Traditional Irish Home Decor

St. Patrick's Day is coming up on March 17. Rather than tell you how to make green beer 🙂 I thought I'd share home decor inspiration from some beautiful traditional Irish houses.

This is Montalto House, a mansion in the lovely green countryside of County Down, Northern Ireland. The house was built in 1760 and it sits in 600 acres of parkland. (I wouldn't want to have to mow THAT lawn!)

In 2010, architects finished a major restoration on the house interiors.

This is the library - doesn't it make you want to curl up with a good read? The burnt umber wall color creates warmth and sets the tone for the room. A roaring fire and lighting from the table lamp and wall sconces add more atmosphere. I also spy a brass or copper chandelier overhead. This room proves that good lighting from several sources makes a big difference to the feel of the space.

Here is the kitchen. It looks just as you'd think an Irish country house kitchen should look! I love the old metal chandelier and the deep farmhouse sink, also known as a Belfast sink.  Montalto House is now a venue for private events like weddings and it is full of Irish and European antiques and art.

A little more modest and more realistic for most of us, this is a very nicely designed Arts and Crafts movement house just outside Dublin. Once again we have a blazing fire! I guess it is chilly sometimes in the Emerald Isle. Heavy wood furniture, barley twist legs on the coffee table and William Morris fabric all add to the sense of traditional comfort in this period home.

Upstairs in the bedroom of the Arts and Crafts house, the rusty red textured wallpaper has only been applied below the picture rail. It was the same with the olive green walls in the living room photo. Keeping the bold color below the picture rail means that it isn't too overwhelming. It also visually lowers the high ceilings to make the rooms a bit more cozy.

Here is another traditional home in Dublin - it welcomes us in at once! The dark brown wood style wallpaper gives an Old World feel and shows that dark walls don't make the room itself dark if the actual lighting is good! This living room seems to enjoy tons of natural light, as well as a handsome chandelier to add a glow in the evening.

Looking at the wood furniture in the Dublin living room, I think that this Woodbridge Furniture Company drinks table that we sell would fit in very nicely! The new Howth drinks table is inspired by original 18th century Irish antique furniture designs.

The patterned table top is crafted with a swirl mahogany veneer and English brown oak burl. With the fluted pedestal column too, the table looks incredibly authentic.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! If we can't make it to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day, at least we can all dream by looking at these amazing traditional Irish houses. Have you been to Ireland? What did you like about the decorative styles there?