Carrie on building! SJP spruces up Irish home
IT was once a humble hillside cottage no different to hundreds of others in Donegal. But Hollywood A-lister Sarah Jessica Parker and screen star husband Matthew Broderick are giving their holiday hideaway a dramatic renovation. The home, on the outskirts of Kilcar village, was bought by Broderick’s family more than 40 years ago, and it has remained untouched until now, despite the Sex And The City star, 53, and her 56-year-old husband bringing their family there whenever they can. Now the traditional house at Roelough is set to take on a sleek new look with two extensions. The couple received planning permission for their new house design in 2015, but only started the development this summer. Workmen were busy getting ready to put roof tiles on the new wings of the house this week.
The design boasts four bedrooms, a den, a living area, and a new kitchen complete with courtyard, linking the old and new designs. The price of the building work is not known.
The architects are Dublinbased Donaghy and Dimond of Francis Street, and the planning application says the aim is to give the house ‘a new lease of sustainable life’. The renovation suggests the family could be spending a lot more time here in the coming years.
Ms Parker, Broderick and their children recently spent a few weeks at the house. While there, the actress took to Instagram to post a picture of herself and her family, including son James, 16, and seven-year-old twins Marion and Tabitha, doing a jigsaw. It may be a far cry from the highoctane lifestyle of her SATC alter ego Carrie Bradshaw, but as the family departed, she wrote of what she would miss about Ireland – including the ‘open smiles’ of locals.
Broderick, who has been married to Ms Parker since 1997, has spoken of his gratitude to his parents for buying an Irish getaway when he was ‘about eight’. He said people in Donegal ‘knew me long before I was an actor’, and said the house ‘gave me a whole new childhood, in a way’.
‘Gave me a whole new childhood’