Design/Life: Classic French teams with a rustic twist
Founder of Ma Maison.
"I really like the trend of botanicals. I know it’s quite popular now, but in my life, it’s always been there — the whole idea of bringing the outside indoors, lots of plants in your home, and those lovely leaf patterns as well"
I studied interior design and then did a course in furniture-making. I went travelling for a few years and it was while I was in London, New York and Paris, that I first came across distressed furniture. When I got back to Ireland, I discovered you couldn’t get it here. I thought there was a niche in the market, essentially, so I went for it that way.
I set up Ma Maison about three years ago. I started doing markets but realised they weren’t the right outlet for bespoke furniture. People were buying it though and very interested in it, so I built a workshop and decided that the best route would be that my workshop would also be a showroom.
That’s the way I have it set up, so people can come and see how I work as well as have a look at my work on-site and online.
I always have a couple of pieces on the go — it’s the nature of the work, it involves painting and varnishing and sanding, so there’s always stuff that needs to be finished off or started. I might have clients coming over or going to auctions or house clearances. A lot of car boot sales can be very good for picking up interesting finds as well.
I tend to have my pop-up shops set up like somebody’s home. It’s not just a furniture shop, and I think that really works. During my last pop-up, on the last day, a lady who had just moved back from Paris walked into the shop. She had just bought a new apartment and she commissioned me to source a large dining table and a coffee table and chairs. We met up again and went through the colours she would like and would fit in with her own style. She really liked my work because it reminded her of France.
It’s modern-rustic, so essentially, it’s a fusion of classic French design with a modern urban twist.
Nature, especially in Ireland — the greys, the blues, the greens, that filters through into my work. I also only work with natural fibres — wood, glass, stone.
I really like the trend of botanicals. I know it’s quite popular now, but in my life, it’s always been there — the whole idea of bringing the outside indoors, lots of plants in your home, and those lovely leaf patterns as well.
I have a large anglepoise lamp — I think it’s about 4ft — that used to be my grandmother’s. It’s heavy and bulky and awkward but I love it. I think she got it as a wedding present. It’s probably from the 1930s/1940s. I have moved house a lot and it’s the one thing that I have lugged around with me — it has a really beautiful design as well.
In terms of art and design, I love the photographer, Nan Goldin — she’s based in New York and I think that she really captures that New York aesthetic which I love.
My dream work — which I already do — is where people have inherited things, or they’ve been in their family for years, but they’re out-dated and it just doesn’t fit with their modern aesthetic. Sometimes you can have pieces like that and you feel guilty about it because it’s tucked away somewhere, and you can’t throw it out because there’s too much sentimentality
attached to it. They come to me, and we talk about it, and then I give the furniture a new lease of life, so they love it again and it becomes part of their home.
Don’t give up on something old just because it might be outdated. Antique pieces have many life cycles and they can be re-imagined in many ways. They are built to last.
Contact: www.mamaisonirl.com; Facebook and Instagram: @mamaisonireland
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