Welcome

After a brief hiatus as we all get to grips with our new normal – we’re back with this, our summer issue, which is filled with lots of stylish ideas for outdoor living as well as Irish homes, kitchens and much more! We have decided to combine our July/August issues and will be back to normal at the start of August with our monthly issues, starting with September.

In the meantime, we are revelling in the good weather – long may it last – and it’s the perfect backdrop to put together an issue filled with inspiration on outdoor rooms and alfresco dining. Whether a small patio or a lush green garden, there are so many options to help you to extend your living and dining spaces outdoors, something we are all appreciating a lot more of late.
We also bring you four fabulous homes, from our cover home in Waterford to Alan and Irene’s striking new build ‘glasshouse’ in Millisle. In Dalkey we get to see inside a magnificent coastal property and in Munster we get a glimpse at a stunning extension and renovation which is the perfect finish for this family of six.
If like the rest of us you have been spending the last few months looking at those areas of your home that need updating and wondering where to start, a woman who can certainly help when it comes to your home interiors and making them work for you is Kate Watson-Smyth. This issue we chat to Kate about interiors and her new book Mad About The House: 101 Interior Design Answers.
We also get a closer look inside two of our reader’s kitchens, as you will see, both are perfectly designed to fit the space they are in and offer a number of design details which give them both the wow factor. If you are looking for some new recipes to try – I think we’ve all picked up a few new cooking and baking skills of late – then our extract from the Big Night In cookbook offers you a few tasty dishes to try. Choose from an Indian Masala, Greek stuffed tomatoes or a couple of tasty salads.
Gardening is another hobby many of us have found of late and this is reflected in our feature on growing your own vegetables at home. Hopefully this good weather continues and you enjoy making the most of your time at home during these summer months.