Happily Ever After

Hayley and Eugene undertook the daunting renovation of former labourers’ cottages to create a beautiful home that is the stuff of fairytales.

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Ever since I was a small child, I loved ‘Hansel and Gretel’ cottages’, says Haley. ‘My father would always look out for tiny, old cottages with diamond-paned windows and half-doors in his travels and on a Sunday he would say, ‘I’ve found a lovely window (or door or gate) Haley,’ and we would go off on a little adventure to see it.’

Little wonder she grew up to be an interior designer; Haley now owns Ebony Rose, a large interiors store and consultancy in Navan. In 2006, Haley and husband Eugene were living in an apartment in Navan and looking out for a house to buy. ‘We were both brought up in the country and both have always had horses, so we wanted a country home with some land,’ says Haley. ‘We also really wanted a renovation. My business is in interiors, and Eugene was working in the construction industry at the time, so we felt we had the skills to cope with a project. We had our own ideas about how we wanted to live, and wanted to create our own home.’