Just a few weeks ago our little family took a trip to Ireland. This was our first time (except Keith, he is a travel bug) out of the country and while I am not a big traveler, Ireland did have quite the sites to see. Today I wanted to share about our trip and specifically about finding farm inspiration and the farmhouse dreaming I did while we were in Ireland.
I’m sure everyone dreams of their home and farm while traveling, right? Ahh, I know. I’m a little odd. But I just love this little place we call home and I am too excited about our farmhouse to not soak up all of the beautiful farms (it’s a big deal in Ireland, at least the parts we saw!) and the old, historical buildings and farmhouses around me while there and bring a little bit of that inspiration back with me for the farmhouse we are building. I know everyone with me on that trip is so tired of hearing the words “I want to do this in our farmhouse!” come out of my mouth. I just know it, and I’m sorry. Kind of 😉
When in the countryside’s of Ireland, farming is everywhere and from what I gathered, they have very specific practices with their food production. Everywhere you look are fields full of rock walls, sheep, cows and gardens! I love it.
We did so much while in Ireland that I honestly had to go back through some of my photos and videos before remembering it all. I ate a lot of fish and chips, shopped, visited enough historical sites to make my heart swoon and even made it to the beach.
We rented a van and basically just took a road trip through the Southern parts of Ireland. And while moments of this were terrifying (and some hilarious), thankfully my father in law took the wheel and kept us all safe while getting to see things we would not have otherwise. We started in Dublin, went West and circled back around to Dublin by the end of the week.
Finding Farm Inspiration and Farmhouse Dreaming in Ireland Video
Dublin
Dublin was probably the biggest culture shock, other than the small one lane backroads haha, but mostly just because it was little ‘ole me in a big city. Where we live has a population of like 1000. I think I read that Ireland is close to the same size as Indiana alone so obviously it still is not as big as places in the US, this country gal is not used to big cities!
We did not see much in Dublin only because we were focused on driving through the craziness. We did a little bit of shopping but mostly Dublin was where we stayed after getting off the plane and then waiting to go back to the airport.
Antiquing
We went to a few antique shops but one specifically was the most exciting. It was one of those curated shops where the antiques are displayed beautifully and the owner truly knows what they have.
The man that owned the shop gave us history lessons on everything we asked about. I found three antique light fixtures I honestly considered shipping back home. He even cut me a deal! But they were still out of my normal budget and would have been very expensive with shipping.
Cliffs of Moher
It is kind of funny how “bad” our luck was with the weather while visiting. I honestly don’t know that bad is the right word to describe it, because it made for an interesting trip and it also was not over 100 degrees Farenheight with no rain so I’ll take it.
When visiting the Cliffs of Moher, you could barely see them. It was so windy, rainy and cold. We went anyway because it was so beautiful but you can see how cold we were. Keith and I ran with Ila up to the top and came quickly back down to get her out of the weather.
Ring of Kerry
We took a bus tour of the Ring of Kerry which was mostly an all day event. We stopped at a few places along the way, my favorite of course being a shepherd showing how he runs his farm. Surprisingly, Keith said this was his favorite too. I assume because some beautiful and very well trained dogs were the center of the show and the man loves dogs, but he did not admit to this.
This tour was full of amazing scenery. Cliffs and mountains, with farms on the side of them. The roads were close to the edge of cliffs and you could almost reach out of your window and pet the sheep sometimes. You really got to see a lot of the farms and how they were laid out mixed with ocean and some beautiful scenery.
Muckross House, Farm and Garden
This was by far my favorite thing we did. And other than all of the stone fenced pasture along the roads, this is where most of my farmhouse dreaming and farm inspiration came from.
First, we toured the old farm. This was a looped path that took you to different historical farm cottages. They showed what it was like to live on different sized farms. At the different cottages we watched them doing the daily milking, baking bread over open fire, and the gardens growing. Further up there was the main farm cottage where they made butter and had all of the animals one could dream of. Ila loved having a calf lick her hands. A baby donkey had even been born within that day.
The last stop on that part was a blacksmith actively working, which was pretty neat.
Next we went to the manor which was a huge castle. Unfortunately, photos and videos were not allowed inside but it was beautiful. Photos are online here. I am really sad I could not take photos at least. Now, it was much fancier (obviously) than anything we have planned to build but the way the rooms were laid out and some of the décor either matched my plans or gave me major inspiration for our home. Paint colors and china were the main things. I loved the colors used and there was a ton of ironstone. Another thing I loved were the floors. In such a grand space with very ornate furnishings, the flooring was very rustic wood. I loved the contrast.
Of course the kitchen was amazing too and had the very style of dining table/work table I have dreamt about.
Last up was the gardens and it was a cottage style garden with a large grass courtyard. DREAMY.
Beach
We took a short trip down to the beach. It was within walking distance of one of the places we stayed for a few nights. We ran down quickly before it got dark and took a few photos, gathered some shells and headed back up to get some rest. It was cold so the beach was empty other than us.
Family Visit With Keith’s Relatives
Another exciting thing we did was visit some of Keith’s very distant relatives. They live on the family farm where the connecting relative was born and raised. It is a beef farm with a small garden but was previously (as in just a few years back) a dairy farm. We sat and had tea and just chatted at their home and then went to eat at a local pub owned by one of their friends. It was pretty neat.
Finding Farm Inspiration and Farmhouse Dreaming In Ireland- Farm and Farmhouse Inspiration
If I didn’t want a farm before, I do now. Which of course I did but now I am more inspired to continue on this farm journey and expand.
Cottage Garden and Hydrangeas
The gardens we saw were beautiful cottage style gardens using the wildlife and historic structures already present. I want to incorporate this more into our own garden. I loved the pathways leading to different areas of the farms and gardens. Hydrangeas also grow well in Ireland due to the climate and it was common to see them growing on the sides of the road. I already wanted plenty of hydrangeas surrounding our home, but now I do more than ever.
Painted Doors
The cities in Ireland are full of bold colors but the doors specifically caught our eyes. Many were painted with bold and bright colors but some were painted in beautiful sage green or powdery blues. I have a few ideas on how to incorporate this into our home more and I am hoping I can make it happen.
Antiques, Ironstone and China
Like I said, we visited a few antique shops while we were in Ireland and one in particular was very inspiring. It was a beautifully curated space and the antiques that were there were one of a kind. Now I am on the hunt for a few light fixtures similar to what I saw there as well as more ironstone and china.
Ironstone and china were both used as décor but also functionally. Some restaurants would use it to serve your tea, coffee and even food. I already collect different sets but I definitely want to continue collection and utilizing them in our everyday life. I am on the hunt for pieces from my parents wedding china like replacement pieces and a tea pot. They are pretty common at antique shops and on marketplace so I want to pick them up as I find them.
Rustic Mixed With More Ornate Design
This is something I forgot to mention in my video unfortunately, but specifically in the Muckross house, all of the décor and furnishings were very ornate. Except for the flooring and a few other wood pieces. The floors were very rustic wood with nails showing and despite the two different styles, I loved the contrast.
Coming back home was long and exhausting. The whole way from the airport to home we debated on if we should stop and stay in a hotel, because it was midnight and we were so messed up from changing time zones. But we made it home by 2 am and I have never been happier to be home. It was fun, but I am a homebody! Now to take all of that inspiration from visiting old and new sites and farms and pour it into our farmhouse and farm! I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip and what I brought back with me in terms of finding farm inspiration and farmhouse dreaming. Thanks for stopping by!
More Photos From Our Trip
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