A new house made old and characterful through the extensive use of art and objects belongs to painter Gavin Doyle and interiors stylist Sarah Twigg Doyle, who live with his work, before deciding what to sell.
Lead pic: Tony Gavin
Homes that are imbued with the owners’ own taste are becoming a rare thing.
That’s because objects, plants and art are often considered clutter by the tidy police, who want nothing but bare surfaces.
Unfortunately, this naked approach creates a cookie-cutter look that gives no sense of those who inhabit the space, no matter how much money was spent on said surfaces.
Creating a home, a space that one dictionary’s definition of the word, takes skill and pluck.
Merriam-Webster describes it as “the social unit formed by a family living together”.
A family means more than one person and therefore more than one person’s things. It takes skill to weave all those personalities into a cohesive look.
Husband and wife, artist Gavin Doyle and interiors stylist Sarah Twigg Doyle, turned what was a B-BER-rated Hanse Haus kit home when they bought it in 2008 into a characterful space that exudes a level of charm often absent from homes of that era.
They’ve had almost two decades of travels together to decorate the three-bedroom bungalow, picking up mirrors and other objects at flea markets and brocantes and bringing them back to layer the home they share with their two children, Noah, 20 and Olivia, 16, plus cats Freddie and Lulu.
Sarah fell into her styling business, having a natural eye that friends encouraged her to explore.
She started upcycling finds from Facebook Marketplace, charity shops and antique stores for sale, but all the time also enriching the home.
Her Instagram handle, Retwigged Stylist, has over 48,000 followers.
Gavin, who worked in tech, rediscovered his love of art during lockdown.
“Suddenly, there was more time,” he says. Sarah suggested he sign up for Instagram. And then someone messaged him to ask if they could buy the sketch.
What started as picking up a pencil and sketching has become a full-time role.
Self-taught, he cannily took redundancy last year to shift his work-life balance back towards his first love.
He still consults. But the rest of the time he can be found in his nine-square-metre studio in the back garden, where he paints using oils.
It’s a space that still smells of the classic artist’s studio, linseed oil, but any lingering turpentine has been banished in favour of citrus peel-oil alternatives.
Gavin’s work hangs throughout. A melange of his work, other buys, pieces by Gavin’s mother and finds now fill their walls.
“Our whole stairs is a sea of paintings,” says Sarah.
It is, here, a full-length mirror is used to bounce light around and break up the look. Its position is also practical. You can check your appearance before leaving the house.
In the living room, A Storm Outside, has been issued as a limited edition of prints because Sarah didn’t want to part with it. To the right is a work by Nina Ruminska.
The sofas are from DFS and have been reupholstered. The walls behind and ceiling above are colour-drenched in Jenny Wren from Dulux Heritage.
The dining room walls wear the same colour, but because this room gets a lot more sunlight, it looks several shades lighter. Like Spinning Plates, it is another of Gavin’s works.
This, the original, is not for sale, but it is available as a print. An Ibride Design portrait also hangs here.
The kitchen is fitted with shaker units that have d-ring pulls. It is painted a deep and restful green, which is from Mylands 900 Colour Collection.
The reference is AGY23. Above the door is one of his works, 10 Green Bottles.
The London-based paint company has been in operation since 1884, and its shades were used on the Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and James Bond sets.
In Dublin, Stillorgan Décor supplies the range.
Many of Sarah’s fans on Insta will already know her pink office, which is painted in muddy shades that are easy to live with.
The cabinets are finished in Kasbah, while the ceiling and walls are in Roben’s Honour, both from the Paint & Paper Library.
He’s as big on sustainability as he is on his still lifes.
He repurposes canvases and reuses old frames that he and Sarah have found on their travels around France and Portugal, and in antique and vintage shops – Pete’s Antiques is a favourite.
He makes new ones from old stately home frames, he says. He’s also managed to find a selection at Appleby Framers, who also cut down larger frames to size for him.
Upstairs, the principal bedroom is colour-drenched in Threadneedle from Myland’s.
The French cane bed is from Donegal-based Stockhouse Interiors.
The painting above the bed is Gavin’s version of a famous Vietnamese artist, while the print next to it is from Pennyfeathers Vintage.
The large pink print is by Pink Sensation Winter Rose by Gerard Byrne. The small piece above the shelf is by Caroline Duffy.
The house is replete with art. When she likes his work, she asks, "Are you planning to sell that?" Some hang on the wall until they sell. Others never leave the house.
“We have virtually no wall space left,” says Sarah.
Gavin’s solo exhibition runs from Thursday, May 21st May to Thursday, June 4th, at The Doorway Gallery, 27 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2. For more of his work, visit artistgmd.com
Join two designers, colour psychologist Adele Roche and interiors stylist Sarah Twigg Doyle, for a one-day workshop on Saturday, May 23rd, from 10 am to 4 pm at Amo and Pax. Price €140.
