The Irish designer behind the Penneys homeware collections

Sinead McDonagh, Primark's global head of design, has an eye for style, sustainability, comfort, budget and Zoom-friendly decor

Sat, 26 Feb, 2022 - 07:00

Carol O’Callaghan

Remember the Beast from the East four years ago? As the country ground to a halt didn’t it give us a taste of lockdowns to come?

That’s the thing about February — it has mood swings: Bitter weather one year, to being spring-like the next. This year we’ve had some pretty mild days with mixed with storms (not least over the past week), making the nesting instinct surge early and with it a yen to freshen up our interiors.

Penneys Scalloped range of ceramic dishes including a dinner plate (€6), bowl (€4.50) and side plate (€4.50), have a special occasion feel for tablescaping projects.

Sinead McDonagh, Primark’s global head of design, home and lifestyle, has her eye on the trends, designing a new range for Penneys reflecting the changes in our lives in the last two years.

“Our homes became a vital sanctuary during the pandemic,” she says, “a safe place in which to retreat from the chaos and dangers of the world, which inevitably led to a DIY boom.

"Bedrooms became offices, bathrooms became at home spas and gardens our outdoor living rooms. All age groups can relate to this. Many Gen Zers are spending their money on lifestyle items like candles, décor and cushions rather than previous pick-me-up items like a pair of earrings.

“One of the biggest trends I’m seeing for early 2022 is minimalism,” she adds. “After the turmoil of the past couple of years, we want to start 2022 with a clean slate.”

Clean Slate is also the name she’s given to Primark’s first collection this season.

Colour is one of Penneys trend predictions with the Dawn collection including optimistic yellow in the Sunflower printed cushion (€8).

“I think there has been a revaluation of what we deem essential in our lives,” she says, “and we want to declutter and refine our living spaces. Our homes need to work harder for us now since continued hybrid working and entertaining happening more at home.

"Every item of furniture or décor should both be functional and beautiful.

“People also want to buy items that will last and they can see will work in their homes for years to come,” she adds, “so we’ve really worked hard to source beautiful products that are high quality, affordable and will stand the test of time and sit within your home for years to come.”

Sinead’s second trend reflects our demand for the comfort of high-quality textiles in the bedroom.

“We are really seeing a demand for hotel-standard bedding and people wanting to bring in more luxury fabrics and colours,” she says. “We’ve responded to this by introducing new ranges with higher quality 100% cotton percale and sateens.”

Sinead also sees budget-friendly homewares as a way to refresh the home while we cope with soaring prices.

She says, “One way to achieve this is to give your shelves and Zoom backdrop a facelift with our Dress Your Shelfie trend. The hottest shelfie pieces are the female form-shaped candles in every shape and size,starting at €1.50 and vases at €3.”

Bubble ceramic candle and holder (€6), and the Bubble wax shaped candle (€2) from Penneys.

For wallet-friendly options to vamp up the tabletop, Sinead has designed colour-co-ordinated wares and textiles which also cite another new trend.

“One of the newest and biggest trends we are seeing grow in popularity is colour and the use of colour psychology within interiors,” she says. “Colour is a powerful tool, especially in the home, and it can influence how we feel in our living space. It is so important that we choose colours we want to spend time with: Warm neutrals to calm, or greens to invigorate, or yellow to uplift.”

Penneys Shelfie range includes the small Female Form orrnament (€3) and the Speckle Effect square frame (€1.50).

Citing this is her Dawn collection finished in a favourite spring hue. “We adore butter-yellow because it’s soft, comforting and easy on the eye,” she says.

And as trends come and go, Sinead predicts a favourite finally fading.

“Move over grey,” she says. “I think from an interiors trend point of view our love affair with grey interiors is over. Our walls and interiors are warming up. Bright whites are becoming milky and almond toned, cool greys are becoming comforting shades of warm neutrals, taupes and rich cognac browns. We want shades that make us feel grounded and safe.”

As we progress through 2022 with fingers crossed for less and less restrictions, Sinead doesn’t see our love affair with the home waning any time soon.

“Remember, many of us have invested both time and money into improving our homes and gardens during lockdown and now we want to make the most of these improvements and show them off,” she says. “We expect a year of joyful reunions and lost celebrations in our homes for 2022 and beyond.”