Advertorial James Kavanagh embraces the good life with heritage blues From Dublin buzz to countryside calm, James Kavanagh is transforming his storybook home with bold Dulux Heritage Boathouse Blue at its heart W hen social media influencer and TV presenter James Kavanagh and his partner William Murray, an artist and food entrepreneur, along with pet cat Diana, moved to Kilkenny two years ago, it was the culmination of a plan the couple had put in motion some years previously. Born and bred in Dublin, James found that he was increasingly drawn to the calm of the country. William is from Cork and his house is in Currabinny, which is this kind of sleepy little place, and I found myself wanting to go to Currabinny any chance I got. Spending numerous weekends in Cork led to the couple spending a month there during the pandemic. I always found myself calmer and happier. I love going for walks. I love the birds, he says. You should see me and William screaming at each other when the woodpeckers are in the garden, like, the excitement! Finding their dream home proved to be serendipitous. Its a really beautiful part of the world, and I had no idea, James says. I felt like wed struck gold. The house they settled on is replete with history and is set on an acre in a bucolic location on the Kilkenny and Carlow border. It was previously owned by a poet and novelist couple, who, among many other plaudits, worked on the BBCs beloved Not The Nine OClock News and Spitting Image programmes. When we viewed the house, there was actually a BAFTA on one of the shelves, James recalls. Theyre an interesting couple, very artistic, and they had the house done up really nicely. So when we viewed it, it was almost kind of in the style we wanted, that kind of cushy, squishy cottage, very much leaning into the countryside. While the house was actually built in 1969, in spirit, it feels older. It has the aspect and shape of an older house because the woman who built it lived in a Victorian lodge house before this house, and she basically told her builder to build the exact same house on this plot, he says. It has floor-to-ceiling windows in most of the rooms, and they used a salvage yard to put in a lot of the windowsills, and the gates to the front of the house. Some of the doors were salvaged from Georgian houses on Ely Place in Dublin, which I like a lot as a Dubliner. The garden was a big draw, too. They put 35 years of love into the garden, James says. They made all these gorgeous meandering beds, its very like a secret English garden type thing, and theres all sorts of different trees, including an apple orchard. The previous owners also left the couple a polytunnel. Weve grown tomatoes, courgettes, and salad leaves, and that just thrills me now these days, he says. James was keen to put his own stamp on the property. Ive installed a pond down the end of the garden, and that has been thrilling to witness, he says. Ive seen dragonflies come, I see tadpoles and frogspawn, and we have a family of bats too. They come down, they skim the pond and eat some of the larvae, so its really fun to witness ecosystems happen in the garden. Hedgehogs Elton and John are efficient helpers. They scour the garden, and they eat the slugs, which helps us with the weeds. Naturally, Diana loves it too. She goes around the garden, and chases the butterflies, he laughs. Now that the outdoors is in fine fettle, James and William are turning their attention back to the house, with a phased renovation plan in place. The initial tranche of work will see them do the invisible, expensive stuff, like wiring and plumbing. Next, they plan to tackle the upstairs part of their home. But first, the dramatic makeover of their sitting room, using a Dulux Heritage shade, Boathouse Blue. It was inspired by a visit James made to the Museum of Irish Literature. I saw the first edition of James Joyces Ulysses, and I was obsessed with the cover. Its a kind of teal, duck egg, eggshell, kind of blue. I started getting sucked into the world of blues for paint in the house, and as I looked through the different shades Dulux has, I was drawn to Dulux Heritage Boathouse Blue. Its a striking mid-tone blue colour, and James has upped the ante by having the room completely colour-drenched in the shade. I was contemplating, do I go for different shades, but then I just went for colour drenching, and Im