Shopfront: With an interior designer mother and a husband involved in architectural salvage, it's not so surprising that Brona McDonagh opened an interiors shop in her hometown of Carlingford, Co Louth four months ago.

Although she's lived in Britain and America, returning home to sell French stock also seemed a natural move.

"Carlingford is such a picturesque fishing village that it lends itself well to the type of stuff I wanted to sell." Deciding what she wanted to sell came about, in part, from trips to Paris, where she got ideas about the kind of bathroom supplies, traditional French quilts and kitchen accessories that were previously unavailable here.

McDonagh also stocks made-to-order upholstered furniture. "Locals love it but we're also getting a lot of people from Dublin who've heard about us by word of mouth."

Co Louth interior designer Olivia Cahill offers a full design service from the shop by appointment (see her work in the new issue of Image Interiors).

The Victorian Trading Company, Market Square, Carlingford, Co Louth