YOUR DREAM HOME isn’t something that can be created overnight, as Alannah and Patrick Monks know. When the couple – who have two daughters, aged eight and 12 – started working on their self-build dormer bungalow over eight years ago, time was of the essence. The main aim was simply to move in as quickly as possible.

Back then, with one young child and a second on the way, interior design and home comforts took a back seat to the practical side of things: getting the house built and ready to the point where it was liveable.

“There was a big rush to get into the house,” recalls Patrick in the next instalment of our Home Is… video series with Bank Of Ireland. “But then, throughout the years we’ve been able to stamp our own personality on it.”

By now, Alannah’s work as an interior designer shines through in every corner of the house, from the candy pink living room to the bar the couple built in their former “junk room” during the pandemic. 

“We joke that the house is getting smaller and smaller just because of inches of paint on the walls, for how much it changes. It’s grown with us,” says Alannah.

Although the couple emphasise that this is truly a home where everyone, kids included, has “their own space”, the family make a point of carving out quality time together each week too. 

“We have a Sunday brunch tradition,” explains Alannah.

Every Sunday, no matter what, we all come down around 11am, and we have a different breakfast each week… We could sit here for two, three hours at the kitchen table.

See how this family has created a home that’s truly tailored to their needs by watching the video above.

Whether you’re buying a home or making one, welcome home. Talk to Bank Of Ireland about home improvement loans. Find out more here.

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