EACH WEEK, WE ask someone based in Ireland with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home. 

Diane Adair has lived in a semi-detached home in Douglas, Co Cork with her partner and two children since 2007. 

“I love where we live,” says Diane. “It’s very near the kids’ schools and my parents’ house is only around the corner.”

This week, Diane (@mudspalace) chatted us through her favourite spot: her bedroom.

Diane Adair Diane Adair

What do you love about this part of your home?

This is our bedroom and I just love the vibe in here. Every time I come into this room, it makes me feel happy. We had a very small budget for this room so we ended up reusing a lot of stuff we already had. The wardrobe came with the house so we just painted it to match the chest of drawers. My mom gave us the chair and lockers, which she bought in Casey’s [a furniture shop in Douglas] over 20 years ago. We also had leftover paint and flooring from our kids’ bedrooms. I had a picture in my head of how it would look and it turned out much better than I could ever have expected.

What’s your favourite object in here and why?

I love our gallery wall of vintage Woman’s Own magazines that I hung up in IKEA frames. They are all dated from the 1940s – the articles inside are fascinating and a real glimpse into how they lived at that time.

The magazines belonged to my grandmother. She passed away in 2011 and during one of the painstaking tasks of sorting her belongings, I found the magazines all carefully wrapped in tissue paper, in a beautiful butterfly carrier bag. It was clear she loved them and looked after them.

I knew instantly I had to frame them and hang them somewhere in our home.

She was very special to us – I was very close to her, she was our world. Every time I see them, I think of her. She was very stylish and she loved her home. She was forever decorating, making or upcycling things for her home. She definitely passed her passion for interiors onto my mom, then onto me.

Be honest: how much tidying did you do before taking this photo?

Honestly, none. I just made our bed and straightened one or two things. Everyone who knows me knows I am completely obsessed with cleaning. I never stop – I love it.

What was your inspiration when you were putting this room together?

I was definitely inspired by Art Deco/retro style. I love watching old movies like Gone with the Wind and Show Boat. It was a very stylish era and I wanted to incorporate that in our home. I did that by introducing bright colours and a lot of gold. I wanted it to be vintage but also modern, bright and fun.

Is there anything in here you’d like to change?

Maybe the colour on the walls. I wish I had used a more off-white instead of a bright white.

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