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Louise's Well-Proportioned with Potential

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Name:

Louise

Location:

Dublin, Ireland

Division:

International

Square Feet:

600

What I Love About My Home


The back of the house is south facing and gets incredible light. And although the rooms are small they are really well proportioned so they have the potential to feel more spacious than they are. And my south-facing back garden is heaven in the summer.

Biggest Challenge in Furnishing My Home


Time and money – I had to renovate (including a new kitchen and bathroom), decorate and furnish on a very tight budget and in a very short time as I had to rent out my spare bedroom as soon as possible to help pay the mortgage. I was lucky my measurements were good because I had to make all my plans having only visited the house twice. Also, although the rooms have lovely proportions they aren't large, so everything I did was specifically intended to make the place feel bigger than it is.

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Comments (23)

It's so serene :)

Nice table lamp next to the dining table. I liked the framed photos above the lamp.

posted by hotpaprika on April 22, 2011 at 8:23am
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Absolutely lovely!!

posted by tinos on April 22, 2011 at 8:29am
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LOVED the white/red/black bedroom! adorable place.

you know it would be interesting to see a bunch of entries of people who lived in basement/garden apartments without boatloads of natural light. to my mind, that is the biggest domestic challenge of them all. and terribly common.

posted by mdk on April 22, 2011 at 9:22am
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What a bright, sunny, happy place. It just instantly puts you in a great mood.

My only constructive comment is that I find that if you hand (art) frames a bit lower, the walls seem much taller. I am forever mentally lowering frames wherever I go, I think overall people tend to hang art higher than it should be. Just a comment.

Your place is great. And I love Dublin.

posted by cvgmiami on April 22, 2011 at 9:35am
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*hang not hand.

posted by cvgmiami on April 22, 2011 at 9:35am
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P.G. Wodehouse dishtowel? Hilarious!

posted by 1stnest on April 22, 2011 at 10:20am
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YOUR PLACE IS VERY NEAT

posted by shizuru on April 22, 2011 at 10:53am
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I used to live in Dublin and boy, it can be grey. You've used wonderfully bright colors that keep those cloudy days at bay! Love the picture frame collage above your bed, too!

posted by Amoretti on April 22, 2011 at 11:00am
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Is it wrong that I am adding you to my favourites because of the dishtowel? And the large no. of books?

posted by Har on April 22, 2011 at 11:02am
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Where did you find your bedside end tables? I need some that are 13" or less and I'm having a really hard time finding them... yours look really small, are they?

posted by BeachLiving on April 22, 2011 at 1:27pm
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I like the color, the books, the wall art, the order, and the comfort. It reminds me of how I like my home to be.

posted by Miami's Elaine on April 22, 2011 at 2:15pm
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I appreciate that nothing in the home looks expensive, but it's all very pleasing to the eye. It's encouraging to see what can be done on a tight budget! I do agree with cvgmiami about lowering the artwork. Other than that- great job!

posted by StudioStarter on April 22, 2011 at 2:33pm
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Thanks for all the nice comments :)

For the PG Wodehouse fans, I got the teatowel at http://www.todryfor.com/default.asp (not sure if they still do it though).

The bedside tables are Ikea Helmer units, and they are in fact 20cm (12") wide. And hold LOTS of stuff.

Re the artwork, it doesn't reallly come across in the pictures but I experimented with several differents heights (I have a LOT of holes in my wall) and this height was what made the room feel all-over bigger (the room in the first two pictures is only 2.72m x 3m (8'11" x 9'10")

posted by stationeryfiend on April 23, 2011 at 8:05am
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Oops, sorry, the Helmer units are actually 30cm wide (which is 12")

posted by stationeryfiend on April 23, 2011 at 8:05am
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Absolutely gorgeous ,your bedroom especially.

posted by kimscollectables on April 23, 2011 at 9:46am
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PG Wodehouse tea towel?! Must have!

Thanks for providing the source!

posted by unabridged on April 23, 2011 at 1:13pm
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That red couch! So much love for your home. Favorite!

posted by PattyD on April 24, 2011 at 2:17am
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nice! I especially love the toile curtains

posted by Vintagehoney on April 24, 2011 at 10:16am
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Lovely display, color palette and furniture. I like those red lamps.

posted by Ofelia on April 26, 2011 at 9:09pm
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woo-hoo! i have the same tango pic as in your bedroom. obviously you are cool.

posted by conejitoasesino on April 27, 2011 at 8:29am
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Love it, especially how you maximised the light in the kitchen.

posted by Dervla on April 29, 2011 at 6:19pm
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Cute but please lower the height of the pictures.

posted by House Voyeur on April 30, 2011 at 10:19pm
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Very cozy livingroom -- love the red and white. Great idea w/the bookcases!!! cute place

posted by Debbie Chap on June 26, 2011 at 1:11pm
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