Her Dark Materials

Look out for the house with the blue door,’ says Eniko Kirkwood, as she gives directions to her home in Comber, near Belfast, which she shares with her husband, Michael, and their two labradors. By the time we arrive, however, the blue door, with its deep Arts and Crafts hinges, has been transformed, and is now a spring-like leaf green.

‘Things change all the time in this house,’ she says. One month, guests might be admiring a new floral wallpaper. A few weeks later, it’s an adventurous paint effect in a bedroom.

It’s clear that