At Home - The Bustling Family Home

In our latest At Home installment we are privileged to be invited into Deborah's wonderful home.  There is so much for us to feast our eyes on here and it is evident that it is a family home full of joy.  Deborah was kind enough to share some photos and let us ask her some questions about her colourful, stylish and relaxed home.

Can you tell us about your home and who lives there?

Our home is in East Belfast, not too far from Stormont. It was built about ten years ago in the back garden of another house so we’re tucked away and many people don’t even realise the house is there! The house is contemporary with clean lines and lots of glass. My husband, me and our four girls age 17, 16, 13 and 11 live there.

What is your favourite bit of your home?

Probably my huge Hay Mags corner sofa (purchased from Maven of course!) in the living room because it’s big enough for all of us to fit on to for a chat! I also like to curl up on it with a book in front of the fire when the house is quiet and look out at the garden.

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration for your home from?

I love Scandinavian design so I study a lot of interiors magazines and follow a range of accounts on Instagram. I also get inspiration from regular trips to Maven to browse what’s new there!

How has your home had to change as life has changed through the time of Covid?

Because we were all stuck together at home during Covid, we had to make sure we used  every single bit of space in the house. With both my husband and myself working from home, we had to adapt our kitchen area and dining room into office spaces. We also converted an outside storeroom into a garden room so we had somewhere to escape to for a bit of peace.

Your kitchen is amazing, do you love to cook?  What’s your family go-to meal?

No definitely not, I am not a cook at all although I am a collector of cookery books! My preference is to watch my husband cook and then gratefully appreciate his efforts. Our family go-to-meal (that everyone will definitely eat) is a roast dinner with an endless supply of roast potatoes.

So many books everywhere!  What are you reading at the minute?

My books are incredibly important to me. So many remind me of different times in my life and I struggle to get rid of any of them hence I am always trying to find new places for bookshelves. I am currently reading Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell which tells the tragic story of Shakespeare’s only son who inspired one of his most famous plays, Hamlet.

How would you spend a perfect weekend?

My home really is my sanctuary and because of the lockdown experience, I have become much more content just pottering about at weekends. A perfect weekend looks very simple – watering all the plants I have accumulated, reading a good book, heading out for a run on the Comber Greenway and dinner out at one of the great local restaurants we have on our doorstep.