Bayfield House

I realized that we have been here almost a month (we only have one week left!) and I never posted pictures of the house. Well, we cleaned and organized this morning to get ready for our visitors, so it was the perfect time to take photos of the inside to show you.

The kitchen is very big and open. It has an electric stovetop, or hob, as they call it here. I am not used to cooking on electric at all, and it has taken me the full three weeks to adjust to it. The timing of everything is very different. There are 2 small refrigerators, side by side, and one tiny freezer. There is a compost bin on the counter behind the sink, and we fill it with food scraps (egg shells, vegetable peelings, apple cores, tea bags and coffee grinds) and then empty it into a large bin outside the gate. That’s a new one for me as well!

In the oldest parts of the house, which has stone walls about 2 feet thick, there are these amazing, deep window sills. This one is in the kitchen.

The very spacious and comfortable living room.

This is a close up of the corner of the living room. From what I can guess, this was the back door of the original (much smaller) stone house. On the other side is now the master bath. The living room was added on much more recently, with its great big windows to make the most of the lovely view.

A wonderful farmhouse table is just next to the living room and off the kitchen. We usually eat in the kitchen and do school at this table, unless there are visitors, then we need this big table.

This is officially called the garden room, but we’ve been referring to it as the freezer because it is so cold in there! When the kids watch tv at night, they bring hot water bottles and blankets with them. When the sun is out, it is especially lovely in there.

This cozy spot is upstairs, tucked in between the two original upstairs bedrooms.

This bedroom is part of the original house. It is just next to the original front door and it used to be the living room/library, according to some old plans of the house. All the bedrooms have names on their doors, taken from local attractions. This one is Aughinish, named for a small island with an old tower on it. The other first-floor bedroom is just across the hall and is very similar to this one. It was originally the dining room and still has the original built-in cabinets that were used to store dishes.

The little kids share this room, called Flaggy, for the Flaggy Shore walking path just around the corner. All of the bedrooms have the most amazing down comforters and soft linens on the beds. They make it hard to get out of bed on chilly mornings because they are so cozy!

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This one is called Bay, after Galway Bay, which we can see from the windows at the front of the house. The deep windows in this room have old-fashioned wooden shutters that are so pretty. Mary and Lucy shared this room while they were here, and now Aunt Carrie and Aunt Jacquie are using it.

The family history of the owner’s family has several artists in it. One of them did this mural of the surrounding area. All the local attractions (and the bedroom names) are on it. The location of the house can be seen toward the top, between Finavarra and Aughinish.

This is the front of the house from the road by Flaggy Shore. The additions to the house are partially visible on the left. The main part of the house is over 200 years old and was built by the current owner’s great-great grandfather. In some old photos and paintings, it had a thatched roof and the trim was painted red. Some of the surrounding trees on the property look to be at least as old as the house.

The additions are more easily visible from this angle. The big living room is the part with one stone wall and one white wall with the big windows. The garden room is the smaller part on the far left. Behind them is an older addition to the original house that includes the current kitchen, mud room, laundry room, and an extra bed/bath/garage that are locked and not in use at the moment.

From this angle, there is a good view of the oldest addition I mentioned above. In some of the pictures, it looked like the courtyard we are standing in was used for chickens and it is surrounded by a tall stone wall. Photo credit goes to Aunt Carrie and Aunt Jacquie.

These photos are hanging in the kitchen. I’m not certain, but I think they are of the original owner/builder of the house, or possibly his son. So much history here!

Next installment will be all about the Aunts, so check back again soon!