Meet the designer behind Pippa O'Connor's home makeover
Arlene McIntyre.
Our homes “should be like a big hug”, believes interior designer Arlene McIntyre.
She’s already a go-to among celebs keen to have their homes made over, and now Arlene is about to become a familiar face in every living room.
The interiors guru, founder and creative director of Ventura Design, is revamping rooms throughout Ireland on a new -style show, .
You’re most likely familiar with Arlene’s work through social media and gazing at the Insta-fabulous dwellings of celebs — Arlene is behind Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews’ Howth dream-home interiors and Pippa O’Connor Brian Ormond’s Kildare living-space makeover.
Arlene also renovated Millie Mackintosh’s London pad ahead of the arrival of Millie’s first child, Sienna, including a jungle-themed nursery.
Arlene says she is “passionate about interior design and how it can transform your space”, and naturally, homeowners across Ireland were keen to see how Arlene could work her magic on their homes when the producers of the new show issued a callout forapplicants.
“There was an unbelievable number of enquiries,” says Arlene.
“I don’t think anybody expected so many. And what’s interesting is these are all paying customers, the only thing they’re not paying for is the design time — so it’s all very real.
“Each and every participant has a different story and a different set of challenges.”
So, does Arlene find dealing with the rich and famous any different to the rest of us? “We’re all the same,” she says. “When you get into the house and the door closes, you realise we’re all the same.
“We all love a cup of tea or coffee in the morning, we all want to know how to organise our space, we all want to know how to deal with clutter.”
Ah yes, so is this an issue even with the most poised of A-listers? “You’d be amazed at the number of times I might open up a wardrobe or space and everything comes down on my ears,” says Arlene.
“So many people are time-poor, and have no time to organise their space.”
And how has Arlene found being at the other side of a lens herself? “For the first couple of days’ filming, I was aware of the cameras on me, and I felt it was nice to have a few ‘real’ moments with the participants — I loved both the ‘real’ moments as well as the camera moments,” she says.
“But most of all I was intrigued and amazed by the unique story behind each homeowner.”
Featured homes range from “cool place in the city centre in the Liberties” to Victorian projects and a commercial property converted into a residence.
Pippa O’Connor, whose home renovation Arlene and Ventura Design completed in May, reacted to news of the show by saying: “I cannot wait to see this.”
When it came to Pippa’s residence, the living area was renovated and the guest bedroom was transformed from a garage into a bedroom and ensuite.
Arlene began her successful interiors enterprise from her garden shed in 2005, and its name was inspired by her native California.
She had spent many years working in the design industry and dreamed of supplying quality Irish furniture and making spaces as desirable as possible.
For Pippa’s living room, Ventura Design created its brand-new bespoke Kildare Sofa, in a sectional U-shape format with extra-deep seating.
Using a classic yet contemporary colour palette of soft blues and greys in fabrics such as velvet and luxurious viscose linen, the team at Ventura, led by Arlene, “breathed new life into this special space”, she adds.
“Over the last year, we are finding that our clients are now spending a lot of their downtime in one particular area of the home.
“In the case of our most recent clients, Pippa and Brian, their family mostly comes together in the living area of their home, which is adjacent to their kitchen.
“For this reason, they wanted to make this area even more comfortable and functional for all, especially when it came to their sofa.”
The living room also features Ventura Design’s Chelsea coffee table and Cooper ottoman in order to “strike the perfect balance between a functional table for glassware and accessories, and an ottoman if an extra seat is needed — or indeed a footstool”, according to Arlene.
“Our Bogart Armchair, here in a fabric matching the adjacent sofa, closes off this room and is the perfect addition when entertaining as it can be easily moved to any space in the room.
“To bring the whole room together, and add a touch of colour and depth, we used our exclusive Ventura scatter cushions in a linen viscose grey blend and our signature Ventura velvet fabric in Storm Blue.”
As for the bedroom and ensuite at Pippa’s place?
“Here our clients wanted to extend their living space by transforming their garage into another functioning part of their home, with the addition of a luxurious guest bedroom and en suite,” says Arlene.
“We worked closely with Pippa and Brian to create a mood board of their vision for these rooms and then our team started working on this transformation.
“In contrast to the interior design of the existing bedrooms in their home, our clients wanted this room to display warm tones of caramel, intertwined with rich chocolate tones.
“When designing the layout of this room, we wanted to make the bed the focal point and give the illusion of a separate wardrobe space behind it.
“With this in mind, we created our brand new Luxe Headboard, a contemporary yet sophisticated piece that defines and frames this bedroom perfectly.”
- The six-part ‘Designed for Life’ series starts on Tuesday, October 12, on RTÉ One at 8.30pm
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