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my home in one photo
'The gallery wall was a lockdown project': Orla shares her multi-functional modern kitchen
Orla warmed up the open-plan space with navy cabinets.
Each week, we ask someone based in Ireland with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home.
This week, Orla Kirwan (@behind.no9) chatted us through her favourite spot: her kitchen.
What do you love about this part of your home?
They say that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and our kitchen really is! Our kitchen is a large open plan space area, it gets great sunlight all day which makes it a lovely bright space to both cook and relax in. The island is a nice focal point of the room and it’s where we spend a lot of our time. There are a lot of cabinets which means everything has a place – I’m not a fan of clutter on the worktops.
We chose a dark navy colour for cabinetry which gives the classic shaker-style kitchen a stylish and refined look, I think this works well with the brass accents and the white quartz worktop. This dark colour adds a nice warmth and helps to make this open space feel cosy.
What’s your favourite object in here and why?
My favourite object, if I can call it an object, is the gallery wall. This was a little lockdown project of ours and I’m so happy with the result. I love gallery walls as they make a space feel really personal in a home. We had quite a large wall in the kitchen and I thought it was the perfect blank canvas to feature some of our happiest memories. I love that these memories are on display in a space that we use every day, especially now that we are working from home.
Be honest: How much tidying did you do before taking this photo?
Not a whole lot, to be honest. I took this photo just after cleaning up from breakfast.
What was your inspiration when you were putting this room together?
There are so many sources of inspiration out there now, which is great. I follow lots of gorgeous Instagram interior accounts and browse Pinterest to get interior inspiration.
I wanted the kitchen space to be a multifunctional area that worked really well for both everyday family life and for entertaining friends and family. It is an open plan area with French doors that open up onto the garden – this makes it easy to keep eyes on our little girl while she is playing away.
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