Amanda Magazine

Amanda’s spectacular makeover of this Irish Cottage on Ireland’s wild Atlantic coastal county of Donegal.  See what it looks like now…

HONEY COTTAGE NOW

I had been looking for a thatched cottage in Ireland for so long, it was not an easy thing to find. There was no shortage of cottages in desperate need of some love and attention but this was the height of the Celtic Tiger and cottages belonged in the

Irish psyche to a miserable, poor age, since superceded with bungalows and

Details make all the difference

investment properties in Bulgaria. What that meant in practice was that thatched cottages, unlike in the UK, were not only not protected – you could demolish a 200 year old cottage with impunity, but clueless planning meant that new houses were being built just a few yards away from them, ruining the aspect entirely. Having been to nearly every county in the land I finally found this cottage in Co. Donegal in its own seven acres of land meaning I was able to protect the cottage, like a moat around a castle, against the rampant over development that was happening in Ireland at that time.

Transforming the Bathroom

The bathroom as you can see from below was a very grim affair. It was extremely important that it was neither cold nor miserable but pretty, clean and inviting. I chose chalky pink marble tiles from Fired Earth and the walls are painted in Smoke Blue, again by Fired Earth. A vintage look heated towel rail by Hudson Reed keeps pristine towels warm and cosy. The shower head is an 8″ drenching rose, for a sumptuous shower experience a million miles from the electric shower that is very common in Ireland. Out of shot is a free standing slipper bath and creamy smooth marble hand basin. Since this shot was taken there are now pretty curtains on the window softening and completing the look. Now it is an altogether more pleasant room than the one inherited!