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my home in one photo

'The walls were inspired by an apartment I visited in France': Carmel shares her bright and airy master bedroom

Spot Hendricks the dachshund sitting on the bed.

EACH WEEK, WE ask an Irish person with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home.

Originally from Cork, Carmel and her husband purchased their Dublin home in the early Nineties, an Edwardian terraced house dating back to 1908.

Almost 30 years on, they’re still there, though now they share the house with their three children and a miniature dachshund called Hendricks.

This week, DIY lover Carmel (@doxyinterior) chatted us through her favourite space in her home: her bedroom.

unnamed Carmel McCusker Carmel McCusker

What do you love most about this part of your home?

The bedroom is south-facing so even on a dull day it’s a lovely room to come into, big, bright and airy. It’s also a very warm room when the sun floods through the two big windows. My four legged fur baby Hendricks loves hanging out here too when he’s allowed! It’s my favourite room in the house, without a doubt.

Talk us through some of the objects in the photo. 

Most of the furniture in the room is solid pine wood that we painted. We got a handyman to fit the alcoves with shelves specifically to house some of my interior magazines that go back over thirty years. The fireplace was a big attraction when we first viewed the house, as was all the others, with there being one in three out of four bedrooms.

My Chanel and Hermès pictures are original cut outs from magazines from the 1950s and 1980s which I bought in a little shop in Antibe. The shoe moulds were bought in the Dublin Flea Market, while the magazine rack and glass boxes and mirror tray beside the bed came from TK Maxx. The throw is also TK Maxx and the bed linen is Jasper Conran.

What was your inspiration when you were putting the space together?

One big source of inspiration was a beautifully decorated apartment we once stayed at in France. I just loved the classic, understated style. They had some amazing original covers of French iconic magazines and posters framed throughout, which gave me the idea to do the same.

As for the painted wall behind my bed, that was definitely inspired by Instagram and Pinterest. 

Light is such a key element and can make or break a room if not done properly, so having the right lighting was important to me. I’m a big fan of lamps and could have three or four in every room.

How well does this photo reflect the rest of your home? 

It reflects it quite well actually, especially the colour of the walls. When we moved in, back in the early 1990s, the house was decorated head-to-toe in Laura Ashley wallpaper.

Over the years we started painting over the paper with different colours, but I found that I tired very quickly of these – except for my room, which we had painted white. In the end, we painted the whole house white a few years back.

I have since incorporated a few feature dark walls including this one here behind my bed.

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

To be totally honest, there was a good spring clean done because the sun shows up so much dust, especially on items made of glass and mirrors. I also finally hung up the pictures on the wall as they had been sitting on the mantelpiece up until then but, as I do love this room, it does get cleaned quite regularly.

When you have three kids that you are constantly nagging to tidy their rooms you have to practice what you preach.

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.

More: ‘It’s always bright even on the darkest of days’: Bernie shares her charming period-style kitchen>

More: ‘You can see palm trees through the aquarium’: Suzie shares her transformed ex-council house in Dublin>

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