From bold colour palettes to storage ideas and layout options for rooms big and small, we’ve gathered inspiration from a variety of Irish homes to save for the next time you redecorate.
A living space is central to our enjoyment of our homes. It’s a space designed to gather together and relax, but creating the right mood whilst also ensuring the space functions as it should can be tricky.
Perhaps the shape of your room makes it awkward to place a sofa, or a lack of light makes it feel dark. Perhaps your space is prone to clutter, which makes it feel far from restful. To inspire all kinds of spaces, we’ve gathered together stylish living rooms from Irish homes.
Open space
Both this Dublin home (above left) and Belfast homes’ (above right) living space are part of an open plan kitchen, living and dining room. Whilst these kinds of spaces are perfect for families to feel connected, even when using different parts of the room, when it comes to the living space, it can be a challenge to make it feel cosy and calm.
An important step is to use visual cues to “zone” this section of the room, so that when you’re using it, you can feel somewhat separated from the kitchen. In this Dublin home, wooden cladding on the wall adds texture and warmth, and also helps to dampen sound in this multi-use space.
Open shelving provides the opportunity to display decorative items and books, adding to the sense of this space’s use, while the L-shaped sofa naturally orients you away from the kitchen behind, creating a feeling of cosiness and enclosure.
Similar ideas come to play in this Belfast home – here the open shelving is painted in a deep shade to pull your attention towards it, and adds depth to an otherwise bright space. The contrasting colour of the sofa complements the blue tones of the rug and shelving, making the space feel intentional and distinct from the rest of the room.
Neutral palette
A largely neutral palette is great for those who want their living space to feel both bright and calm. In this Wicklow home, the owners have let the height of the ceiling and dual aspect windows dictate the airy feeling of this room, keeping the walls white. Darker furniture adds depth to the space, while the natural texture of the stone hearth is allowed to shine.
This Dublin home, below, sits by the sea, and its palette feels suitably coastal with its soft beiges and blues. Designed by Lyons Kelly, the furniture shapes are clean and contemporary, but the variety of textures and natural materials helps the space to feel warm.
Photo: Mark Scott
Spotlighting colour
Colour can be used in a variety of ways in a living space. In this Dublin home, right, designed by Suzie McAdam, a deep shade was used for the built-in shelving, with bright yellow chairs adding a contrast. You can see that this dark colour does not make the whole room feel dark, with natural light and a white ceiling used to counterbalance the strong shade.
In this Galway home, below left, designed by Róisín Lafferty, a chalky blue has been used to colour-drench this whole room – walls, ceiling, and plasterwork. It’s a technique that can produce an incredibly restful effect, and in this space brightness is added through complementary oranges touches. The low furniture also allows for a statement light to draw your eye upwards.
While this Galway home, below right, adds colour to a neutral backdrop through vibrant furniture choices and artwork, a great option for when you still want a space to feel light, but want the personality of strong colour.
Photo: Barbara Corsico
Photo: Doreen Kilfeather
Period spaces
With period homes often comes characterful details, and there are a variety of approaches to these spaces. In this Dublin home, period details such as the stained glass windows and decorative plasterwork are allowed to shine thanks to an understated colour palette in the room. However, the owners haven’t been afraid to include their own taste: mid-century furniture adds a more modern edge to this room.
Similarly, the owners of this Edwardian Belfast home have kept details, including the fireplace and cornicing in this room, but their sleek, contemporary furniture and artwork update this space for the present. Built-in shelving also creates the opportunity to add personality through books, plants and favourite items.
These homes originally appeared in IMAGE Interiors. Have you thought about becoming a subscriber? Find out more, and sign up here, or order the Autumn/Winter 2024 issue.
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