Luxury living for less
A crafty homeowner in Cork has created a luxurious interior on a limited budget by rolling up her sleeves and learning to upholster, wallpaper and upcycle, discovers Marie Kelly.
For six years, Saoirse Findlay and her partner lived just a couple of minutes from the 210 sq m 1980s home they bought in 2023 without ever knowing it existed. Discreetly positioned behind a cluster of beech trees at the edge of their village near Ballincollig in Co Cork, it came on the market as if out of nowhere and the couple immediately knew it was the diamond in the rough they’d been searching for – in need of polishing up, but with the character they craved. “The house had unbelievable bones,” explains Findlay, “gorgeous original features like a marble fireplace and solid oak floorboards; it had loads of personality.”
A self-confessed magpie, Findlay has lovingly filled her home with an eclectic mix of curiosities, antiques, upcycled pieces and high-street finds for a look that exudes luxury but is more shoestring than spendthrift. In the kitchen, for example, she bought a mid-range Cash & Carry kitchen then painted it and added solid oak worktops to achieve a more bespoke look. “I bought a paint kit from The Paint Hub in Carlow,” she explains. “I chose Nordic paint brand Tikkurila because it’s incredibly durable and I colour-matched the shade to Farrow & Ball’s Green Smoke. The worktops are from Cork Builders Providers and my partner and I oiled them and put them in ourselves.”
As the refurbishment gained momentum, the couple took on more and more of the work themselves, revealing that a series of hefty quotes spurred them on to just have a go. “There’s so much information online now and step-by-step tutorials on YouTube,” she says. “It feels daunting at first, but all you have to do is follow them.” Her pride and joy is the 1910s chaise longue she bought for €50 in a secondhand shop in Cork City and reupholstered in a William Morris fabric. “I’d never reupholstered before,” she admits. “I’m delighted with how it turned out.”
Facebook Marketplace and House of Klax Interiors are her go-to hubs for unique and quirky finds. The decorative plates hanging in an attractive display above the antique kitchen table and chairs – these were found on Done Deal and bought for €170 – were sourced from the latter and the wine rack in the kitchen was found on Facebook Marketplace. Findlay laughs as she explains: “I thought it was a beautiful antique, but when I did some research, I discovered it was a Super Value collectible acquired with tokens back in the day. I actually think those pieces are iconic now because they were in everybody’s home at one point.” All of the lighting in the kitchen is from Marks & Spencer. “It’s very affordable and the quality is unreal.”
Findlay chose faux-limestone porcelain tiles for the kitchen floor. “I didn’t want the maintenance or the price point of real limestone,” she explains, “and I added a vintage-style rug by Lore Rugs, which I bought from rugs.ie; it’s washable and stain-resistant so perfect when you have an eight-year-old and a four-year-old running around the house.” She chose a larger Lore Rug for the living room as the original floorboards there were badly scratched from the previous owners’ dogs. “It covers a multitude,” Findlay says.
A self-confessed magpie, Findlay has lovingly filled her home with an eclectic mix of curiosities, antiques, upcycled pieces and high-street finds for a look that exudes luxury but is more shoestring than spendthrift.
The dark mahogany Victorian sideboard in the living room was another Facebook Marketplace find and it determined the space’s cosy aesthetic. “I love this piece and I couldn’t believe I got it for just €80. It has the most beautiful engravings; the kind of detailing you’d never find on a piece today. So I decided to really lean into a dark, moody vibe in this room,” says Findlay.
She describes the chalky-finish lime-wash paint as “like velvet on the walls”. It’s from Bauwerk Colour and the shade is Forest. The pillow-back sofa is eight years old from DFS and has been personalised with a varied and textured mix of scatter cushions from TK Maxx, Scatter Box and Home Store + More. The recliner was her partner’s choice. “I wasn’t sold, but I let him have it,” she laughs. The standing lamp, with its tactile fringed shade, was found at a flea market near McCurtain Street in Cork. Between the sumptuous paint and original wall sconces, the living room walls needed little dressing. An elegant wreath handmade by Findlay hangs above the recliner and thrifted gilded wood birds add a subtle reference to the surrounding landscape.
The master bedroom embraces the same warm and snug atmosphere and was designed around the pink velvet bed, which Findlay had bought from EZ Living Interiors several years ago. The ceramic floral lampshade came with the house and although Findlay hated it at first, once the interior scheme took shape, it began to look like an integral part of the design and now it’s one of her favourite elements in the room.
The antique bedside lockers have beautiful curved legs and dovetail joints and were another Facebook Marketplace find. “The owner had them listed as modern pieces. I don’t think he realised what he was selling for just €40.” Findlay felt the radiator detracted from the softness of the space so she bought a radiator cover and painted it with some leftover Green Wharf paint by Colourtrend. “I didn’t want to buy more so I used what I had left over and I think it works.” But it’s the Rebel Walls wallpaper in Vintage Garden that gives this room its unique identity. “Wallpaper is my weakness,” Findlay confesses. “I papered this wall and both the kids’ bedrooms myself,” she says.
Findlay curated the grown-up spaces around her own eclectic aesthetic – or as she explains it, her love of a little bit of everything – but she designed her son and daughter’s bedrooms entirely around their own likes and dislikes. “My son loves geography and is obsessed with maps so I bought a peel and stick wallpaper from Rebel Walls. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle that sticks to the wall. It couldn’t be easier,” she explains. His favourite colour is yellow and he adores rainbows so Findlay upcycled an old locker her mum was getting rid of to include both colour and motif. The bed itself is a simple Ikea single and the playful rug is from Aldi. “The quality of items in Aldi’s middle aisle is great,” she reveals.
She anchored her daughter’s bedroom around a house bed given to her by a friend and originally bought at Jelly Bean in Cork. “She can throw blankets over it and transform it into a tent,” says Findlay. The cot cover at the top of the bed is an old item she dyed to give it a blotchy, tie-dye effect, making it look vintage rather than homespun. The room was lime green when the family moved in so she quickly papered the top half of the walls in Forest Creek wallpaper from Rebel Walls and built panelling, which was painted in Alchemist Paints’ Dusty Rose from The Paint Hub. A hammock from Home Store & More provided a discreet but effective storage solution for her daughters’ growing family of teddy bears.
The old adage that one man’s trash is another’s treasure is a fitting maxim for this inviting mix-and-match home. Some old-fashioned elbow grease coupled with the patience needed to search for the right piece at the right price has produced a cocooning and comfortable family home with no small amount of character and charm.
This article was originally published in The Sunday Times Ireland, December 2024