Sharon and Jer Holland swapped their family bungalow in County Cork for a traditional stone farmhouse owned by Jer’s parents but in need of an upgrade

TEXT Alexandra Pratt IMAGES Lynda Kenny

This photogenic farmhouse in County Cork in the south of Ireland has been causing a stir online thanks to its effortless modern country style. Yet getting to this point has been a real journey for owners Sharon and Jer Holland.

“It all started in 2018,” says Sharon. “Jer’s parents lived in the farmhouse and were beginning to think about ‘futureproofing.’ There we were, living in a bungalow next door. We were a little surprised at first when they suggested an exchange, but it was too good an opportunity to miss.” 

Sharon and Jer are both teachers. They have three children, two of whom are still at home, and they live on Jer’s family farm. At a time when the couple’s children were growing and needing more space, the idea of moving into a house with two living rooms and five bedrooms was perfectly timed. 

Yet for this stone farmhouse to become a new home for their family, Sharon knew it would require some work. “It was in a good, liveable condition, as it had been renovated in the early 1990s and well maintained,” recalls Sharon. “But some things were on the verge of breaking and certain sections were unheated.” 

With a full renovation, a replumb and even a single storey extension in mind, Sharon and Jer wanted to make sure their plans held no surprises for the wider family.

“We had to have a conversation about the changes with Jer’s parents and they were fine. We talked it all out, which was so important. None of us wanted to fall out.” Sharon and Jer had a huge advantage over most home renovators when they started this project – they already knew the building thoroughly.

“We knew what did and didn’t work before we committed to the extension,” says Sharon. “Taking that time made us more confident.” Although the extension was the most significant part of the project, it began only about six months after the family had moved in. Sharon’s first step was to ask a structural engineer to look at the fabric of the building; there wouldn’t be much of a budget for a new kitchen if the roof needed replacing. With the all-clear on that, Sharon, who took on most of the planning, sourcing and project management of the renovation, hired a local building firm that she knew had experience with period buildings.

A large part of the project was replacing the existing heating system. For Sharon, this was a priority. An old Stanley range in the kitchen supplied the home’s radiators, but it was overworked and inefficient. The couple considered alternatives such as air and ground source heat pumps, but the realities of retrofitting these systems into a solid-stone house gave them doubts over such a system’s effectiveness. Sharon also worried about pulling up and re-laying the original tiles in the hall for underfloor heating. “You have to be sensitive with building work.”

Ultimately, Sharon and Jer opted to keep the old range, as they love its character, which is so appropriate in this old building. “It’s like a hug in the kitchen,” laughs Sharon. Now, however, it heats just the newly extended kitchen, the utility room and the guest bedroom on the floor above. The rest of their home has new eco cast iron radiators, which can be plugged in, using a standard three point plug. Again, Sharon was in the unusual position of being able to trial one radiator by asking her in-laws to install it “in the coldest room of the house” for a year before committing to the entire house. “It was very successful, and it gave us the confidence to go on with ElectricCast,” says Sharon. “The company was fantastic.”

Although Sharon decided to keep the kitchen range, this room saw the biggest transformation. The original space was dark and small, with only a glazed door for natural light. Sharon’s builders recommended a local architect to design the new kitchen, now much larger thanks to the new extension. Sharon also hired a kitchen designer with an excellent reputation. Having both experts working on the project at a time when most meetings were online due to Covid restrictions created an unusual, yet very fortunate outcome.

“We all worked in tandem,” explains Sharon. “The kitchen designed the exterior, not the other way around. We made changes to the room dimensions by one metre, and this increased circulation space around the island, giving us better flow. Plus, I could make the banquette seating extra deep at 70 cm, which creates a really wide, luxurious feel, even though I didn’t spend more on finishes. Small margins made a big difference.”

This is now a large yet homely space, with the Stanley range in the centre creating a ‘broken-plan’ layout. The kitchen cabinetry is constructed from solid timber and the worktops are Silestone. At just 20 cm in depth, Sharon feels these are “more contemporary, less blocky,” than thicker countertop slabs. Although Sharon’s original budget didn’t stretch to upstands and splashbacks in the same stone, she realised that the cutting out of her countertop had left sections which could be used for these marginal areas; and at a comparable cost to tiles, adhesive and employing a tiler. “Penny pinching doesn’t always pay off,” says Sharon. 

