Elegant and eclectic homes book features Ardbraccan

Ardbraccan outside Navan is featured in a new hardback, glossy Irish Interiors book 'The Irish At Home', co-authored by Jane McDonnell and Sarah McDonnell. With photography by Luke White, the book features 35 beautiful Irish homes. Ardbraccan, the one-time residence of the Bishop of Meath, was restored in 1998 over four years and is now one of the most beautiful Palladian-style mansions in Ireland. Sarah said: "Although the last decade may be one we care to forget in terms of property, the houses in the book were chosen for their lack of ostentation with an eye for the elegant, the eclectic, the interesting. They are homes that endure." Polly Devlin, who has also written the foreword of The Irish At Home said: "From the modest to the grand, the period and the contemporary, the significant landmark, to the off-the-beaten-track country cottage, all the houses and interiors express drama, individuality and confidence and are the result of intellectual and aesthetic powers turned on building a setting and placing possessions in idiosyncratic and sweet decorum." "Each has its own spirit but one of the most delightful things to find in an interior is wit and David Collins' house sparkles with chic and wit as does Anne Madden's, the placing of whose remarkable contents are underwritten by her sharp artist's eye; the amazing sense of space in a small artisan's cottage with its Shaker-like bedrooms and pretty courtyard is impressive, as is the bravura of the colour and form of the contents of the Johnson house." Jane McDonnell began her career at Condé Nast, The interiors, photographed by Luke White, reflect the diversity and style of their inhabitants, architects and interior designers and provide inspiration for future projects. Luke White is a renowned interiors and portrait photographer, based in London and working all over the world for magazines such as Vogue, World of Interiors, House & Garden, Elle Deco and The Gloss Magazine. His interest in Irish houses has resulted in many trips to photograph all sorts of Irish homes, even the most private. The Irish At Home is available from all good book stores, price €35.00.