Welcome to my blog

We moved to Ireland with the notion of building our "dream" home in May 2007 after purchasing the site earlier on that year. Mr C is Irish and originally from Limerick but he remains in the UK during the week, his job is running www.cruise.co.uk and earning the bucks that will hopefully allow us to "live the dream."

It's taken us almost two years but ground will be broken on the site by the end of May 09!! A lot of blood, sweat & loads of tears (all mine!) have gone into this project already, we left a fabulous house behind in Newcastle...and now for my Kevin McLeod bit, "can the new build can live up to my expectations and the old house we left behind"? I'm not sure...keep watching my blog and you'll find out!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Back away from the black??


Made this attempt at a mood board way back in September 09 and still love it.


After a lot of deliberation and much consideration of all the "back away from the black" comments I received from friends & family (and a couple of professionals) I've decided to heed the wise words of Billy Baldwin and am going to follow own my gut (instinct)and explore my dark side.


Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style. – Billy Baldwin


Creamy beige flooring be it marble, limestone, travertine or porcelain would be the choice of many in this neck of the woods.  Black & grey slate, basalt and limestone tiles are not in high demand for sure...but I LOVE them.  Maybe it is the Slummy Mummy in me convinced that a dark and footmark forgiving floor wont require the mop out quite as often as the cream marble? (I'm totally convinced this is true)







I like sexy rooms, and I don’t think all-beige is very sexy. -Billy Baldwin

I am a grown up, so do know that if I went with the light, bright and shiny polished marble (or similar) it would make for a brighter hallway and kitchen for the Conlon House, but thinking about it, just how much light does one really need?!  I have large windows(and loads of them), high ceilings coupled with huge amounts of soon to be white painted walls, surely that counts, no?  Do I really need Crema Marfil for that??

In the Conlon House you will see....Hall, kitchen & family room flooring like this.  Dark(undoubtedly)but will be contrasted with large amounts of white walls remember...

Image courtesy of 


A kitchen like this, charcoal black painted base cabinetry and a light reflecting worktop, huge swathes of white wall uninterrupted by wall cabinets (or industrial extraction!).  



Sneak peak at the kitchen layout



The dark flooring in the main high traffic areas will be contrasted with brushed oak flooring in all the bedrooms, lounge & games/play rooms.  In these rooms will be going for a neutrals with pops of brights (most likely featuring copious amounts of our trade mark cerise ...we are a family of four girlie girls after all!)

I'm happy enough with the decisions so far, and am working really hard at the moment to get the best (lowest)and final quotes in for the finishes I'm after. What I love is one thing, what the budget dictates is another!!


A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart. -Billy Baldwin


Here's hoping the chips on black gamble pays off,

Mrs C x

Read a great Billy Baldwin inspired blog post here on designsponge 



3 comments:

  1. I love the black, i'm going throuth a black thing at the moment, but things to think about, black needs alot of natural sunlight to balance it, which way do your windows face, black is not a forgiving colour, it does show up dirt and dust. It can eat up light, unless it has a slightly shinny surface. Painted black wood adds a softness to the colour, i think stone can look and feel a little cold.
    Looking forward to seeing the finished home!

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  2. I recently did a post on the great Maria Killam (colour designer) and I think she would agree with you. I pulled out a few dark wall images this morning and might post them tomorrow. Sounds like your instincts are right! Rachaelxx

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