When interior designer Paula McCarthy bought her home she was on her own, then she got her dog Bailey. She met her partner Mick five years ago and last year she designed a renovation to make the house more spacious for his daughters and their pet, Charlie
Paula McCarthy in the newly renovated kitchen of her home in south county Dublin. The oak and painted units are by Daniel Martin Kitchens. Photo: Tony Gavin
Dolly Parton, she of the enhanced boobs, the big blonde wigs and the cosmetic facial work is not only a genius songwriter and performer – she’s also a very wise woman and one of her most pertinent sayings is: “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another.”
That’s exactly what Paula McCarthy decided to do four years ago. She pivoted from an enviable job at the top of her field in media to starting at the beginning of a new road as an interior designer. It was partly the illness of her lovely late mother and partly lockdown which prompted her to change her life. “I call myself a Covid cliche in that I did a complete U-turn on my career. I used to work in TV3, now Virgin Media. I was there for 16 years. Then when we all started working from home and Mum got sick, it put things in perspective. I wanted to give something else a go, something I’m passionate about.”