so happy I did because its so impactful. Its a very easy wow thing to do in a house, and it kind of makes you feel like youre in a PERFECT PICNICS / EARTHY SCENTS / OUTDOOR DRINKS / SUMMER READING / GARDEN TO PLATE / CULTIVATING STYLE / STARGAZING MAGAZINE JULY/AUGUST 2026 with THE IRISH TIMES LET NATURE IN .thegloss.ie ww w Frieda Gormley in Cornwall summer in the garden CATHERINE FITZGERALD IN BALLYFIN Contents IN THIS ISSUE THE GLOSS MONTHLY REMINDER SIGN UP to receive a monthly reminder by email when THE GLOSS is out so that you never miss an issue. Simply register your details on WWW.THEGLOSS.IE. EDITOR JE NNIFE R STE V E NS D EP UT Y ED IT OR S Í O MHA CO NNO LLY S TYLE E D I T O R AISLI Advertorial Q&A At Close Range Y Perfumer and Founder of Cloon Keen, Margaret Mangan our favourite virtue Every business is an act of imagination that conjuresafuturethatdoesntyetexist.Hopeisthevirtuethatpushes you to evolve, shaping yourself and your work to meet that vision. 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She speaks of putting their home up as collateral for their business, of wresting control back from a private equity fir Theatre CENTRE STAGE Lynn Enright meets actors Derbhle Crotty, Judith Roddy, Aisling Kearns and Kate Gilmore to discuss their roles in Conor McPhersons latest masterpiece, The Brightening Air PHOTOGRAPH BY DOREEN KILFEATHER T here were self-actualised women living impressive, independent lives in Theatre for all of these characters they have a sense of humour. When I ask her what drew her to the job in particular, Crotty hoots. Its a no-brainer. I mean, Conor is an extraordinary writer. Its a luxury offer. Its not really about being drawn to it, its more the kind of thing youd crawl over p Travel Travel Notes Ard na Sidhe Country House Hotel. Penny McCormick joins the growing band of star trekkers and astro tourists The gardens. A garden terrace room. 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A walled garden, a fouracre field plot Wine Brighter & Lighter Julie Dupouy finds affordable pairings for picnics I rish summer always feels slightly borrowed it never seems to last long enough. The moment the sun appears, the entire country slips into a kind of joyful frenzy to catch every possible ray of light. Parks and beaches s Food A Walk In The Park Kitty Coles knows how to pack a perfect picnic E veryones idea of a picnic is different. In Ireland, a picnic tends to mean sandwiches sweating in foil, crisps, supermarket sausage rolls, tubs of coleslaw, perhaps some strawberries, and warm canned drinks. Otherwise known Books Reading Notes Sarah Halliwell on the best books for summer S pend your summer indulging in new arrivals from some of the very best international writers this summer, from Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead (Fleet, €19) to Ben Lerners highly acclaimed Transcription (Grant, €18), another novel Books How I Write IMANI THOMPSON London-based Imani Thompson won the Vogue new writers prize in 2019 as an undergraduate at Cambridge University. Her debut novel, the darkly funny and vicious Honey, triggered a ten-way auction and has already sold in ten languages. Honey (The Borough Press) is out This Glossy Life At Ballyfin, Catherine FitzGerald is quietly rewilding one of Irelands grandest estates, blending romance, restraint and a deep reverence for landscape. Deirdre McQuillan speaks to the designer PHOTOGRAPHS BY VERONIKA FAUSTMANN T SLOW AND SUBTLE he great thing about Ballyfin is This Glossy Life London-based architect Mark Lutyens (great-great-nephew of the famous architect Sir Edwin Lutyens) have included Hillsborough and Glenarm Castles in Northern Ireland, a Physic Garden in Edinburgh, as well as small private London gardens. The love of gardening was fostered growing u This Glossy Life Other plans include planting ornamental trees, cherries and crab apples beyond the cascade as our mission is to bring things into focus, to soften, to make it more inviting. Bordering the mown paths with blossoming trees and more bulbs will blend in with the greenery. She also want Wholefoods Supplements Natural Skincare Earth Friendly Products Try this Fibraed r ich Summer Sal up Build your s e p i c Re Wholefood ingredients for feel-good cooking Find us in selected Dunnes Stores across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Naas and Tralee NOURISH.IE