The Story So Far (and future plans)

I know it sounds like a cliché but I really have been interested in interiors from a young age.  My parents built their own home when I was 7 and I can remember going with my mum to the interior shops looking at carpets, tiles and gorgeous curtain fabrics – there was no online shopping then so everything had to be done in person!  My mum was also a serial decorator and my parents did all the decorating themselves so that’s also rubbed off on me.

I bought my first house with the other half when I was 22 and it needed a total overhaul, including, central heating, windows and a kitchen.  Since then, we have lived in four properties and have renovated, extended (or built) every one. 

We purchased our building site in 2017 and it took 2 years for planning to come through and then a further year to find a builder and sell our existing house.  Since then it’s been all go as we did all the finishing touches on the build ourselves including the staircase, all the decorating and 2nd fix joinery.  There’s still plenty to do as not all rooms are the way I want them and the outside still looks like a building site in places.

At the start of the build a colleague suggested I start an Instagram page to document the build.  I was oblivious, at that time, to the number of other self builders and renovators who were doing this.  So I set up my Instagram page @house_at_ballycoose and have created over 600 posts, sharing our build experience, interior design inspo and my many upcycling projects.

More recently I graduated with a Diploma in Interior design and have been busy helping friends and family with their interior projects. I had started sharing interior design advice on my Instagram and a friend suggested I start a blog as an Instagram post wasn’t big enough for everything I wanted to say.  So here I am now, expanding my passion for interior design into a blog which I hope will be a great way to share even more information, advice and insights about all things self build, renovations and interiors.

You can follow me and view my home on Instagram.

Nicky x