I updated my granny’s cottage

‘Last year was the first time in over 30 years we weren’t all together for Christmas. This room is always bustling with activity. On Christmas Day the half door is open and a constant train of stuff is passed through from my parents’ house across the road as we get ready for dinner’

MY STORY

Geoff and I were living in a rental property in Dublin when I inherited my grandmother’s house. It’s a smaller cottage attached to what we call the main house. It needed a major revamp to function as a modern home, and we wanted to respect the history of the place while renovating.

We got to work straight away, taking down the ceiling and removing the crumbling internal wall and stairs to create an open-plan space. We knocked four small rooms into one large one, which is now our dining and living area and the heart of our home. Our biggest challenge has been a lack of natural light but we’ve overcome this by using the darker rooms, like the lounge, in the evening when we want a cosier feel.

There have been plenty of surprises behind every layer of wallpaper and picture. My granny used to write notes everywhere and I’ve loved uncovering them. Luckily, a lot of the original features were intact, including the large inglenook fireplace, windows, and floorboards, and they add real character.

I’m so proud of the cottage, especially knowing we did it ourselves on a shoestring budget. We’ve managed to create a stylish home, that’s so unique and special to us.

Welcome TO MY HOME

A BIT ABOUT ME I’m Cathy McGovern, a stylist and events producer @wilde.dining. I live with my husband, Geoff, our sons, Oscar, six, and Xander, three, and our springer spaniels, Duke and Hazzard. We share our home renovations @cathymcgovern_carrowlane.

WHERE I LIVE Our home is a two-bedroom cottage, built in the 1800s in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. We’ve lived here for 15 years.

WHAT I WANTED TO CHANGE The décor was very dark and not suitable for day-to-day family life. Once our first son was born, it became clear that we would need more space and so we started renovating the original cottage attached to the main house.

HOW I MADE IT MY OWN We painted the entire house white so we could see the space clearly. Then we knocked down walls to create an open-plan living area that was more suited to family life. We filled the house with auction finds, handmade pieces and fairy lights and lots of natural elements from outside.

MY FAVOURITE PART The living/dining room. It has lots of rustic charm. It’s such a cosy and inviting space and we love entertaining and relaxing in it after a long day.

‘I tend to plan rooms around the individual features, such as lighting issues and the needs of our family, rather than following a particular style,’ says Cathy. ‘ The cottage is north-facing with most of the small windows at the front, so lighting is something we have to pay particular attention to’

Living/dining room ‘Based in the original cottage, our dining and main living area was quite dark, so we put in a skylight, which has completely transformed the space. I went for pretty bold colour choices in here with the dark greens and black fireplace surround, but the scale of the room and the amount of light that floods in means that the space can easily take such a dark colour, while still feeling cosy. The super-comfy sofa was a steal from an auction, and I’ve dressed it with squishy cushions from H&M Home and Home of Boho that go perfectly with my rugs from Wayfair and an auction house. I designed the shelves behind the sofa myself and Geoff brought my vision to life. The dining table and chairs are a much-cherished wedding present, and they go so well with the antique wooden chairs with heart cut-outs.’

Style idea

Back a window with pretty fabric, like this Laura Ashley design

Cathy made the clock from a forged metal ring she found in one of the outbuildings and a strip of live-edged wood

Original features, such as the exposed stone walls and distressed window frames, gives the cottage bags of character

A traditional log-burner is a favourite feature of Cathy’s. ‘I love unwinding in front of the fire after the kids have gone to bed,’ she says

Lounge

‘I’ve gone for soft neutrals and pinks with sheer linen curtains to help brighten this room up. We’ve incorporated lots of mood lighting in here, which we use day and night. I like to include lots of earthy and natural elements in our home as we as a family love the outdoors lifestyle and the calming feeling it has. I find so much of my inspiration in nature. The lounge always feels so homely and warm, especially with the fireplace that Geoff built using reclaimed bricks and railway sleepers, and the large stove heats the whole house throughout the winter. Friends and family always comment on how cosy our home is, and on how many candles and fairy lights I have, and this room is no exception.’

‘ This Christmas, I’ve decorated with lots of natural elements, such as moss, ivy and ferns,’ says Cathy. ‘I also ramp up the number of candles and fairy lights I have out. The glitter trees are from Primark and the art is by me. I flipped the print in an old picture and drew the design with a black Sharpie’

COSY COTTAGECORE p30

The sofa, an auction find, is covered with a throw from H&M Home and dressed with cushions from Home of Boho to add a contemporary twist to the country cottage look. The walls have been painted in Personal Touch by Crown Paints

Steal my style Get Cathy’s charming home style with these timeless buys

Wooden decorations, B&M

Woodland Magic tablecloth, Walton & Co

Kitchen

‘We plan to turn our current kitchen into the family bathroom but for now, I’m using accessories to distract the eye from the dated woodwork. The tray on the wall is from Fy! and the clock is from our local garden centre.’

