My Story
I think everyone deserves to be happy in their homes and to have access to good interior design and luxury interior design.
I grew up in Cork, Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s. Ireland was often viewed as drab back then, but I had a happy childhood and used my imagination, fostered by my love of reading and film, as a creative escape. I imagined the beautiful spaces I read about in books and absorbed the interior design sets of movies.
My Mam was a true homemaker in every sense of the word. She had taste and despite lacking the funds, she managed to create a sense of comfort and elegance at home. I was fascinated by my father's family home, which was a pub attached to the home. I would make excuses to use the bathroom just so I could peer into the upstairs living room, where there was lovely antique furniture, china, and silverware.
My Dad was vice principal at a private boarding school for boys, and I loved visiting the school, especially in the summer when the students had gone home for their holidays. The images that stand out to me are the staff room with its leather furniture, the enormous mahogany dining table, floor tiles, wide staircases, heavy doors, as well as the wooden workbenches in the labs where my dad taught.
My parents built our family home on a third of an acre gifted from my maternal grandfather. As a result, we were unique among my childhood friends and relatives. We were the only ones to build our home, with two bathrooms, a study, a utility room, etc. My Dad had sent off to England for a book on house plans before building our home, and, consequently, the design was a bit different from the usual bungalows built at that time.
In primary school, I won second place in an essay competition titled ‘If I were Lord Mayor’. I wrote about the derelict buildings in Cork and the value that restoring them would bring to Cork, both aesthetically but also to the community, fostering pride in our history.
After university, travel inspired a whole new source of influence, helping to broaden and educate my eye. My first foreign trip was a school trip to Paris, which gave me a taste of what was out there to discover. My next trip was in my second year at university, where I spent a summer in London, soaking in everything in between working.
After graduating, I moved to England for work. It was my first time living alone, but as a rental, I had limited control over the décor. It was during this time I discovered interior design magazines, which became my personal escape.
After leaving England, I moved to America, Scotland, back to England, and finally returned to Ireland in 2003. Travel remains a great inspiration, and I have been fortunate to experience and visit numerous countries.
During the first ten years of my marriage, we moved almost every year due to my husband's work, and each home had a different architectural style. Every space had its own set of challenges, but I loved the process of decorating and creating a home. After spending almost 15 years abroad, my husband and I moved back to Ireland and built our home in 2009 with our two children. I learned a lot from that experience: working with an architect, project manager, and tradespeople.
Despite my passion for interior design and transforming spaces, it took me a while to realise this could be a career. I thought it was something I just enjoyed and happened to be good at. I eventually enrolled in short courses at the KLC School of Design in London, and now, with my children off to college, I am ready to turn my hobby into a full-time career. I’ve been successfully transforming spaces for friends and family, and now I'm excited to take the next step in offering professional interior design services here in Cork.
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