EACH WEEK, WE ask an Irish person with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home.
Gill Deriu has lived in a converted cottage near the sea just outside Cork with her husband and three children since 2011.
“It’s been an ongoing work in progress and is likely not to be finished anytime in the near future,” says Gill.
We love to be creative and take on our own DIY as much as possible.
This week, Gill (@gillderiu_) chatted us through her favourite spot in her home: her kitchen.
The kitchen/diner is the heart of our home. It’s where you will find most of the action is happening and it’s the hub of the house. We are all drawn to this room with its double height space and great light, which is the main attraction in here. I love that it is very much a lived-in space, it’s not pretentious and feels homely.
We inherited the kitchen when we bought the house and didn’t have the budget to change it out so I knew we would have to get creative. The room is quite big but I knew I wanted a cosy, warm welcoming feel and, to be honest, it just evolved.
Hanging the pendants from branches over the peninsula and hanging the pendant over the dining table made cosy little focal points whilst bringing soft lighting into different areas of the room to avoid the harsh light of all the spots on the ceiling.
Bringing in different colours and textures like the charcoal black wall against the white, brass lighting, open shelves and plants, I suppose you could say the inspiration is part industrial, part eclectic and part rustic. Greenery in the form of plants is a very important element for me in any room. They bring so much life, texture and form. Adding even one plant will completely enhance and change the feel of any room.
Our kitchen stools were an online purchase from Cult Furniture. I took a chance ordering them without having the chance to sit on them first but was delighted with them so it was worth the risk!
Our lights over the peninsula were sourced from the Considered range at Dunnes Stores and I really love the warmth the brass brings against the stark black and white behind them. All the pendants in the room are hanging from trees from our garden that we cut and painted white. I love the texture they bring to the room. The scaffold board shelving was made by my husband and sourced locally for €11 each.
I think this photo is a good reflection of the rest of our home. It’s eclectic in style with monochrome featured throughout with added pops of colour. Our home is dotted with vintage pieces, furniture passed down from family and sentimental trinkets (we are quite nostalgic).
If my memory serves me well, this photo was taken not long before or after a photo shoot we had in the house so it had already had a good tidy up! It rarely looks like this. There is usually a mound of paperwork on the counter and the sink is rarely clutter free!
If I take a photo for Instagram there is usually a mound of clutter behind me that has been swept off a surface (unless we have people coming over, that’s always a great excuse for a good tidy up). With three kids it’s impossible to keep the house tidy, no matter how many Kondo-esque systems are put in place.
Do you have a spot in your home that you’re particularly proud of? Do you enjoy styling the different rooms in your house? Are you always adding and changing little things to make your space stand out? If so, we want to hear from you! Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your home for a chance to feature in My Home in One Photo.
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