A blazing SUCCESS

This Georgian home in Northern Ireland, once ravaged by fire and time, has been reimagined for the modern age with vibrant colour, joyful patterns and a perfect balance of old and new

- HANNAH NEWTON

Standing on the deck of a ferry, Leticia Blakiston-Houston's grandfather watched in horror as flames and dense smoke engulfed his house. 'He saw it blazing as he was heading across the Irish Sea to England,' says Leticia.

'It was just after the Second World War, and he had tried to rebuild the parts that were lost but, thanks to rationing, there were very few materials around. The house became a mash-up of different parts.' Remnants of her grandfather's home can still be found to this day, perched on a peninsula at the very edge of the country's coastline, looking across the swirling Irish Sea towards Britain. Although, today, the building looks very different.

After almost a century of erratic additions made to this unloved building - which was, over the years, rented out and left abandoned for long stretches Leticia's older brother and his wife decided it was time to restore the family estate.