Behind the scenes with the photographer who puts global super-homes in the picture

Jessica Glynn shows her favourite room in her Mayo new build and tells Eve Kelliher why she loves seeing how others live in their dream homes

Jessica Klewicki Glynn, above right, and, main image, the kitchen of her Co Mayo home with her golden retriever Charli. Pictures: Jessica Glynn

As an award-winning photographer, Jessica Klewicki Glynn has an eye for what works visually.

So Jessica and her husband, Gerard, a builder and carpenter, made an enviably creative duo when renovating their home, at Kilmovee, Co Mayo (“near Knock Airport”, as Jessica puts it) — particularly her favourite room, the kitchen. 

“Being a photographer did help me lay it out in a way that would look and photograph the best,” she says. “My husband did 90% of the work on the house. He was doing million-dollar renovations in Palm Beach condos and runs his own company, Glynn Builders.”

Jessica, meanwhile, puts living spaces in the picture. “I love shooting residential homes. 

"I love getting to see how people live day-to-day in spaces that have been created to be their dream home,” she says. 

Interiors in the Holden residence photographed by Jessica Glynn in 'House Love'. 

If you're a connoisseur of glossy interiors spreads, you’ve most likely seen some of her oeuvre, which has appeared in Architectural Digest, Milieu, Galerie, House & Home, Traditional Home, and Coastal Living.

Jessica's books include Vendome’s Beachside and Palm Beach Chic, while House Love: Moor Baker Architects, with text by Chris Baker and photography by Jessica, is the photographer’s latest publication. 

Interiors featuring in 'House Love'. 

It invites us to step into the light-filled and airy homes of the Florida-based practice Moor Baker Architects. “I have photographed multimillion-dollar homes in Palm Beach and the Caribbean. I have also photographed small renovated horse stables in Dublin,” she says. “The range of variation I see in people’s homes is the most interesting aspect of my work.”

Does she and her family draw up itineraries for those international photoshoots at her perch of preference, at the kitchen island in the West of Ireland? “We definitely sit down at the island to plan our work, travels and future ventures,” she says.

Jessica Glynn's dog Charlie photographed in her kitchen.

Jessica describes the style of her home as “farmhouse modern”. “It is a new build that I believe was started in 2006, which was never finished by the previous owner. It was half-finished and never lived in. We then purchased it at auction in 2019,” she says. “We started working on our home renovation in 2021.

Photographer Jessica Glynn.

“The inside was unfinished cinder block. So we were able to move walls, add a loft space and make our own layout. We finished the renovation in 2023.”

Originally from Old Westbury, New York, Jessica relocated from Florida with her husband and their daughter, Keira, now 16, to Gerard’s native Kiltimagh in 2021. “We wanted our daughter to experience life in Ireland. She was 11 when we moved.”

High-end interiors in 'House Love'.

Jessica was in a similar age bracket when, as a teenage schoolgirl in Long Island, she envisioned her own future. “I fell in love with photography when I was 14. I developed my first print in the darkroom of my high school, and I was hooked,” she says.

She went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Boston University, then a master’s degree in photographic journalism at London’s Westminster City University. “I met my husband in Boston, during my last year of college — we’ve been together since,” she says.

A living space in 'House Love'. 

Her travels sharpened her eye for architecture and interior design. “While I was living in London, I started photographing architecture,” she says. Working with media companies and on busy news desks, and a stint with a backpacking magazine in Sydney, as well as travels in New Zealand, all helped set the scene for her current role. 

A photograph in 'House Love'. 

Jessica and Gerard returned to live in the US in 2005. “We moved to Florida, where my parents are now living,” she says. This led to shoots for local builders and realtors. “As I honed my skills, I started getting work from interior designers and architects,” she says. 

Global movers and shakers swiftly took note. “Many of the homes I have photographed are for Fortune 500 CEOs, celebrities and everyday people.”

Colour in 'House Love'. 

But for Jessica, an only child, who travels to the US up to three times a year for work and to visit Mom and Dad, it’s the spaces like the kitchen that count. “Many residences feature the kitchen as the heart of the home,” she says. 

“I think I like those best because it usually means the homeowners like to cook. My mother is Italian-American and my father Polish-American, so most good memories centre around delicious home-cooked meals.”

The kitchen in 'House Love' that Jessica loves. 

House Love features a kitchen that appeals to Jessica because it reminded her so much of her own when she photographed it. “I adore the kitchen in the chapter entitled Windsor Symmetry,” she says. 

“It is strikingly beautiful yet understated. We built the custom range hood over the cooktop to have the same style. The top fades back into the wall.”

Jessica and Gerard “styled everything around” their range hood: “My husband built the island and range hood. We had a local company, Flannery Kitchens, install the cabinetry.

Jessica Glynn's kitchen. Picture: Jessica Glynn

“Our kitchen works very well. We are able to entertain and cook at the same time. It’s just the three of us, our daughter, and our [female] golden retriever, Charli, five. 

"I have a bookshelf built into the island for cookbooks, and I have a secret cook’s stool area. Dowsing and Reynolds supplied the hardware, Carlow Paint supplied Tikkurila Paint, and the stools are from a furniture maker named Dan Bursztyn.”

Across the Atlantic, over the past 30 years, Peter Moor, Mary Juckiewicz, and Chris Baker — the principals of Moor Baker Architects — have built a reputation for creating timeless houses that prioritise clients’ preferences, climate considerations, and site-specific issues. They describe their practice as an “everything matters” firm, down to the doorknobs and hinges.

The Holden residence, featured in House Love. 

Peter and his wife, Mary, also an architect, relocated to Vero Beach, Florida in 1991, and founded Moor & Associates. All three architects are “now good friends” of Jessica’s, she adds: “This makes the book even sweeter. There are good memories of styling, having work lunches and dinners ...sleepovers ...while documenting beautiful architecture.”

Who else would Jessica love to invite over for a chat in her light-drenched Mayo kitchen haven? “My dream coffee buddy would be Francois Halard, the highly accomplished French architectural photographer,” she says.

• See Jessicaglynn.com, Instagram: @jessglynnphoto; you can buy the book at bookshops and online retailers, including Amazon
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