Dan and Jessica Tynan have created a beautiful home in Co Tipperary, full of rich colour. Here Jessica takes us through her warm and inviting guest bedroom. Photography: Jessica Tynan Photography
Your beautiful home is called Seanua – referring to the Irish for old and new. Can you tell us more about the story behind this?
We really liked the idea of converting an old cottage but we were lucky enough to have family land so when we decided to build our own home, we loved the idea of building what would resemble a cottage (single storey, stone clad), but make it look like we had renovated it by building on a brand-new modern extension. We then decided there would be a flat roofed section acting as a connecting corridor between the old ‘Sean’ and new ‘nua’.
In terms of DIY, how involved were you both in the process?
Very. There’s really not much we didn’t do ourselves or help to do. It was a self-build so we had no contractor or foreman. We had to be on site every evening after work and every weekend to get bits done for the tradesmen. We had to erect and move the scaffolding, we did the air tightness tape around every window, painted the entire house, tiled, lay floors. My husband Dan designed and made the main kitchen light pendant, designed and fitted the utility units, did all the skirting, architrave and hung the doors. We fit the glass and the timber on the stairs, insulated the roofs and ceilings, done all the grounds work, lawns, curbs, driveways etc, along with every odd job in between. It was a labour of love. We by no means moved into a finished home but it’s getting there day by day.
When the house was built and it came time to style it inside, what was your overall vision?
We were both quite young when we were building, aged 27/28, and I think we were only discovering our style; we still are. Back then, we wanted modern minimalistic decor, lots of black. As the years have gone on my style has definitely evolved. I’ve a new found love for good quality wooden furniture and natural materials.
In terms of shopping for interiors, where did you find offered what you were looking for?
I love TK Maxx, I always find a treasure that I never knew I needed when I go in there. I’m also a sucker for H&M home. Pretty much all my cushions are from there at this point. I also love antique shops and salvage yards. There’s an amazing shop in Kilkenny called Joy Thorpe that if I was starting again, I’d do serious damage in! Another shop I love is Abbey Furniture in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.
You have so many stunning rooms in the house, but one that caught our eye is the guest bedroom, which has a beautiful colour scheme. Tell us more about it.
Thank you. It’s funny because, as it’s the guest room, I’m not in it that much. Well that might be a lie – having two boys under two, we did spend many a night in there, because one of them wouldn’t settle upstairs! But everytime I open the door I just smile. I love it. We were really unlucky though when we painted it first. I had only finished it and we had a leak from the upstairs hot press that came down through the floor and down the main wall of this room. I was devastated and had to repaint it! A lot of people tell us that we are so brave with our colour choices in our home but it doesn’t feel like we’re being brave. We just know what we like and are not afraid to experiment. It’s just paint at the end of the day; you can always change it.
Red and pink aren’t often seen in bedrooms; why did you decide on these shades?
I knew I wanted colour and I had seen the red shade ‘Rothko Red’ when Fleetwood did a collaboration with Roisin Lafferty and loved it. I also have a thing for dusky pink and loved the shade ‘Betsy 1920 dark’ and so I just said, “why not?” Initially I was going to do the pink as the prominent colour but changed my mind at the last minute.
Is there a reason you chose Fleetwood? What do you like about the brand?
Back in 2018 while still in the midst of the build we went to The House Event in the RDS and won a voucher from Fleetwood. With that voucher we were able to buy all the white paint we needed and rollers, to give the house its first coat of paint. When it came to choosing colours, we only looked at Fleetwood. We were so impressed with the selection and loved so many colours, in particular the Vogue collection, and so the love affair started.
What was the vibe you wanted to create for guests sleeping over in your home?
I didn’t have a mood board for this room or anything like that; it just naturally evolved. The paint colours were the first choice and they were pretty much an instant decision. The next purchase was the pendant light, an Ikea find that I admired for a long time before deciding on it. From that, I knew I wanted a light-coloured wooden bed. I love rattan, wicker and all things natural. The piano was a second hand find, it only cost us €50. The wicker chair was mine since I was a little girl. The cushions and throws are H&M. The little trinkets are bits I’ve collected over the years.
As we know, you’re a fan of Fleetwood paints and various shades can be found throughout your home. What are other rooms in your house that you loved painting with Fleetwood, and what shades in particular do you recommend?
Our snug was the first colour we choose for our home, it’s ‘Pineneedle’ from Fleetwood. It always gets a lot of compliments and it’s the perfect colour for this space because it makes the room cosy, exactly what you need when you’re sitting down after a long day. Our bedroom is one of my favourites. It’s ‘Rue Chaptal 1830’. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea for a bedroom but we love it! It makes a statement and we find it very relaxing. I think by now you can see we like dark interiors. The downstairs bathroom is ‘Indigo Batik’. This room has no window as it’s an internal room. The old school train of thought would be to paint it in a light colour to make it feel bright and airy as dark colours would just make it feel more enclosed but we decided to embrace the darkness. Our eldest son, Toms bedroom is painted in the beautiful shade ‘Atlantic Green’. It’s so calming. We chose the colour before Tom’s arrival as it was the perfect neutral shade.
Your page is a great source of content for those looking to build and style their own home. Where do you look to for that same inspiration?
Oh, we’d be here all day if I started listing out all of the wonderful self-build and home accounts that I follow. Instagram is such a great platform for finding inspiration, I love looking at both professionals’ pages and the pages of regular people like us who have a passion for their home and share great ideas. I’ve also always been a magazine person. I started working in a newsagent when I was 15 and since then I’ve always bought magazines!
Fleetwood Prestige is exclusive to the Vogue, Ventura and Pantone Colour Collections. Find your nearest stockist on fleetwood.ie
