How a rundown bungalow was transformed into a stunning upside-down seaside home

Moving house has long been recognised as one of the most stressful experiences one can experience in life. Couple that with the work involved in giving your new home a complete renovation, and the stress levels are likely to go through the roof.

Yet this is exactly what Jacqueline Rooney and her husband Scott did when they decided to buy a rundown bungalow in the picturesque coastal village of Rostrevor, Co Down.

Daunted by the prospect of having to take on a project which required a lot of work, Rooney didn’t even want to see the house to start with.

However, as soon as she saw the views from the upstairs windows, she knew that the building had the potential to be a stunning family home.

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“We first went to view the two-bedroom house in the summer of 2016,” says Rooney, who is a professional artist. “It was an upside-down format [with bedrooms on the ground floor and living space on the first floor] and I was initially reluctant to even view it at first, as the price was very high and I knew it needed a lot of work doing to it.

“But as soon as we stepped inside [to the first floor], we were met with the most breathtaking panoramic views of Carlingford Lough and the Cooley Peninsula as well as the Mourne Mountains, so it was love at first sight for all of us — and in our hearts, we knew that we had really found ‘the one’.”

Before finding what would be the perfect home for their family — which includes children Finlay (6) and Evan (5) as well as Buddy their “lively cocker spaniel” — the pair had no thoughts of building or even renovating a house. They just knew they wanted to live by the sea and in a quiet location. So undertaking a project of such big proportions was completely unexpected.

“We had been living in the countryside outside of Banbridge, which is around 30 minutes away from where we are now,” says Rooney, who runs her own gallery and interiors shop in the village, while Scott works as a barista with his own converted horse box coffee shop in Rostrevor Square.

“Our old house was lovely but it was really very remote while also being close to a busy road, so we knew that in order to suit family life, we wanted to find somewhere which would be accessible to village or town life. We had always dreamed of living close to the sea and wanted a better lifestyle for the family in terms of location and lifestyle — but we hadn’t intended to renovate and certainly not to build.

“However, the new house needed to be completely gutted and the stairs needed to be reconfigured. It also needed a double-height extension, new flooring, electrics and plumbing — the works. We literally took the entire roof off and removed almost every existing wall to reconstruct the house in order to create our forever home.”

Along with moving house, having a baby is also considered to be one of life’s most monumental moments, bringing equal measures of upheaval and joy. So, while each of these events is life-changing, having two at the same time can be very challenging — and this was the case for Jacqueline and Scott, whose second child was born just days after they closed the sale on their soon-to-be new home.

Within a few months, work started on the project and almost a year later they began decorating the interior of what was now a five-bedroom family home, before finally moving in.

“We picked up the keys to the house just a few days before our second son was born in December 2016,” says the mother of two. “We then arranged to meet an architect to create our dream design — then the work commenced in April 2017 and we hired a contractor to oversee the mammoth project ahead.

“The building work was finished in May of 2018 and that is when the fun started for me — I had studied interior design alongside my degree in fine art so I just couldn’t wait to inject my own personality and colour throughout our home. This included designing our bespoke navy kitchen with gold island, choosing statement tiles and colours and adding antique pieces to complement the modern interior, as we wanted to give a nod to both the past and the future.

“We finally moved into the house in the summer of 2018 and it felt like all of our dreams had come true. We found ourselves living somewhere where we woke up to breathtaking panoramic views and could savour them every day.

“So we love everything about our new home and so do our friends and family, who all love spending time with us here. The wraparound balcony in our open-plan living area celebrates the stunning vista and is a fabulous entertaining space for us as a family and all who enter our home. It was worth all the hard work and we couldn’t be happier.”