We do not need to dislike alarm clocks to know that guards to sunlight increases the mood through the regulation of our circadian rhythms.
So take a look and learn – because I turned up and made aware of when I saw the interior designer Geri O'toole worked with light to create her plan for a revised West Cork property.
“Usually Irish cottages with thick walls and smaller windows are built to get warmth. We have developed three layout options for our customers. During the day, the changing light encourages the interior,” says Geri.
“Morning light filters gently into the kitchen, while the golden evening light penetrates through the openings oriented to the west and combines the rhythm of the house to the landscape outside.
“The main sleeping room overlooks the garden and the surrounding hills, while the front windows look at beautiful surrounding farms.”
And if you are not already looking forward to waking up with the prospects – this dream house is stuck, has its own whiskey room. The accommodation also includes a living room, a kitchen, a toilet, two children's rooms and a family pool and the exceeding pantry and the utility or the Mudroom.
Geri and her company based in Limerick, Geri Designs, worked with the building contractor Martin O'Sullivan on this project, which was completed in June 2024. She has recently completed the work on the redesign of the Howth Home of Vogue Williams, and how we would expect from a designer to speed-dial-to-high-profile customers around the world, is discreetly.
When she is pressed, she stops prefer to prefer a place in this Cork Cottage, which she describes as “beautiful”. (Spoiler alarm: The whiskey room and the kitchen are strong competitors.)
According to the designer, the interiors are “a gentle allusion to the past”. This can be seen in the exposed wooden beams, stone walls and low ceilings that create a feeling of comfort and protection – and currently corresponds to the madness for cozymaxxing.
“Every corner whispers stories of simpler times, but the room feels effortlessly inviting – a place where you can breathe deeply and slow down,” says Geri.
The surrounding bandon Hills are suitable for the goal of the property. “I think the attitude has definitely informed the design,” says Geri. “The use of local stone and the low profile of the building was clearly influenced by the surrounding slope.”
The order was to restore the country house as a holiday home for a couple and its two young daughters. “Our customers, originally from Northern Ireland and now on the Bahamas, dreamed of creating a peaceful retreat for their young family,” says Geri.
“With two daughters and a sophisticated travel schedule, they longed for a calm Irish harbor – a place where they can connect with loved ones, relax and immerse themselves in the culture that is important to them.”
Jump through the tailor-made front door in the Dutch front door (which Geri says that it lends a “picturesque character” to the property) and, according to Geri, they are designed in the whiskey room, which was designed as a “warm, inviting corner”.
“It has extensive surfaces and lädlerische lighting and is a room for a quiet drink, a good conversation and offers the calming feeling of being at home,” she says.
Here you will find the old cottage wall that feels authentic to the room. “We added a falling limestone floor and discrete John Cullen lighting to bring warmth and shine into the otherwise dark room by adding the stains into the window,” says Geri.
The living room right in front of the kitchen is the heart of the house – perfect for relaxing in front of the television after a day when the landscape is explored. One of the outstanding characteristics is framed by ancient bricks from France to antique rose pink fireplace, which was obtained and selected by Geri.
According to Geri, the kitchen is located in a “classic cottage aesthetics, which has been updated for modern family life”. Here you will find the cottage-style cottage-style doors.
“This gentle, temporally excited look creates a warm, lived and profound atmosphere. We added arches to give the eye a soft detail that it goes through the mud room and the pantry,” says the designer.
“Overhead, original wood beam – beautiful relics of the past of the house – were given new life. We carefully withdraw them to their bare bones and reveal the grain and imperfections that can only create time.”
This unexpected detail adds “Depth and drama that transforms the ceiling into a design statement” and celebrates the story that is engraved into the wood, says Geri.
Hand -cut and laid tiles form a beautiful back splash that anchored the room, and a natural marble with vein adorns the worktops.
Right on the back of the cottage, the Mudroom adds “usefulness with thoughtful design” to Geri. “We have a warm ocher pallet for the walls and the cupboards selected-a tone that feels both ground and inviting and at the same time has beautifully balanced the green windows and doors,” she says.
The result is a space that feels connected by the tailor -made door in the Dutch style and beyond with the garden and is naturally inspired that you invite you to slow down.
“It is a hardworking space, yes – but also a happy threshold on which boots are switched off, layers are hanged, and the outside world takes a break before they enter the calm of the cottage,” says his creator.
The girls' bedrooms are designed in such a way that they are growing with their residents and with tailor -made bunk beds, reading corners and cozy corners for playing or stowing treasures.
The main sleeping room is a peaceful, bourgeois retreat with subtle elegance and a feeling of timeless calm. “The ceiling, which is tapping in a delicate, enveloping pressure, draws the eye up and creates a cozy, cocoon effect,” says Geri.
“In the middle of the room there is a tailor -made headboard in an ancient, aged fabric made of Pierre Frey.
“It is structural decisions that anchor the space and bring a tactile wealth into the room.”
A copper bath gives the bathroom a luxurious touch.
Geri adds: “Our mission was clear: restoring and improving the cottage, while we keep your authentic charm and breathe a new life into his bones and at the same time maintain the cozy intimacy with a low blanket that makes this house so special.”
According to the designer, the rooms were firmly working, but the team has “the maximum possible in”. “The biggest challenges were to use the best of the small bedrooms and create tailor -made Dream Bunk beds for the little girls of the customers.”
During the renovation, the team focused on bringing light, warmth and a feeling of calm into the room. “Natural materials, a soft, steamed color palette and traditional surfaces supplemented carefully selected modern comfort.
“The result is a home that feels both timelessly and deeply personal – for lazy summer evenings, firneside winter and family memories in the coming years,” says Geri.
Con Brouder has created carpentry. “The whiskey room, the pantry, the service program and the children's bedroom have a custom carpentry that is carefully designed to maximize the space and create generous, well-hidden storage. Installed cupboards fits seamlessly into the fabric of the hut, married shape and function with reserved elegance,” adds Geri.
Geri designs worked for the lighting with visual comfort and POOKY. “This cottage is more than a holiday home for the family. It is a sanctuary, a place where two young girls can roam and imagine and on which a hard -working pilot and his wife can recharge in the serenity of the Irish landscape,” says Geri.
Customers say that the finished cottage has “far exceeded” their expectations: “Geri is undoubtedly the most talented designer we came across – not only in Ireland, but against the best in the world.
“We heard from her for the first time through my brother and a few friends, and we couldn't be more grateful for the recommendation. Your ability to bring colors, textures, designs and layouts together in a way that felt unique was just amazing.”