This Wicklow home is a delightfully modern take on the traditional rural dwelling
Architecturally adventurous yet warm and welcoming, this new-build respects the buildings around it, while offering something fresh.
Down a quiet road, over a bridge that traverses a stream, and along a laneway that curves through what was once a field, is a home that was dreamed up many years before its white walls and pitched metal roof came to stand here.
When its owners, Alex Calder and Sam Doyle, first met with architect John McLaughlin back in 2016, they weren’t yet married. By the time they moved in last year, it was with their sons Darcy and Kit. “When we were first designing the house, we weren’t designing with children in mind, but John made us think about that,” Alex says. “It’s turned out to be the most family-friendly home; the boys have space to build train tracks or scoot around, it’s so open.”
The site is on the equine farm that Alex grew up on, which, although a truly idyllic setting, was the first hurdle that was presented to the couple. “It’s set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, and near a protected wetlands area,” John explains, “so it’s quite a sensitive site.” As such, meeting the needs of the planners took a few years of back and forth before getting the go ahead, just as the pandemic was about to rear its head. The inevitable delays ensued due to lockdowns and material shortages.
One unintended benefit of these delays was the chance to live with the idea of the home before it became a reality. “It meant that we had a lot of time to visualise it in our minds and feel if it was right,” Alex says. For example, living with Alex’s parents (just one field over) during construction taught them that while they wanted the space to be bright, they wanted shade, too.
“My parents have this huge wall of glass in their kitchen, but it’s too much, because the sun beats in.” John created an overhang from the roof to ensure the balance was struck just right. Unlike a traditional farmhouse, they also realised that they wanted the kitchen to be a hangout space, not just somewhere to cook, which is how the window seat came into being.
Despite going through various planning iterations, Alex explains, the main features of the home stayed consistent. “The wall of shelves in the kitchen was there from the beginning. I have a huge number of books, so I asked for somewhere to keep them, and it became a central part of the design. A lot of people who visit are surprised; they expect a modern house to be hard, or cold.” Housing books, ornaments, finds from nature, photographs and postcards, and toys, the shelves are a perfect snapshot of the family that lives there. The wood may not have been something they initially would have chosen, Alex says, but John convinced them it would add warmth. “I would never have thought we would have a house full of orange wood,” she laughs, “but actually, it’s great.”
The mono pitched roof was designed to help the house fit in with the agricultural buildings around it, and allowed for dramatic ceiling heights, as well as a home office tucked into the highest point. It also made possible a fun detail inspired by Alex’s parents’ house – a window in the office that opens out to a secret balcony. “It’s one of the most fun parts of the design,” Alex says. “I was talking about how my sister and I used to climb out her bedroom window onto a little flat roof and sunbathe. The next time we went for a meeting, John showed us this hidden balcony he’d added.”
Despite growing up just a field away, Alex says she was surprised by how much more connected this house feels to the landscape than her parents’ old farmhouse. The large windows and various vantage points make ideal watching spots. Regular sightings include a local heron, and a rookery that picks fights with a buzzard, while the kitchen door and windows open to create a truly indoor-outdoor space on warm days. The family have been growing vegetables, have planted 1,500 young native trees, and last summer the front of the house was awash with wildflowers.
“Because it had been a construction site, it was really simple to sow wildflower seed. I sowed yellow rattle last autumn, which will hopefully have suppressed the grass and allow the meadow to come back again,” Alex says.
The house also has impressive sustainability credentials. It was designed to passive solar principles, making the most of heat from the sun with its design and orientation, while external insulation stabilises the internal temperature. “We also used Irish-grown Douglas fir for the structure,” John says. “Irish wood isn’t often used for structure – because of our mild climate, it grows quickly, so it tends to be softer.” Sourcing one that was sufficiently hard, it became a main feature through the visible roof structure in the kitchen.
It’s a house that feels simultaneously modest and luxurious: simple materials combine to create spaces that are at once generous and pared-back, serene but warm. Rural living, for a new generation.
Photography: Doreen Kilfeather
Styling: Lesiele Juliet
This feature originally appeared in the spring/summer 2024 issue of IMAGE Interiors. Have you thought about becoming a subscriber? Find out more, and sign up here.
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