The eye-catching “lovely, dewy, sorbet-pink,” kitchen cabinetry was a significant decision by Sharon, especially as Jer was against the colour choice at first. “But now he loves it!” laughs Sharon. Colour is an important feature throughout the house and Sharon embraced the process of finding a colour palette suitable for a period building that brings it up to date, adding character and reflecting them as a family. Yet even Sharon wasn’t committed to colourful interiors at first. Initially overwhelmed, she lacked the confidence to choose bolder colours. “I was considering painting everything white,” says Sharon. “I was very conscious of not wanting to undermine the character or integrity of the house.” 

Then Covid presented her with another opportunity; to take an online interior design course through the Create Academy. It was a revelation and Sharon began sharing ideas on social media, quickly finding herself in a community of like-minded people willing to share and discuss ideas. The online design course also encouraged Sharon to look beyond decor to more fundamental aspects of a major home renovation, such as room layouts and plumbing plans. It was a big undertaking, but Sharon, who teaches geography, is accustomed to thinking spatially. Working on basic graph paper, she reconsidered every room in the house, including the bathrooms. Both of these were ripped out and Sharon thoughtfully reconfigured the compact spaces of 2.5 x 2.5 metres to include both a bath and a freestanding shower. “They now feel larger and more luxurious,” says Sharon. “They are much more pleasant to use.”

Sharon was also inspired to make the counter-intuitive decision to reduce the number of bedrooms from five to four. A bit of light detective work revealed that the fifth – a box room – had the same floorboards as the room next door. It was located on a landing at the turn of the traditional staircase. Again, knowing the building so well paid off. “We had the luxury of knowing what is great about the house – and we had the keys,” says Sharon. By removing the partition walls and allowing an existing window to illuminate the staircase, Sharon returned the landing to its original condition; a bright and generous space where their two daughters now do their homework. “It was always about the light,” says Sharon. “The movement of light is important. Everything that I tried to do in the farmhouse was about merging the function of each room with its natural light.” 

Another unexpected space is the snug. This hard-working little room is less formal than the sitting rooms and the flooring is engineered wood, yet it’s the place where the family snuggles up to watch movies and it’s now one of Sharon’s favourite spaces. “I love the cosiness, especially in winter,” she says. “It’s funny how it’s often the ‘spaces in between’ that are the nicest in the house.”

Sharon didn’t have to spend too much time or money on new flooring, as the original floorboards and tiles are all beautiful. Apart from the snug, Sharon only had to select flooring for her new kitchen and dining room. Although she wanted period flagstones in this room, the budget (guarded carefully throughout) didn’t allow these. Instead, Sharon chose concrete-style tiles, which she believes, fade into the background. They are only 30 x 35 cm, as the larger sizes “look too modern.”

Sharon was lucky that the farmhouse still had many entrancing period details, such as ceiling roses. Yet she couldn’t help making a few additions, found in home auctions around the country. Her favourite of these is the fire surround with built-in seats which came from a property in Dublin.  “That was a done deal,” laughs Sharon. “It’s beautiful and I love a fireplace with seats!”

Although making the farmhouse their home was very much a ‘passion project’ for Sharon, Jer played a vital role behind the scenes, carrying out demolition work, acting as a gofer for tradesmen, painting and, of course, moral support for Sharon.

Unusually for such a big project on a period home, there were few surprises, although Sharon blames herself for the one real low point in the project. Having moved into the farmhouse six months before building work began (and even painting several of the rooms), Sharon and Jer were reluctant to move out during the kitchen extension. Unwilling to pay the cost of living elsewhere for a while, Sharon now feels they should have lived elsewhere for at least a month. “Mid-build, with no kitchen, we had a power black-out one evening in the local area and I found myself barbequing in the rain in November… I would change that if I had the time over!”

As that memory fades, Sharon, Jer and their family can now focus on enjoying the house, which comes into its own during Christmas, when they host their extended family. “It has made a positive impact on our lives. There’s a certain contentment to living here and Jer’s parents are really happy the house is still in the family.”

With the plans to stone-face the extension and Sharon’s work on the project creating a buzz through her Instagram page, this house’s story is not yet finished. “There’s a great sense of satisfaction,” says Sharon. I hope we’ve managed to both make a new home for us while cherishing what the farmhouse was.”