Design: We started working on this in early 2021. After the Lower Hearth room took a very strong color theme and reflected power, people and land, we wanted a contrast for the next room up. It evolved into a sea theme when we considered our location on the south coast of Wexford. Liz and Veda reviewed many images online.  in the year leading up to the actual work. The main wall pattern evolved from the leafy idea to a pattern from the Trevelyon Miscellany of 1608 (Folger Shakespeare Library).  Veda substituted the original hearts and acorns into shells and dolphins to align with our nautical theme. She then created a colored pattern and Liz cut a large scale stencil. There was an acanthus pattern which turned into a wave (slightly Japanese art feel) and then eventually was laid horizontally as the vertical orientation was too busy. Inspired by maps showing wonderful mythical (?) creatures we decided on a wall of "calm seas" and fishing, a "ships in peril" wall, and general creatures on the slim area on the north wall. For the hearth, Liz chose the 1610 John Speed Map of Leinster and zoomed in on the south Wexford coast, having one dot for the castle. The mermaid was inserted by Veda, sitting on the hearth mantle stone, and the monster turned out to be her pet! Liz created a presentation that included the measurements and a mockup of each wall. We had to adjust for some limited space. For each motif, Veda created a line drawing that was projected on the wall, then filled in by hand.