The Lacquer House
Five rooms for a couple who collect as they travel, designed to feel gathered over time rather than finished in one go.
The owners are professionals with an eclectic eye and no interest in a home that feels too perfect. So the scheme mixes antique and contemporary freely: a walnut-panelled living room with open shelving and art over the fire, a green marble bathroom, a bedroom kept soft in linen and boucle, and a walk-in wardrobe built around an onyx-topped island beneath a smoked mirror ceiling. Rich, decadent, and deliberately lived-in.
The snug is the signature. Its walls wrapped in deep red lacquer, polished to a shine that moves with the light from the windows. It's a finish you'll rarely find in a private home in Ireland, which is exactly why it's here. Proof that a collected house can still be daring.
Snug wrapped in deep red lacquered panelling with a cream sofa and brushed brass wall light Walk-in wardrobe with dark timber joinery, mosaic floor, onyx island and smoked mirror ceiling Walnut walk-in wardrobe with velvet ottoman and brass dome floor lamp beside the garden window Detail of the onyx-topped dressing island under layered pendant lights Living room with limestone fireplace, dark timber shelving, collected objects and a large botanical painting Detail of dark timber shelving with books and collected ceramics Walnut-panelled living room with deep sofas and a marble side table Bathroom with green marble slab wall, walnut and marble vanity and brushed brass taps Bedroom corner in linen and boucle with a small shelf-side reading lamp Sculptural dark chair with a sheepskin seat against full-height linen curtains