House of the Week: Graham’s Irish Cottage

As I’ve been nearing the end of my graduate school application and acceptance process, my partner in life and I have been diligently researching the prospective cities of our future occupation. When I say diligently researching, this really means that Dan has been checking craigslist for living situations that fit realistically in our budget while I have been checking North Carolina’s historical homes preservation website for places I can not afford and entering myself in the sweepstakes for HGTV’s “Smart Home 2016”, which can accurately been described as a Raleigh interior decorator’s attempt to design a home that will be dated before your milk turns sour. I mean…when has a sweepstakes not been a solid investment plan? So, while I was wasting my time doing the kind of shit I always do, Dan stumbled across two perfectly wonderful craigslist ads. I have decided to share them here with you, because I’m a real giver.

This post dates from 17 days ago. There are two things I love about this. 1) The peacock’s name is SIR ANTHONY. Not just Anthony, because that would be a ridiculous name for a peacock, and if you try calling him by just Anthony he will not respond. I would like to know what this peacock did to deserve being knighted. 2) Sir Anthony’s owner is clearly greatly distressed by having lost him (which sounds like a good story by itself), urging people to call him day OR night. However, he forgets to include a telephone number. Which brings us to part 2.

This post dates from 6 days ago. At first glance, one is tempted to cry triumphantly, “That’s not just any peacock you’ve found, by jove…it is Sir Anthony!” But upon further inspection, I don’t think it is the same bird. Note the lack of white markings on Peacock #2. And so, how many fucking peacocks are there roaming around Durham, North Carolina?! And where is Sir Anthony?!?!

Now that we’ve got that bit of business out of the way, it’s time for our House of the Week! *crowd cheers

This week’s home is not currently on the market, but it is available to stay at through Airbnb for only $67 per night. The only catch is that it is in Ireland. Kerrykeel to be precise, which is located at the northern tip of Ireland in County Donegal. Two decades ago Robert Graham inherited from his father an early 18th century thatched cottage in dire need of restoration. If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Secret of Roan Inish” then you’re on the right path. Set on three acres of land in the small village of Kerrykeel and close to scenic Mulroy Bay, Robert was saddened to see the home of his birth deteriorate over time and decided to undertake a full restoration project, which meant learning all about traditional Irish building techniques such as how to plaster walls with lime mortar and replace thatch rooves.

The end result is an absolutely charming cottage that uses the clean palate of the white-washed walls to create a bright, yet cozy space.

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So if you’re able to get there, you’ll have a very affordable and very picturesque place to stay. Check out Robert Graham’s Airbnb listing here and visit in person a home that has earned The Taste Maven’s Stamp of Approval!