‘I feel lucky to have done my dream job already in my career'

Cork interior designer Shirley O’Neill discusses what it was like working on the 16 townhouses at Arbutus Montenotte 

A living space in a house at Arbutus Montenotte, Cork.

What’s your background?

I worked in Cash’s and Brown Thomas for 13 years. I took redundancy after my third child was born and later returned to college for two years to do a diploma in interior design by night. I had such a passion for it, and I started my own business. That was in 2009 during the recession, which allowed me to take a soft gradual approach to building my business up. I love my job. I find it very rewarding.

What’s a typical workday like for you?

I check my emails and then the phonecalls start with contractors to see what’s happening where on that day. Then, I could be driving to onsite meetings, or sourcing products for projects.

I love to use Cork family-owned businesses because I’m a big advocate of shopping local.

Arbutus Montenotte.

Tell us about a recent project you have worked on

I worked on the showhouse for Arbutus Montenotte, which was amazing. It’s a development of 16 townhouses in a part of Cork city that would be my home area, so it had that personal aspect for me too.

Arbutus is the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on. Murphy’s New Homes brought me on board at the end of June. We used Cork contractors, and everyone worked really hard to get it over the line. We walked out of Arbutus on a Monday night at 1am with the first viewing at 8.30am on the Tuesday and there was a massive sense of achievement at what had been done, especially when you consider the uncertainty of Covid.

Arbutus Montenotte.

I went in with a very neutral palette and accessorised with colour, keeping everything soft. We had high-end floors and a high-end kitchen. CFF in Mallow did the kitchen and Wood Flooring Ireland looked after the flooring; they’re another family-owned business. Fabrics came from MJ Galligan’s and Top Drawer in Ballyseedy supplied all the furniture. Both of those are family-owned businesses as well. I also used Cork Lighting and Lightplan Cork, amongst others. I am very grateful to all the suppliers for their help.

We had two amazing artists who came on board: Shane O’Driscoll and Emmet Brickley. We also showcased a beautiful table by Denzil Beechinor. I hope for all of them that they will sell something. They’re fabulous lads.

There was a painting of Emmet’s called Sprockets Become Pullies — two guys standing at a window in an office, contemplating. I had had a different colouring for the living room initially but this painting was done with black so when I saw it, I went in and painted the chimney breast black, changed the cushions and it completed changed the room. The painting went up and the effect was amazing.

What’s your design style?

I would call it classic contemporary. I love colour and fabrics. I prefer to keep the big furniture in a house neutral because I feel you can accessorise with colour so easily. Of course, as an interior designer you always have to adapt your style to what the client likes. You are there to guide them.

Arbutus Montenotte.

What inspires your work?

People inspire me but I’m a big fan of Cork too. I think we live in a fabulous county.

What’s your favourite trend at the moment?

Panelling — I did quite a bit of it in Arbutus. I love the shapes you can create with it. You can transform a wall, with a little bit of MDF. In Arbutus we were so lucky — Mark McCarthy Carpentry did everything on-site and there was nothing his team couldn’t do.

Kitchen space in Arbutus Montenotte.

What’s your most treasured possession?

It’s a monkey wrench that my dad started his apprenticeship with.

He was a pipefitter and would have had his own mechanical engineering company. I would have borrowed it from him if I had to fix something in my house plumbing-wise. We lost him in April to pancreatic cancer and that wrench symbolises my dad to me. It was the one thing I asked my mum for after he died.

Anytime I rang my dad to do a job, the monkey wrench came with him, so to me it’s so personal. I will get a nice box and paper to frame it and it’ll hang on the wall for a long time.

Your favourite designer?

I love William Morris. I used his wallpaper in the middle-entry toilet in Arbutus. I love his intricate detail and colours. His papers are amazing. They were designed in the 1800s, but you can bring them into a house in 2020 and make them work. That’s the timeless element of his designs.

What would be a dream project for you to work on?

Arbutus was the dream job. I consider myself so lucky to have done the dream job already in my career

A bedroom in Arbutus Montenotte.

Have you any design tips?

If I’m showing a client fabrics, I always say to them: Go with your gut. You gut is never wrong when you see something you like. And if you see something and you don’t like it, go with that sense straight away as well. Don’t be afraid to speak up.

Shirley O'Neil; [e-mail]