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Lisa Doyle's home in Co Offaly. edentowntocountry via Instagram
how we live
'We wanted a country home that didn't look traditional': Inside this spacious self-build in Co Offaly
Lisa Doyle takes us inside the home she shares with her husband, their four kids (and a dog).
About your home
Where? Co Offaly
What type of house? Detached self-build
How many bedrooms and bathrooms? Five bedrooms and four bathrooms
When did you move in? We started building in 2016 and moved into the place in January 2018
About you
Name: Lisa Doyle
Age: 40
Occupation: Bookkeeper
Who else lives there? My husband Alan, four children and our dog
What made you choose this home over others?
We wanted a big home for our big family and knew that if you do it right the first time, you will only have to do it the once.
We looked around at plenty of different styles of homes and other people’s house plans, then we took elements from the styles we loved and incorporated them into the ideas we already had.
We wanted a country home that didn’t look like the traditional farmhouse style. Our architect gave us plans based on what we looked for and we just loved the whole look of the interior and exterior. We had what we needed – each room was functional and no space was wasted.
Favourite place in your home?
We love our split level kitchen/dining/living room. It is very spacious and there’s plenty of room for us all.
This is where we spend the majority of our time and it has so much natural light flowing through the rooms. We love it.
Is there any part of your home you don’t like?
Nothing just yet as we haven’t even been living here for two years.
Is there any part of your home that makes it unique?
Our dining room has a vaulted ceiling and an apex window, which is probably one of our favourite features in our home.
Take us through a day in your house, room by room.
7.15am: I work full time and all of the kids are in school, so you can imagine the mayhem in the mornings. I usually barely get time to brush my hair.
7.30am: We wake the kids and pack lunches for the day – usually the kids dress themselves. We eat breakfast and sort gear for after-school activities such as soccer and GAA, before giving the kids a five-minute warning to leave the house. We take out a wash from the machine, load another wash and load the dishwasher.
8.30am: We check that all the school bags are in the car and leave the house for the day.
6pm : Everyone gets home around now. We all inhale our food, usually while I wish I didn’t have to leave the house again to drop one of the kids to training.
7pm : I come back home after dropping off one of the kids at an activity, take out the wash from this morning and usually load another. Then I tidy the kitchen, living and dining rooms, fix the beds and sort clothes out – maybe some day I’ll be able to afford a cleaner!
Is there anything you’d do differently if you were doing it again?
Our upstairs hall is a little too narrow, so I’d like to change that. I would also like a window seat in our kitchen – it was discussed earlier but I never really pushed it. Maybe in the future.
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