Welcome to another edition of the fabulous blog series from A House Like This where we journey through the inspiring homes of people just like you. We love the opportunity to learn from others as they go about making a house a home, whether its super intensive restoration projects to the more simplified decoration jobs that ooze style and class they seem like something you could only dream of recreating yourself. Well, dream no more because these homes could be right next door to you and all they need is a vision, a bit of patience and a hard work ethic.

This time we’re in Northern Ireland in the seductively dark and mysterious home of Eniko Kirkwood. Her instagram is aptly named @mydarkhome_ and its totally understandable why many fall in love with her industrial yet cosy home styling…

AHLT: Hi Eniko, welcome to your very own feature on our #MyHouseLikeThis series! It’s a pleasure to have you and feature your gorgeous home. To start us off why don’t you tell our lovely readers all about you!

Eniko: Hello! So ...a bit about myself. I am 32 years old, my name is Eniko Kirkwood and I work as an interpreter. I live in Northern Ireland but I am originally from Hungary. I have lived in Northern Ireland since I was 19 and I love it... well, apart from the weather that is! I have been married to my husband Michael for 4 years and we are proud parents to two labradors, Penny and Alfie, who feature on my instagram on a regular basis. I love them!

AHLT : Penny and Alfie are definitely heavily featured but we can’t blame you! We adored their Halloween get up this year! So tell us a little bit more about your house, it seems full of character do you know much about its history?

Eniko : Ok, well we bought our house 4 years ago and it was originally built by the Andrews family who are known for designing Titanic. The house was built around 1890 when it was originally a farmers cottage, however it was extended 10 years ago. We have 3 bedrooms and 3 reception rooms in our house and the big point was the location with it just being a ten minute walk from a small town yet still in the countryside and secluded. A house like this in this area will rarely come on to the market so we got lucky!

AHLT: It seems you most certainly did, what an incredible history to inherit and add to! When it comes to your style how would you go about describing it and is there anything you’d change about your house?

Eniko: I would describe the style of the house as dark, moody with a hint of eclectic and bohemian. If I could change one thing in our home it would be having more storage space!

AHLT : Your home certainly has a dark side but you bring it to life with carefully selected furniture and colour here and there. What is your favourite thing in your home?

Eniko:  My favourite purchase has to be our green made.com sofa which I adore. It’s not only comfortable but it’s also very stylish. Sadly for Penny and Alfie they are not allowed on it!

AHLT : You have to have a few luxuries in your home that are sacred! It is a very lush sofa and such  a statement piece. What would say inspires you and did you ever make any mistakes planning for your home?

Eniko : Like many others I tend to get most of my ideas from Instagram. I always try to visualise things in my home before I commit to buying something. You’ll find that most of our furniture and decoration is sourced from secondhand and online independent shops. One of the mistakes I made early on was sourcing the furniture before living in the house, you see I bought most of our furniture before we moved in and unfortunately not everything actually fitted in or I realised that we didn’t actually need it at all so I had to sell a few things on. Now I will only buy things that I really love and feels right in the room and emphasizes with the decor.

AHLT: That is good advice and common trap others could easily fall into! With so much space and such rich history is there any particular space in your home that really stands out as your favourite space?

Eniko : Definitely, my favourite space in our home has to be the living room. Both the walls and ceilings are painted dark and it makes the room look so much bigger. Going full on dark creates a very cozy and moody atmosphere and I just love to soak up the space and read a good book with a cup of tea in hand.

AHLT: We have to say we absolutely love your living room space, so many are afraid to go full on dark and yet you’ve managed to do it in a way where it does still feel cosy and inviting. It’s also a common misconception that going dark can make a room feel smaller and in reality if you do what you have done and go fully into the deeper tones and include the ceilings too it can actually remove the feeling of lines and edges so everything seems much more spacious and infinite. A really smart move and something we’ll certainly look to do in the future, if we can ever agree on doing the ceiling too! So, I think we know what our next project would be, what is yours?

Eniko :  The next home project will be the downstairs shower room , which we would love to extend and remodel completely. I am currently looking for ideas on Instagram and Pinterest.

AHLT: Is there anyone in particular who really inspires you on those platforms?

Eniko: There are a lot of amazing accounts on Instagram that I follow and I’m always inspired by Abigail Ahern who is the queen of dark interiors.

AHLT: Great choice, she certainly is! So as you’re planning for your new shower room which we cannot wait to see unfold, is there any advice you’d give to others looking to embark on their next big project?

Eniko: Certainly, my advice is to simply do your homework and be absolutely sure before you buy anything new, but ultimately don’t be afraid to be different!

AHLT: Thank you Eniko for giving us a tour of your wonderfully dark home, it’s certainly won our hearts and we’re sure so many others will fall head of heels with your style! 

If you’re interiors are something to write home about play along on instagram each month with our #MyHouseLikeThis - be sure to follow and check @AHLT_Home and @AHouseLikeThis to be up to speed with the monthly themes! Good luck and if you win you’ll get a feature just like Eniko’s plus your very own AHLT Home Candle.