‘Friends and family always comment on how cosy our home is and on how many candles and fairy lights I have!’ Outside

‘Our garden area is made up of a DIY palette and a trellis we made ourselves to hide the yard area and to make the space look more inviting. We love entertaining and we regularly have nights sitting around the fire pit into the early hours with our family and friends. The fairy lights from Amazon really add a magical touch, as do the lanterns from Fermanagh Cottage Industries, a business local to us. We made the pink benches ourselves and for the table, we just chopped the legs off a garden dining table for a more informal coffee table style. I’ve added cushions from H&M Home, Zara Home and Home of Boho.’

‘Geoff handmade the kitchen island and attached wheels so it can be moved around. When I’m prepping food, I use it as an extra work surface and the rest of the time the boys love to use it as a breakfast bar’

The outdoor dining set had a revamp this summer. ‘I was yearning for a holiday to Morocco and I think it inspired me to paint the furniture in these lovely sunset hues’, says Cathy. ‘It’s so nice to sit outside here, even in the colder months.’ Cathy has brought her signature cosy charm to the outside space with vintagestyle candle holders, throws and cushions

HOW TO... Shop for vintage homewar e

Get a unique look with second-hand Have a good idea of what you’re after. It will help you narrow down your choices and stop you from getting overwhelmed.

If you have a particular item in mind that you are looking for, set up alerts on online sites so you know when what you’re looking for becomes available.

If you like the shape and style of a furniture piece, don’t get too hung up on the colour or condition. It’s easy to upcycle with a sand down and a lick of paint.

When shopping for furniture, make sure you measure up. There’s nothing worse than buying something only to find it doesn’t fit in the space.

The antique antlers and original fireplace are both draped with foliage from local hedgerows for a festive feel. Fairy lights in the fireplace adds a little touch of magic too

Master bedroom

‘We’ve only recently renovated our bedroom. We stripped back all the wallpaper and took out a partition wall to give us more floor space. We also ripped up the old carpets and laminate flooring to reveal very rustic original floorboards – we couldn’t believe our luck! The floorboards were quite damaged and needed a bit of work but they’re full of the original characteristics that I love, and they give the room a very natural Scandi-rustic feel. Our bedroom has one of the few south-facing windows, so it gets a lot of natural light. I opted for neutral tones in here, teamed with my own artwork and natural elements, such as pampas grass and dried flowers.’

Bathroom

‘I opted for quite a timeless monochrome colour palette but then added personality with the handpainted floor mural and black-painted tiles. I decided to paint the mural on our bathroom floor just six weeks after having a caesarean – probably not the wisest decision, but I just wanted rid of the horrible vinyl that was down. I gave it two coats of white paint before I mapped out the design with a pencil and then I just painted the design on. It did take a bit longer than I hoped, but it was worth it. To finish the space, we painted the walls in Forest Vista and Penny Black, both from Crown Paints.’

The pared-back walls and natural elements of the room are complemented by neutral bedding from Zara Home and cushions from H&M Home

The bathroom is used by all of the family, so it has to work hard. The industrial-inspired shelving behind the bath is from Amazon

The wooden mirror from Argos complements the green on the walls and reflects the statement chandelier from Love Frankie

The red beds pop against the panelling, painted in Go Green by Crown Paints. The Sing Me a Song art print from Fy! has a classic feel to it, which is perfect for a children’s room

Boys' room

‘Geoff did the soft green panelling behind the bed, which adds instant warmth to the boys’ bedroom. I got the beds for £6 each at an auction and spray-painted them in Tufted Kilim by Crown Paints. I made the side lamps myself and the bedside tables were made by my brother, Aidy – we’re a very creative family! I finished the room off with a rug, storage baskets and bedding from H&M Home and a basket pendant from Iconic Lights.’

WHAT I LEARNED...

You can create a home you love and are proud of without buying it off the shelf. We have had to be creative with our budget, but it has meant that we have a really unique home. Restoring old properties requires a specific set of skills. If you want to embark on a renovation project with one of these buildings, prepare to spend a lot of time researching, waiting for tradespeople and listening to a lot of conflicting opinions. It’s hard work but it’s all worth it!

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