Everything feels right about Edelle and Davy Russell’s new home, even down to the subtle little touches. There’s an elegant rocking horse in the sittingroom, an abstract painting of horses inside the front door and a bootroom with the children’s racing silks on display. It all feels most appropriate for the home of a retired champion jockey and several young equine enthusiasts.
Edelle Russell, an assistant principal and chemistry teacher, says everything fell into place when the couple and their four children decided to move into Davy’s family home in Youghal. His father, Jerry, was living in the former Army barracks, but it no longer suited his needs. Meanwhile, they were considering building a house nearby. Jerry suggested they renovate his house instead because it was on the farm.
“We need to be on the farm because David breeds horses, and when the mares are foaling David has to be at the stable at the drop of a hat,” she explains.
They built a house for his father, linking it to the original house with a glass corridor, and she says the arrangement suits everyone. “He has his own private space but if he needs us, he pops in, and if the children want to grab an ice-cream, they know where to go. It’s lovely to have him close by.”
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The two-house project took five years, because planning permission was required and Covid-19 intervened, but it was worth the wait. “We absolutely love it,” she says. They both came from homes where visitors were always welcome, and they tried to recreate this feeling in their new home. “You want people to come in and be relaxed and want to stay with you,” she says.
The champion jockey and two-time Grand National winner retired from racing last year and she says the goal was to have the house finished by the time he hung up his saddle. “The stage we are at now is busy. He says he’s retired but he has never worked as hard. He has a yard full of young horses out there,” says Edelle.
The three-storey house needed a lot of work to bring it up to date. “We had to gut a lot of it, so externally it looks the same, but internally the layout is different. We have an A2-rated house now and it ticks all the boxes for us.” The couple worked with Des Ewing Residential Architects on the plans, and when it came to the interiors, she immediately knew who she wanted. She had been following the work of interior architect and designer Arlene McIntyre on social media and loved her style.
“I felt like she had my best interests at heart in every decision,” Edelle says. “For example, we built beautiful bedrooms for our children, and I didn’t want to go overly expensive on the furniture so we bought Ikea lockers and painted them the same colour as their built-in wardrobes. It was a smart thing to do, because my children are very small, they play with Lego and they might mark or scrape things,” she says.
“We’re on a farm. The mud is going to come in the door. The hands are going to rub along the walls. I’m not going around putting coasters under glasses. Arlene understood that.”
As well as the interior design service, the interior architectural team designed the kitchen, bathrooms and joinery while the bespoke furniture was supplied by Ventura Interiors, the company McIntyre runs with her husband, Juergen Riedel.
Jerry [Davy’s father] has his own private space but if he needs us, he pops in, and if the children want to grab an ice-cream they know where to go. It’s lovely to have him close by
— Edelle Russell
The house overlooks Youghal Bay and McIntyre says the tones of the sea, the coastline and the countryside influenced the colour scheme. “We also wanted a house that was timeless and classic, so we chose neutral colours that never go out of fashion,” she says.
The needs of the young family were also high on the list of priorities. The interiors were future-proofed, with scotch guarded fabrics and the use of durable hand-woven fabrics that would take a lot of wear and tear. “We went for lots of natural wool and mixed blends, combined with brushed cotton. These fabrics are easy to sponge down and are not delicate,” McIntyre says.
One of the couple’s favourite features is the bootroom, which has a locker for each child and a Belfast sink where they can clean up when they come in from the yard.
“When they come from school, they drop the bag, they hang the coat, they grab their gear – riding boots or whatever they need – and head straight up the yard,” Edelle says. “I know it’s a luxury and we are very fortunate to have it. I am very conscious of how lucky we are.”
The laundry room is another feature that would be the envy of anyone who struggles with a poky utility room. “It’s the sunniest and probably brightest room in the house,” she says. “We have four clothes horses that fold up against the wall when we’re not using them and they’re fantastic. The washing machine never stops between the farm and the showjumping gear, and I have a double sink which is in constant use,” she says. “I splurged on the speaker so that when I’m in there ironing or whatever, I can play music or listen to a podcast.”
When it came to displaying Davy’s multiple awards, he was very clear about what he wanted. “David didn’t want the house to be taken over with trophies and cups,” she says. “He’s very unassuming. We have one display cabinet in our dining area and that’s enough for him.”
He came close to adding a glitter ball to the cabinet before he fell at the last hurdle in this year’s Dancing with the Stars, leaving just before the final. “He used to practise in the hall,” she says. “Every time I went out to watch him, he would tell me to go away.” The children were thrilled with his participation in the RTÉ show. “As soon as it came on, they would slide and swing, and come down the stairs pretending they were the judges or dancers. They are huge memories for the family, and they were great moments,” she says.
The past few years have been a time of major change for the family, and they are now happy to settle into their new home. “No matter how big or small, it’s such a great feeling of achievement when you move into your forever home,” she says.
“We moved in here in our 40s and we’d have loved to have done it sooner. It’s hard getting to that point with stress, budgets and demands, but the highlight for me was closing the door, sitting down and going ‘wow’. I love it, David loves it, the children love it, and I hope that people who visit love it too.”
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