Luxe can be deceiving
This 850 square metre Wexford home may appear palatial from the outside, but within its walls is a series of homely and intimate spaces perfect for family living, says Marie Kelly.
Designed as a luxury summer retreat for three generations of the same family and a semi-retirement home for the couple who own it, this stunning 850 sq m Co Wexford new-build is a far cry from the overcrowded caravans of the sunny south-east many of us will have spent our childhood summers in. Interior designer Aodhain Scallan of Inside Design, who worked closely with the owners to create their dream rural idyll, says you’d almost need a map to navigate it.
Overlooking the white sandy stretches of Curracloe beach with south-east views along the coastline, this meticulously planned home by Lennon O’Keefe Design-Architects has been cleverly laid-out to offer a combination of private and communal living. Alongside the main family-friendly kitchen, living room, dining area, cinema, games room and rooftop bar, it houses three “pods” repeated over three “semi-floors” complete with master bedroom, en-suite, twin room and bunk room for each of the couple’s adult children and their children. It also includes a 200 sq m apartment, with kitchen, living and dining room, boot room, craft room and guest suite, which is housed on the second floor along with the couple’s own master bedroom and en-suite. This home within a home provides a more intimate lifestyle for the couple when they’re visiting their country retreat alone, as well as an occasional escape from the welcome, if sometimes exhausting, chaos of a big family on lengthy summer stays together.
The bleached sand dunes on the house’s doorstep and milky-blue Irish Sea beyond were the obvious inspiration for Scallan’s overall colour palette.
Despite a healthy budget, there was an awful lot of house to furnish so Scallan chose premium flooring, lighting and cabinetry and economised on accessories and decorative pieces. All of the cabinetry throughout the house, from kitchen units and alcove shelving to wardrobes and wash room cupboards, is oak and was designed and made bespoke by Michael Farrell Kitchens in Enniscorthy. “We chose a pre-finished floor and had the rest of the oak throughout the house custom sprayed in the same shade for a continuous aesthetic,” Scallan explains. Similarly, all of the walls were painted in Fleetwood Paints’ Hidden Green.
Although continuity in finishes and fabrics was key to making such an expansive house with several stand-alone spaces feel like one coherent and comfortable home, there were instances where Scallan felt this flow needed to be interrupted. To create a cocooning cinema room, for instance, Scallon colour-drenched the space in Fleetwood Paints’ Strandhill View and had custom-made velvet curtains colour-matched to it. She also swapped out the plank flooring for a herringbone pattern to create a threshold between the insulating atmosphere of the cinema room and the airiness of the rest of the house. She kept the furnishings neutral and consistent with the other living areas in the house, however, adding a sectional sofa from furniture store Soul in the Beacon South Quarter in Dublin, plump tweed cushions from EZ Living Interiors and a wool rug from homewares store Meadows & Byrne.
The rooftop bar, too, was given an aesthetic more suited to its specific purpose, with glamorous pink velvet bar stools from London mid-century furniture store Cult Furniture and a bespoke bar with fluted paneling and quartz bar top, also crafted by Michael Farrell Kitchens. The round porthole-style windows added a whimsical nod to the house’s seaside location and nautical-inspired interior.
The bleached sand dunes on the house’s doorstep and milky-blue Irish Sea beyond were the obvious inspiration for Scallan’s overall colour palette. “We wanted to create a muted coastal feel and sandy Hamptons vibe,” she says, “so we primarily worked with natural materials such as linen and wool in subdued shades, but we also leaned a little into bouclé, which is trending at the moment, on dining chairs and bar stools.” To prevent the scheme from becoming bland, Scallan added depth in small doses with a few considered feature colours, such as Fleetwood Paints’ Navy Patina on the appliance units in the main kitchen and utility room and the vibrant orange ottoman from EZ Living Interiors in the couple’s master bedroom.
The main kitchen offers a mix of casual and formal dining by virtue of the island and 12-seater table; all of the furniture was sourced from Soul and the voile curtains were custom made by Scallan’s company Inside Design. They are heavily textured not only to allow for privacy but to prevent glare and protect the furniture and floors from damaging UV rays. They are fitted up into the recesses of the ceiling with no visible fixtures for a streamlined, unfussy aesthetic and a more premium finish.
To make a room of this size feel homely rather than cavernous, it was important not to ignore the vertical height available. Scallon chose to hang unique pendant lights from Nirvana Lighting in Castlecomer, which look a little like art installations, and this helped to fill the vast overhead space.
On chilly evenings, the family likes to gather round the glass-fronted wood-burner by Italian stove supplier Klover, which is housed within a bespoke limestone fireplace from Lamartine Fires & Fireplaces in Dublin. A textured oatmeal sectional sofa and two generous armchairs from Soul with custom-made cushions from Inside Design hug the mantle creating a conversational space within the 1,000 sq ft room. The bespoke wool rug from carpet suppliers Deco Designs in Dublin and recessed lighting in both of the chimney breast alcoves serve to define this zoned seating area and create a feeling of intimacy.
Upholstery and textiles are important for softening the hard lines and sharp edges in a room, but Scallan also introduced bronze-finished rounded side tables from Interiors store Meadows & Byrne and spherical rattan lamps from EZ Living Interiors to ensure the balance was exactly right in this cosy corner where the whole family likes to lounge and hang out together.
To make a room of this size feel homely rather than cavernous, it was important not to ignore the vertical height available.
She repeated this approach in the apartment, introducing two orange Beetle armchairs with curved backrests and a round oak dining table, all from Soul. The Beetle armchairs have a swivel mechanism so allow for a more flexible seating arrangement. “The owners can sit and watch TV or swivel around to read a book while looking out to sea without having to move or rearrange furniture,” says Scallan. With no head of table and each guest seated at an equal distance from each other, a six-seater circular table created the casual atmosphere the owners were after in this part of the house.
Scallan felt the same setup would work well in the craft room where one of the owners enjoys making and doing with friends, and with her grandchildren. Open shelving, again designed and built by Michael Farrell Kitchens, is less visually obtrusive than a solid wall of cabinetry would be in this smaller space and allows for a curated collection of textiles and ceramics, which make a suitably unique display in this creative hub.
All of the sanitary ware in the bathrooms was sourced from Ideal Bathroom & Tiles in Dublin. The en-suites were floored with the same terrazzo tiles as the main utility room, while the master en-suite was elevated with a double vanity unit, oversized marble tiles laid floor to ceiling and a rounded bath by the window with panoramic views, offering the ultimate spot to unwind.
And unwinding is exactly what this house was designed for. It may appear imposing, palatial even, but like most other holiday homes, be they caravans or cottages, at its heart it’s just a space for family and friends to gather together and make precious memories.
This article was originally published in The Sunday Times Ireland, February 2025