Nenaghgal Looks at the Detail inside Fota House

My blog has taken a different direction in recent months mainly because I've been so thrilled with the variety and selection available with Irish food producers and craftspeople. But I started Nenaghgal to cover a myriad of topics including travel, entrepreneurs, crafts people, food and of course, interiors which really is a core passion of mine. So today I wanted to return to that passion and show you some photographs I took while visiting Fota House this August with my parents and daughter. As I've mentioned before, both my parents are artists and I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History many moons ago - so art and architecture is part of my core make-up. 

Fota House is a beautiful building that was re-opened to the public in 2009. It has gone through a very successful restoration process so far but with over 70 rooms in the entire house, there are still more to be done. Originally a hunting lodge for the Smith Barry family who lived in Britain, they came to Ireland for fishing and hunting. In 1872 the first alterations to the existing structure took place and they were finalized around 1897. 

We had a tour with a lovely lady who was extremely knowledgeable about the house and gave thorough informative tour- I'm afraid I cannot remember her name now but we were all very impressed. The grand entry hallway is really quite beautiful. The mustard yellow columns are trompe l'oiel - painted most convincingly. The mouldings and intricate details are really stunning and as you can tell they are something I like to focus on with my photography.

The main sitting room has a lot of French influence with the gilding and intricate mouldings. Many of the rooms have very little furniture as they are trying to find either the original pieces or pieces dates around the same period and this is a slow process of re-furnishing rooms. But it didn't really matter to me because instead you focus on the details and the artwork.

These kind of details make me draw in a deep breath of amazement. So beautifully executed.

It should be noted that the art collection in Fota House is well worth the visit alone. According to their website - Fota House - it is thanks to the kind generosity of the McCarthy Family, AIB and the Irish Government that Fota House is now home to one of the finest collections of Irish art in the country. This is something I can greatly appreciate and I am glad that not only a bank but also the Irish government have used their power to restore and preserve something of significance.
The library (seen above) is a gorgeous room with this striking red wallpaper which is in the process of being re-created so it can be restored.

I love the simplicity of this oval painting against that colour and the play of sunlight on the wooden floor and carpet, below.

In a smaller sitting room there was an equally delightful collection of smaller paintings. And you can also see wonderful tiling in the fire place.

This rooms was a kind of gentleman's study - an odd shape but with great details.

Again I loved the wallpaper and the detail in the fireplace plus the beautiful bookcase.

Here's a detail of the tiles in the fireplace.

A visit to Fota House is well worth the trip and on a fine day the gardens are lovely and of course, Fota Wildlife Park, another favourite place of mine is literally across the way. The tour of the house does take about an hour but I believe you will find it as fascinating as I did.
Do read up more on their website, but nothing duplicates the experience of taking a tour first hand.