EACH WEEK, WE ask someone based in Ireland with a passion for interiors to share one photo of their favourite spot in their home. 

Paul Murphy lives in a four-bed semi-detached home in Dublin with his wife Mary and daughter Sarah. 

“Antiques are my passion and have been my work for a few years now,” says Paul. “I restore old Irish phone boxes, as well as other old things.”

“My daughter Sarah (@colourfulsaz) uses the converted garage to paint and up-cycle mid-century furniture. She has an amazing talent for it.”

This week, Paul (@phoneboxman) chatted us through his favourite spot: the kitchen. 

Paul Murphy Paul Murphy

What do you love about this part of your home?

I have put so much into the kitchen to make it our own. It’s where we hang out most of the time. It’s south facing and always the brightest room in the house. Obviously we eat our meals and make coffee and do all the usual things in here, but we also chill out and watch TV. There is always plenty of room for people to gather. 

The kitchen is an extension we built in 1999. I up-cycled it as part of The Big DIY Challenge on RTÉ last year. I had 10 days to complete the work with a film crew recording all the action. I didn’t win, but we had a ball along the way.

What’s your favourite object in here and why?

It has to be the floor. It’s salvaged oak parquet we picked up on holiday in Wales in 2018. I cleaned and laid it myself. It is also used on the kitchen counter. It looks like it was always there. 

What was your inspiration when you were putting this room together?

The decor in the kitchen was inspired by the oak floor. It’s from the same era as the house, the 1930s. Most of the kitchen has been picked up in our travels to the UK or France. We have an eclectic mix of bits and pieces we picked up on holidays over the years that make it unique and personal to us.

We picked up the G-Plan dining table and chairs in Wales, and we got the two Art Deco armchairs in France during the summer. The lights are Zeiss Ikon from the 1930s. I picked up the shades on a buy-and-sell site and made the chrome pendants for them myself.

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

We do a weekly tidy up on Saturday morning. It was after this that the photo was taken. Trust me, it wouldn’t be pretty otherwise!

Is there anything in here you’d like to change?

I would (and will) change the colour of the walls from grey to something more exciting.

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