About your home 

Where? Tramore, Co. Waterford.

What type of house? Semi-detached new build. 

How many bedrooms and bathrooms? Four bedrooms, three bathrooms. 

When did you move in? We got our keys in December 2019 and moved into the home in mid-February this year 

About you 

Name: Emma Dunne 

Age: 30 

Occupation: Optometrist 

Who else lives there? My boyfriend Stephen

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A better look at our kitchen table, now that we have curtains in it looks a lot cosier! Our table was made by my uncle @noelwhelanfurnituredesign. The wall beside the table is very wide, I see it as a big blank canvas to display plenty of art 🤗 I'll be 'borrowing' a lot of my Mams (@pebblemoonart) pieces to decorate the walls. #newbuild #newhouse #firsttimebuyer #navykitchen #blankcanvas #glasstable #navycurtains #cultfurniture #oak #greytiles #cosykitchen #shopirish #shoplocal #supportsmallbusiness

A post shared by Emma (@mynavyhome) on Mar 2, 2020 at 2:16am PST

What made you choose this home over others?

We waited nearly two years for this house. We chose it over others in the estate as it had the biggest garden. I grew up in Tramore and love living by the sea, I couldn’t imagine not living by the sea.

We had viewed other new builds in Tramore, but our builder was very obliging as we made some changes and they had no problem with that. 

What is your favourite place in your home?

Our kitchen and dining area. We went bold with a matte navy kitchen, so we decided a glass table would keep the light in the space. My uncle Noel Whelan makes bespoke furniture so he made us a gorgeous round table with oak legs and a glass top.

We have pocket doors into the living room so it really opens up the space for entertaining.

The bathroom comes a close second in terms of favourite places. We went all out with a jacuzzi bath and blue Moroccan tiles, it’s like a little oasis in the house. Any excuse to use a bath bomb! 

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Anyone that knows me knows I love Kate Spade! When we were in New York we picked up this cute kitchen set from @katespadeny to match our navy kitchen. I love the print! #navykitchen #tefal #katespade #katespadenewyork #katespadehome #newbuild #newhouse #firsttimebuyer #firsthomeowners #pasta #instakitchen #instahome

A post shared by Emma (@mynavyhome) on Feb 24, 2020 at 11:55am PST

Is there any part of the home you don’t like?

I am happy with most areas of our home but I would love a bigger hot press and utility room. Also, as the house is a new build it feels quite bare at the moment so I want to fill it with colourful art and homeware. I’m treating it like a blank canvas. 

Is there any part of your home that makes it unique?

We are the only house in the estate with a utility room! I also have lots of lovely art pieces by my Mam, some are prints of photographs she took, oil paintings and her unique pebble art. She was the inspiration behind my idea to have a gallery wall, as I plan on ‘borrowing’ so many of her pieces.

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I have the cutest friends! I wasn't feeling great today and when I came home from work @claire.nicthomais had left a lavender candle on my door step to help me sleep 💜 I'm hoping the combination of the lavender candle and my lovely @finderskeepersthestore bathbomb will send me off to the land of nod 😴😴 #mynavyhome #moroccantiles #navytiles #navybathroom #encaustictile #dandeliontiles #lavender #bathroominspo #bathcandles #finderskeepers #instahome #instainspo #interiordesign #subwaytiles #blueandwhite

A post shared by Emma (@mynavyhome) on Mar 5, 2020 at 1:10pm PST

How does your day start and end in your home? 

My day starts at 7am: That’s when my first alarm goes off. I like to press snooze a few times before hopping into the shower. The bright blue and white tiles in the ensuite wake me up! Then I pop down to the kitchen and start prepping some food.

And it ends around 11pm: Lights out! Our bed is a Respa divan and it is the hands down the best bed I have ever slept in. We stayed at the G Hotel for my 30th birthday and we joked that the bed was so comfortable we would have the buy the same one…. so we did!

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A selection of some of the art pieces I've collected or been gifted for the house. I can't wait to start putting pops of colour up on the walls 😍 The goal is to turn the navy wall in the sitting room into a gallery wall 🖼🎨 #jando #simonewalsh #alannaplekkenpol #saileen #deartrudy #coppercoast #gallerywall #navywall #artwall #newhouse #firsttimebuyer #hookhead #flamingo #tileart #grá

A post shared by Emma (@mynavyhome) on Feb 13, 2020 at 12:55pm PST

Is there anything you’d do differently if you were doing it again?

Start saving sooner. I have expensive taste apparently – everywhere we went from picking baths to tiles to beds, all the shop assistants told Stephen this every time. 

I would say though to anyone buying a new house, just enjoy the journey and whatever decision you make for the interior you will like, because it’s your house!