Creating a home that looks beautiful on Instagram is one thing but building a space where your family actually lives—with mess, fingerprints, and scattered shoes—requires a completely different approach. 

Vicki, the creative force behind Elibank, shares her four-year self-build journey from breaking ground during COVID to evolving her Georgian-meets-modern home into a true family sanctuary.

Discover why she prioritizes storage over aesthetics, how historic houses influenced her bold woodwork choices, and why that natural smile when you walk through your door matters more than any design trend.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

• How prioritizing function over aesthetic creates homes that truly work for busy families.
• Why building through COVID and Brexit became a blessing when compared to today's costs.
• The psychology behind choosing dark woodwork inspired by historic Georgian houses,
• How breaking a self-build into achievable phases allows your home to evolve naturally
• Why that natural smile when you arrive home matters more than Instagram perfection

GUEST DETAILS

Vicki is the creative mind behind Elibank, a beautifully designed self-build family home in Cork that has captivated the Irish interiors community for four years. Together with her husband, Vicki spent years renovating homes in both Ireland and Edinburgh before embarking on their dream build in 2020. Their 18-month build journey through COVID, supply chain challenges, and Brexit taught them invaluable lessons. 

Vicki shares her build journey, design tips, and family life honestly on Instagram, where she has built a loyal following through her emphasis on function-first design, clever storage solutions, and creating homes that feel like sanctuary rather than showrooms. A passionate advocate for supporting Irish businesses and championing local craftspeople, Vicki balances full-time work with raising three children while continuing to evolve Elibank room by room.

Connect with Vicki: Instagram: @elibank_hous

QUOTES

• A home should just make your body relax and forget whatever's happened during the day  - Vicki
• It is not easy building or renovating. Don't rush it, and don't feel the pressure of social media having to have this picture perfect home. - Vicki
• I'm looking at a room going, what will I use this for? And where can I store all the stuff I need to come in here and relax so it's not on show? - Vicki
• It's not about walking in and seeing this pretty space. It's that feeling of being able to release everything that's gone on and just sit and enjoy what you have now. - Vicki

MORE INFORMATION

EZ Living Interiors is a family-owned home furnishing retailer which sets the standards for quality, style, and design in the industry. We advise on how individuals and families should furnish their living spaces to create homes that are both beautiful and functional. Our mission is to inspire and elevate the art of interior design through the promotion of high standards of product sourcing, craftsmanship, and customer service. We achieve this by providing innovative and thoughtful design solutions for our customers to support them to create stylish and comfortable living spaces.

Visit EZLiving-Interiors.ie to learn more. This podcast is produced by dustpod.io for EZ Living Interiors

KEYWORDS

#selfbuild #interiordesign #familyhome #homerenovation #irishinteriors