A NEW WAVE
The thrill of the surf drew Aoife and David Porter to this Irish coastal town where they have made a home that takes in the stunning sea views
When Aoife and David Porter decided to put down roots after travelling the world, they ended up close to home in County Sligo, where David had grown up. ‘We had lived in Dublin,’ says Aoife. ‘Then we went travelling before ending up in a place called Margaret River, near Perth, Australia. ‘It had a great vibe to it, with a surf community, wineries and coffee shops.’ However, after two years of being away, they yearned for home with an idea of finding a similar way of life in Ireland. ‘Fortunately, there was a surfing community here, we had family there and it had the community feel we wanted,’ says Aoife.
Aoife and David saw an average-looking bungalow that had been on the market for a while. ‘It wasn’t ideal,’ says Aoife, ‘but the views were amazing! And it was south-facing, which meant it would be light all day long.’ The pair were bidding on another place at the same time, when fate intervened and the bungalow became theirs in May 2014. Although they didn’t get the keys until the following January due to a legal wrangle, they then moved in with children, Oisin, seven, Saoria, five and Ruan, three. The first thing they did was appoint architect John Monahan of NOJI Architects (noji.ie).
‘The work was mainly internal, the front room had the view of the bay and there was a small hallway. There
was a dark kitchen at the back but all the rooms were separate, so we decided to knock through to open up the space,’ says Aoife. The ceiling was also opened up to the rafters to make it double-height, which created the extra sense of light the couple wanted.
‘We had a polished concrete floor laid throughout the open-plan area and underfloor heating was installed,’ says Aoife. ‘The windows stayed the same and we left the bathrooms as they were.’ The couple had intended to leave the kitchen, but once the builders started, and took out the walls and the floor, the kitchen ended up in the yard. ‘We had no choice!’ says Aoife. Having moved the front door to create a more symmetrical hallway, the pair turned their attention to the annexe. Here a playroom and en-suite bedroom make the most of the space.
The result is a house that is very family friendly. ‘It’s not large, but as it’s all on one level it means the children can ride around on their skateboards, and I don’t have to worry about them damaging anything,’ says Aoife. ‘It’s cosy, the views are incredible and we are close to nature here, with birds, sheep and even seal colonies.’ The community has just the sort of creative feel they had been looking for. ‘I run my marketing agency, buamarketing.ie, from here and David runs Ford Sligo,’ she says. Lots of other young families have also moved here, so it’s a fantastic place to live and bring up children.’