'I manifested this house': Inside Aileen Hogan's revamped dream home

Eve Kelliher discovers how the founder of Shabby.ie  transformed every room and why she’s encouraging us to revamp our front doors

Aileen Hogan, centre, founder of Shabby.ie. She painted her front door, left, in Shabby Cilantro, Fleetwood, and one of her favourite spaces is her outdoor bar, right.

Asked who she’d choose to play her in a movie of her life, Aileen Hogan shoots straight. Remember, this is the DIY trainer whose self-proclaimed mission is to help women “replace fear with confidence, one project at a time”.

Her answer is right on target. “Jennifer Lawrence — or rather Katniss Everdeen, the character she played in ‘The Hunger Games’. Why? Because Katniss shows determination to fight for what is right, strength to protect those she loved, and belief she could enact change,” she says.

Enacting change is what the founder of Shabby.ie is all about. Aileen has over a decade of experience teaching practical DIY skills, thereby empowering hundreds of women to improve their own homes. “I know first-hand the sense of accomplishment you feel when you achieve something you thought you weren’t capable of — there’s nothing like it,” she says.

As with her arrow-slinging alter ego, this can-do attitude has powered Aileen since her childhood — and long before she ever picked up a drill. “From the age of 12, my dream was to become cabin crew and travel the world — and I made it happen," she says.  

"I joined British Airways long-haul in London at 24 and stayed for 20 years, leaving only when my second child was born so I wouldn’t miss more ‘firsts’ as I had with my first child.

“I’ve always been creative and loved working with my hands, so I began upcycling furniture at home.” That hobby grew into a small business, then a shop selling paint and craft products. “Over time, I built a large social media following [Aileen has 144,000 followers on Instagram] and became an ambassador for Irish family-run paint company Fleetwood Paints,” says Aileen.

“Since covid, I’ve studied adult training and further education at Maynooth University and shifted to teaching beginner DIY to women. I feel blessed to have had two careers I’m truly passionate about.”

Doorway to adventure

This bank holiday weekend, she’s focusing on one particular campaign: revamping our front doors. “The goal is to show just how much can be accomplished with good products and smart planning in only one weekend," she says. 

Too often, we put things off because we think they’ll take too long; we simply don’t have the time or are not able ourselves.

As for the front door to her Co Tipperary home, like the rest of the property, it’s had a makeover since Aileen and her family moved in six years ago. For starters, it was originally bright yellow. “We painted it green to complement the exterior wall colour, which we kept,” she says. 

“I will be repainting it soon, a darker green called Burnt Sage from the Prestige range of Fleetwood Paints. But green is staying.”

Aileen's front door is painted in Shabby Cilantro and her house in Willowbrook, both Fleetwood.

Aileen lives in Terryglass, a village on the shores of Lough Derg, with her husband Tommy, their children Cathal and Alex, and their two dogs. “I am originally from Raheny in Dublin, and my mother is from Tipperary, and we have always maintained very close relationships with our extended family there, but it was still quite a surprise to both myself and my family when I ultimately married and settled in rural Ireland — particularly having lived in the UK for several years,” she says.

Aileen takes full credit for making this good life of her fantasies a reality. “I manifested this house,” she says. “I knew exactly what I wanted, printed photos of it from the internet, and pasted them in my manifestation journal.

“I added more pictures showing how I’d decorate the kitchen and bedrooms to make it mine. I couldn’t afford the house — it was way out of my price range — but I fully believed it would be mine, even when others said, ‘Aileen, that’s not going to happen.’

Aileen's kitchen, before and after.

“Then one Sunday, during one of my many drive-bys, I saw an auctioneer putting up a sign at the end of the road. It was for this house. It had been repossessed and was being sold by the bank — right within my budget. And suddenly it was ours. I still feel the excitement today when I think of our first night in this house. Our forever home.”

The family took up residence in September 2020, and since then Aileen has reimagined every room in what was originally a four-bed property. “We decided to transform the bedroom adjacent to the living room into a den or TV room to expand our living area,” she says.

“Subsequently, we converted the attic to regain the bedroom we lost.

“In the main bathroom, we removed the bathtub, retiled the space, and turned it into a more accessible shower room.”

Every room, including the kitchen, received a fresh coat of paint, and Aileen redesigned the utility room. “Most rooms were panelled with T&G, picture rail, or batten and board, as we did in the TV room,” she adds. 

“Our home features an open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area which serves as the heart of the home. This is where we gather for family meals, and as a family deeply involved in the GAA, it’s also where we typically discuss the most recent hurling and camogie matches.

The den, before and after.

“We also enjoy watching movies in the den, which is very cosy and has a lovely atmosphere for evenings at home.” 

