Home of the Year winners Lorcan Burke and Adrian Sharp built their forever home from scratch on family land in Co Kildare over 20 years ago.
The home is inspired by two traditional farm-style buildings, with the couple working with architect Pat Kerr to create a space unique and true to themselves.
Lorcan and Adrian’s home features an eclectic mix of masculine and classic elements, which takes inspiration from their travels and passions — two of which are floristry and horticulture, as seen in their stunning garden and the plants around their home.
Home of the Year judges Siohbhan Lam, Hugh Wallace and Amanda Bone with series 12 winners Lorcan Burke and Adrian Sharpe. Pic: RTÉ
For many, the first port of call is to transform the interior of the home, but for Lorcan and Adrian, the heart of their home is their garden, and they thought to bring the outdoors in. The result? A bright, spacious oasis. That’s what won them the coveted Home of the Year title.
The couple shared how they built the house with the garden in mind, and planted a weeping willow after Adrian’s father passed away in 1989, a ‘focal point’, if you will.
Outside, Adrian and Lorcan have a water fountain and a teahouse that can be reached by walking along a small pathway through the woods. They’ve hit the nail on the head with their aspirations of tranquility.
Adrian and Lorcan’s Kildare home on Home of the Year. Pic: RTÉ
Adrian told Home and Style that he’s a manager in the Orchard Garden Centre in Celbridge, while Lorcan owns his own florist in Celbridge. It’s only natural, then, that their home reflects their passion.
Down to the nitty-gritty of it all, the 2,500 sq ft Kildare home is on half an acre. When the couple approached Kerr, they had a scrapbook, compiling interior ideas from magazines and newspapers they had seen and loved. They note it was before the age of Pinterest and Instagram.
Lorcan and Adrian, who met through a mutual friend, insist this is their ‘forever home’, and they’ve not had the house valued since the renovation. They estimate it would be valued at around €1.2million, hopefully more.
Adrian and Lorcan’s Kildare home on Home of the Year. Pic: RTÉ
Casting their mind back to where it all began, soon after they first began dating, the idea flourished that they would build a home together.
Adrian and Lorcan went to the Ideal Homes exhibition and spied a sink that they fell in love with and bought instantly. It served as an ‘engagement ring’ of sorts.
‘The original plan [for the property] hasn’t really changed [over the years], we had a plan for everything, even our teahouse,’ they said. ‘When we originally drew up the plans for the landscaping, it looked like a spot for a caravan because it was just a bit of gravel. We knew we were going to build something there.’
Adrian and Lorcan’s Kildare home on Home of the Year. Pic: RTÉ
‘A lot of [the materials] came from bits left over from building the house,’ they explained. ‘Rather than just waste them. It’s called recycling now, but in our time, you’d make sure nothing was left to waste and was all used up.’
‘Both of us have come from homes that were relatively big and had lots of rooms in them, and we felt we wanted a home that had bigger rooms, where the spaces were used all the time.
‘It’s a well-used house that we wanted lots of warmth and lots of light, that would’ve been our brief. Also, that inside would become outside.’
Adrian and Lorcan’s Kildare home on Home of the Year. Pic: RTÉ
The couple didn’t just want to bring outdoors in, but they wanted their décor to flow seamlessly, blending indoor and outdoor, and they’ve definitely succeeded.
Speaking about what prompted them to apply for Home of the Year, Adrian said: ‘Lorcan, after a glass or two of wine one evening, decided, whilst scrolling through his phone, to apply for this.
‘I find out about 24 hours later,’ Adrian said. ‘It snowballed from there, and here we are today. It’s been a great journey, and meeting Hugh and the team.’
Adrian and Lorcan’s Kildare home on Home of the Year. Pic: RTÉ
The couple spoke fondly of the late Hugh Wallace, and his parting words of wisdom to Lorcan and Adrian were, ‘”From the outset, I knew this was going to be the winning house”.
Hugh commended Adrian on his command of the garden and Lorcan for transforming the interiors, lauding them as a great team.
When it came to judging, Amanda Bone gave their Kildare home a 10/10 score, while the others gave it a 9 and a 7, leaving the home with a total score of 26.
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