Interiors

Following a transformative resizing of her home, Elizabeth McEvoy gets to do all the things that others take for granted

Designer Denise O’Connor’s shares her top tips to help you make decisions with greater confidence

Reir Studio reduced the footprint of this 1970s home to create a better quality of life

The most comfortable homes are shaped around the people who live there

Rather than downsize, Dr Sabina Brennan and her husband took on a sprawling 19th-century lakeside retreat, where they intend to keep living life to the full

The brief for this small but charming period property in the hip Dublin neighbourhood was to maximise storage and functionality, while added touches allowed the owner to put their own stamp on the home

Here are some of the key ways furniture can help shape better design decisions

Photographer Jessica Glynn gave up life in Florida to move to Co Mayo with her husband and daughter. She’s enjoying the slower pace and the chance to put her stamp on their new-build home

The sympathetic restoration of Annamount, off the city’s Summerhill North, into three new homes could be seen as a model to bring people back to live in the city’s inner suburbs

Designer Denise O’Connor: With a bit of creative thinking, it’s possible to get more from the space you have

Dromdiah House, a Georgian country house in Cork, lay in ruins for eight decades before a couple bravely took on its restoration

People frequently underestimate the impact and the cost of smaller, less obvious decisions

A mix of Japanese culture and Irish crafts, the ambassador’s residence offers a home away from home for newly appointed Manabu Miyagawa and his wife Noriko

Home to Poetry Ireland, the public will soon be able to visit the restored Georgian building for events, while the Seamus Heaney library will open in the autumn

It’s important to understand what’s viable – and that means being clear about your budget

Late Hollywood star and Monégasque princess visited her ancestral home in 1961, later buying the plot, with a view to transforming it into a holiday home

Róisín Lafferty’s gallery is a step into the designer’s world. With prices starting around €2,400, buyers will be looking for something that endures

Spatial configuration is a key area of renovation where compromise rarely pays off

A wandering minstrel and high-flying lawyer have joined forces to launch a business doing camper van conversions and building flat-pack kits for van owners

Me & My Money: Hazel Burton, professional home organiser

Failing to find a suitable home in their coastal Sandycove neighbourhood, this enterprising interior designer and her family opted instead to turn their original home into two

The Cork woman fell in love with Manhattan 12 years ago and recently bought and decorated her own place, complete with a working fireplace

A friend’s house move takes me back to the 1990s, home of the pastel handbasin and other paternal projects

Interior designer Denise O’Connor shares her tried and tested tips

The hotelier and TV star on 10 years with Dunnes Stores, life after The Park, and having no regrets

Striving for perfection often causes more problems than it solves

Converting a 200-year old property into three apartments while retaining a business on the ground floor was not easy challenge for Jas Rait and Tanya Comber

Television: In the wake of the unexpected death of the chummy and clubbable Wallace, it is wonderful to see the architect on screen one final time

Bad lighting, lack of contrast and bland colours are among pitfalls to avoid

Robert Jocelyn, the 10th Earl of Roden, and his wife, writer Ann Henning Jocelyn, are throwing open the doors of their historic literary-linked Connemara property for short-term lets

With a renovation typically starting at about €7,000, it pays to get the detail right when it comes to refreshing the hardest-working room in your home

How to keep on top of things to prevent more disruptive work later on

Just 70 passive houses and buildings have been certified in Ireland to date - something this Cork pioneer wants to change

Embracing the area’s aviation history was a key part of this stunning home, overlooking the Shannon estuary

A good layout allows multiple activities to coexist without friction

Emma O’Dowd’s brief to her architect was to design a discreet family home; she wanted stunning water views to be the story

Kieran McCarthy talks about his experience and gives tips for those who can’t afford a retrofit

Tide is turning away from perfection towards design that feels more tailored to your taste

For a Christmas-loving Mayo family, this first festive season in their newly built home will be a special time

The architect and TV host developed lasting friendships with many homeowners he worked with on the RTÉ show