom, and even the kitchen hood, which is made from corrugated iron, a nod to the roof of the house.

This is their first home together for Rebecca, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, and Jason, who restores classic cars. “It’s a really nice way to do it [build and finish a home] as you have it exactly as you want it,” says Rebecca. 

“We were also very fortunate that we finished the project just before the huge hike in prices for everything construction-related.

She adds: “We learned so much! I never thought of myself as a creative person but I soon started painting and doing all sorts of things and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My husband, on the other hand, is quite creative, but in an engineering capacity.”

Homeowner Jason Loughrey made the kitchen table, lights above the table as well as the frame in the kitchen.

This came in extremely useful, as many items needed to be bespoke. “Jason made the stairs himself and he made the metal-framed screen in the kitchen the metal. He made a huge number of pieces, including my desk.”

The walls in the kitchen and throughout the main sections of the house have a rough-plaster finish “to create the ‘imperfect’ look the clients love, adds Emily. “These will hopefully look even better as they age,” she says.

The designer’s favourite space is the entrance area.

“The owners wanted it to feel more than a hallway, so it’s actually a full room size and was created with adult use in mind — listening to music, reading, looking out at the outside fields,” says Emily.

“This is a hallway that invites lingering.”

The kitchen was a zone both she and the owners believe should “feel worn and would wear well over time”, she adds. “We didn’t want it to look like something you could acquire in a showroom,” says Emily.

The rough-pine units were designed with random-width vertical panels, with a mix of pull-holes and metal handles. “The owner also poured their own concrete countertop, with just the tiniest bit of petrol-blue dye, so it looks really unusual and has a beautiful texture,” says Emily.

The extractor cover was constructed from corrugated iron — a material also found on the roof of the house and many farm buildings around the area.

Lighting was also carefully considered, adds Emily.

Because of the industrial nature of the site, barrel spotlights are used rather than standard ones. “This is the functional design element.

“We then gave a lot of thought to the decorative lighting elements — for example, the light hanging over the dining table was designed by me but the whole family made it. Jason created the metal structures out of what he had at home, and the boys did the ‘paint flecking’,” says Emily.

Much of the furniture and fit-outs are bespoke by family friend Tim Cains (T&G Timberworks), who also created the sleeping quarters, including the twins’ bedrooms. At the same time, homeowner Jason also designed and made a number of eye-catching features in the home, including the kitchen table and the light fittings above it, the frame in the kitchen, and the staircase.

The twins “had a good bit of input into their own bedrooms”, adds their mum, while Emily notes the boys’ bathroom also rocks a different look to the rest of the house. “We wanted it to remain true to the colour palette but be more fun and young,” she says. “We used a plain basic white tile and used green grout to create a link with the WowDesign green tiles used on the rest of the floor,” she says.

As for Rebecca’s favourite spot?

“It’s definitely my bedroom! The room itself is quite dark but the materials are luxurious so it all feels quite lavish,” she says. “The house gets quite warm because it’s a newbuild but that room stays quite cool and refreshing so it’s where I go to relax.”

The ensuite in the master bedroom was modelled on Mexican and Moroccan interior architecture, with a microcement finish on the walls and floor.

“We wanted to avoid using too much glass so that the clients could keep the area clean very easily, so the screen and all of the vanity was all modelled from concrete and plaster instead of tiles and glass,” says Emily.

Overall, the biggest-ticket interior items are “probably the upholstery”, according to the designer — “the banquette, the custom sofa and the bed in the main bedroom we created (InSpace designed and our upholstery companies manufactured them)”.

“We mixed a lot of the furniture with some of the clients’ family heirlooms “Oriana B supplied the beautiful vintage dressing table in the bedroom and Ruth Cassidy did the artwork in the main living space,” says Emily.

Roberto Tiranti created the custom sinks, while the lighting in the ensuite is by Mullan.

You could say the owners and designer have put the fun into functionality. “Because the house functions so well it makes it doubly nice; it flows,” Rebecca says. Emily agrees: “Our main aim is to create joyful spaces that flow, function and inspire.”

SOURCEBOOK

Designer: Emily Cunnane, InSpace, www.inspace.ie, Instagram: @goinspace

Lighting, ensuite: Mullan

Custom sinks: Roberto Tiranti

Art, living room: Ruth Cassidy

Vintage dressing table: Oriana B

Custom sofa/banquette/bed design: InSpace