These spaces are also favourites of the family’s beloved rescue “fur babies”, Charlie and Biscuit, according to Aileen. “They tend to occupy most of the space on the sofas whether in the living room or our den or TV room,” she says.

Rescue dogs Charlie and Biscuit love to perch on the sofa in the living area. Right: Aileen's favourite outdoor spot.

Next stop was the garden. “We built a pergola and shed bar for entertaining, swapped the surrounding grass for large perennial flower beds to attract birds, bees, and butterflies, and added a vegetable patch with a tunnel for growing our own food, still leaving more grass than we actually need,” says Aileen.

The pantry, before and after.

What’s next on her home improvement agenda? “Is any room or home ever truly finished? I’m always looking around with a critical eye, wondering if there’s something I could improve or change,” she says.

“The only room left to tackle is my own bedroom. I installed flat-pack wardrobes and customised them to look completely built-in and far more expensive. When I posted it on Instagram, the reel went viral! Unfortunately, the rest of the room has been neglected, so finishing it is one of my projects for this winter.”

Aileen Hogan’s beginners’ DIY workshops for women continue in August; see Shabby, Instagram.com/shabby.ie, and Fleetwood.ie.

Q&A with Aileen Hogan

Your happy space at home?

The pergola/shed bar is my favourite outside space. We built it ourselves during covid, and we use it constantly for entertaining and family evenings.

Aileen Hogan's favourite space outdoors is her pergola and shed bar.

Indoors, I love the space near the front window in my living room. I love the view. I framed the window American-style, and as we live in a rural village, I don’t need a blind. But this corner has many sentimental things I get to appreciate every day, rather than have them hidden away — an original painting of the first house I built, a large wooden elephant from my mum’s house, and a wooden giraffe from a trip to Cape Town.

I adore the paint colour (Dunleer Mill mixed into multi-surface matt) and I colour-drenched the walls, the radiator and radiator cover, skirtings and doors to create a cohesive finish.

What’s your approach to storage and lighting?

Storage is a must in a busy family home, and my utility room is a great example. The lower cupboards are all pull-out drawers for different-coloured laundry, the dog’s food, recycling, and bins. 

Aileen's utility room, before and after, and far right, the door she created in the utility room.

I even closed off a door to create extra shelving, which I like to call my little shop, where I keep all the spare household products. I also transformed a wooden wardrobe into a freestanding pantry with shelves.

We added three skylights to the roof in the living area because, with the vaulted ceiling, it used to feel dark. 

Now, with plenty of daylight streaming in, we enjoy using atmospheric lighting at night, mainly relying on lamps, while the overhead lights have dimmers.

Describe your interior design style

My interior style is classic and cosy, blending old pieces with modern comforts for a country, slightly rustic vibe.

I don’t believe you can create a home instantly — you can make a nice space, a house to live in, but a home grows with you. It reflects your life, travels, and loved ones. That’s why I cherish that little corner in my living room; it holds so many memories in my new-yet-forever home.

Former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama.

Who would you most like to see walk through your front door?

Barack and Michelle Obama. They are both highly educated, have inspiring communication skills that uplift others, wonderful family values, and are role models.

Are you a good cook?

Absolutely not! But as I tell my guests, I may not have made the cake itself, but I made the lovely wooden cake stand it sits on.

Decking, before and after.

Ideal way to entertain guests?

I love hosting friends and family for late afternoon or evening drinks and food alfresco when the weather is beautiful — background music, the bar stocked, maybe some cocktails ready for the ladies, and serve a variety of tasty tapas to share. I even built an outdoor kitchen for a friend when fixing her broken deck, so she too could entertain outside.

PAINT YOUR FRONT DOOR IN A WEEKEND

Looking for a DIY project you can complete over the bank holiday weekend? Fleetwood Paints has launched its “Paint Your Doras” campaign.

A coat of paint can completely transform the look and feel of a home, says DIY expert Aileen Hogan: “Your front door is the first thing people see when they visit your home, so it’s a great place to start if you’re looking to tackle a DIY project. 

Anyone can transform their front door with a coat of paint in a weekend, says Aileen.

"With a little preparation and the right products, it’s a project that can make a huge impact.” Here is Aileen’s advice.

Prep

Remove hardware such as letterboxes, handles and knockers where possible. If not, carefully mask them using low-tack tape.

Give the door a thorough clean with a pre-mixed sugar soap and lightly sand the surface to help the paint adhere.

Fill and prime

Fill any dents or scratches with wood filler and sand smooth once dry. Apply a coat of Fleetwood Pure Grip Primer to ensure a flawless finish, especially on PVC or previously glossed surfaces.

Paint

Paint in the direction of the wood grain, starting with mouldings and corners before using a high-density foam roller on the panels. Complete the project with two coats of Fleetwood Advanced Satinwood or Gloss for a weather-resistant finish.