We have spent five years visiting stunning homes to feature in the magazine. Here, take a peek at these perfect bathrooms
If you’re dreaming of updating your own bathroom, we have lots of inspiration for you. In every issue of Irish Country Magazine we get to visit amazing Irish homes, and these homeowners know a thing or two about finishing a house to perfection. Here, you will find images of some of the most incredible bathrooms we have featured in the magazine, with some helpful tips and recommendations too. Take a look inside the new issue of Irish Country Magazine here.
1. The Lighthouse Keeper’s, Youghal
This picture perfect bathroom with a view is absolutely breathtaking. Better yet, the tub is insulated so the water will stay warm for hours! We love the minimal shower too that also makes the most of the views of the sea.
In a smaller W/C in another part of the house, owner Saoirse has used stormy wallpaper and lights from a Russian navy ship as a nod to the sea. Instead of splurging on an expensive pedestal for the sink, Saoirse painted a secondhand bar cabinet instead, which works seamlessly in the space. Follow her here.
2. Room for two in Meath
Ruth McGahey’s home in Meath is a spacious and light-filled family home. But for the master bathroom, she wanted a haven to enjoy. “This room is the size of our old house, so we decided to work with it. Now it’s my favourite room in the house.”
Marble tile trims from Miller Brothers, Jim Lawrence lighting, encaustic tiles from Besttile.ie, and the cute IKEA bench give the space personality. Ruth sourced bespoke, handmade brassware from Samuel Heath in London. She designed the vanity units herself, and worked with Ideal Bathrooms on all the sanity ware in the house. Follow Ruth on Instagram here.
3. A calm oasis near Omagh
Every room in photographer Sarah Fyffe’s home is beautifully thought out. While the rest of the home is eclectic the main bathroom is more modern.
“I love poured concrete and the tiles in the main bathroom have that appearance, and I love that you can see the texture in them, they make the room feel very relaxing. We tried to get everything quite locally, to support local and also to make it easy on ourselves. There was good quality stuff we were able to get locally. The tiles for the bathroom are from Creative Stone and Tile, a tile gallery in Omagh.” Follow Sarah here.
4. Colour pop in Belfast
Laura Dixon’s home features in the May | June issue of Irish Country Magazine, available to download here. This stunning pink bathroom is a really fun space. She painted the bath herself, using Valspar paint.
5. French café chic in Louth
Emily Woodcock’s bathroom is a tiny space put to clever use. The high ceiling is highlighted with a dramatic canvas print from Tin Design. The cute sink has been set on the windowsill to save space, with café-style curtains creating a charming effect.
There wasn’t even a bathroom inside the house when they bought it. But Emily still wanted to create a retro feel. “We wanted a cast iron bath and a high cistern toilet. We wanted to keep it old fashioned.” The sink was found in a salvage yard, and Emily sourced taps on Amazon. The curtains are from Etsy and the wooden top was designed and made by a friend.
6. A family project
Eniko Kirkwood’s bathroom was the starting point for her popular instagram account, @mydarkhome_.
“Whenever my mum visits she says, ‘right what are we up to this time’. She and my stepdad helped me do the bathroom, that was the first room we did. I got lots of ideas from Pinterest and then my stepdad made it happen — it used to be orange, can you believe!” It was after the bathroom was completed that Eniko decided to set up the Instagram account, and it didn’t take long for her to amass a large following.
Irish Country Magazine will have to plan a return visit to check out this beautiful new downstairs bathroom!
7. A serene space in Dublin
This beautiful house in Dublin featured in the magazine has stunning carrera marble and a simple, contemporary tub and sink. Bathroom goals!
8. Moroccan tiles in Donegal
Art teacher Laura Ferguson‘s bright and colourful home is a treasure trove of inspiration. “The bathrooms were the first rooms I had a clear vision for, with a lot of help from Pinterest,” Laura says. “The patterned cement encaustic floor tiles have a matt finish and I just love them. They’re from an Irish company called besttile.ie. We decided to add tongue and groove panelling on the wall and I painted it a blue to match the tiles.” Follow her here.
9. Dreamy details in Kilkenny
Triona’s home, Cherington House, is a new build with added Georgian charm. Triona planned the rooms in her home with a vision in mind, and patiently worked toward it.
“The bath came from the Cast Iron Bath Company in the UK. It just took a simple phone call. They shipped it over for nothing, like £30. You couldn’t price match that in Ireland,” she says.
She loves online shopping, and will work to find a bargain and save money where she can. She estimates that she saved about €4,000 compared to Irish prices for the bathroom fixures. “If you take the main bathroom, I have ended up really with everything that I wanted. The panelling, the dark walls, the high cistern toilet, and the bath,” she says.
10. Back to black Cork
Owner of The Old Mill Stores, Claire Graham, has created a fun and eclectic design throughout her home, but went for a daring and elegant look in the bathroom. The bathroom is striking with black panelling and a black bath tub, but rather than feeling dark the room feels more restful and inviting.
11. Beauty in simplicity
Owner of Lamb Design, Emma Lynch, breathed a new lease of life into the home her family holidayed in as a child. She renovated the bungalow and made clever use of space. Accessories like the industrial light fixtures and simple mirrors are her passion.
Emma feels very strongly about sourcing unique pieces, which is why after this project she set up her own interiors website Lamb Design, stocking unique pieces you can’t get elsewhere in Ireland. “I am fanatical about lighting. It has to be on dimmers and it has to be right.”
12. An atmospheric space in Leitrim
Jane Gilheaney-Barry’s home in Leitrim is an explosion of colour but for the bathroom she chose to create a dark cocooning effect with darkly painted walls. Beautiful art work over the bath tub sets the tone of this relaxing space, that invites you to switch off. Follow Jane on Instagram here.
