Home: Four leading Irish interior designers share their key ideas

Eve Kelliher discovers what the pros love about their own homes and what they'd like to see in their dream living spaces

Jo Linehan's room at the Ideal Home Show with the DFS Farnham grand chaise sofa and foots in terracotta velvet, €2,859.

Sat, 15 Oct, 2022 - 07:17

Eve Kelliher

Exploring our creative potential in our living spaces is so much easier when we can float into a professional’s readymade dreamscape and capture the essence of a design idea — or, in practical terms, some Insta-perfect snaps.

I love the notion of these as mood boards that we can step right into and walk about in — and if needs be, get a feel for what might work when we're back behind our own front doors.

The Autumn DFS Interior Design Stage and Inspirations Design Centre at the Ideal Home Show promises plenty of take-home vibes.

I caught up with the designers showcasing their fantasy zones: Jo Linehan, from Cork, Jen Connell, from Limerick, Aoife Tobin, a Kerry native based in Cork, and Susan McGowan, from Athlone.

JO LINEHAN

As a lifestyle and sustainability journalist and founder of Gaff Shop, Jo Linehan’s work is all about highlighting and celebrating ways we can all live more eco-friendly lives.

Gaff Shop is an online platform where like-minded interior lovers can buy and sell pre-loved pieces, helping to extend the life cycle of furniture and home accessories.

It is not surprising that Jo has put the Farnham sofa centre stage in her room. The Grand Designs sofa collection, exclusive to DFS, emerged from a sustainable business model rooted in the principles of the circular economy — where waste is designed out, and more environmentally friendly materials are sourced, recycled and kept in use.

The DFS Farnham grand chaise sofa and foots in terracotta velvet.

The range features fabric made from recycled polyester yarns, and back and scatter cushions filled with 100% recycled polyfibres, which are made from plastic bottles. The seat cushions’ fibre filling is also made using 50% recycled plastic, with approximately 200 recycled plastic bottles used in each cushion.

The sofas also feature handmade frames crafted from sustainable FSC timber, 100% recyclable springs, and recyclable packaging.

Jo’s room will show you how to create a cosy and sustainable space this winter. “I will be layering blankets and throws, changing all my lamps to LED lightbulbs and using second-hand and pre-loved pieces, using natural materials to make a home as low impact and stylish as possible,” she says.

Jo’s top tip

“Use what you have. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your home is clear out wardrobes and old shelves, and figure out what exactly you have,” she says.

AOIFE TOBIN

Aoife Tobin confides that her focus is on making our homes our havens or sanctuaries this season.

She is the founder and lead designer of the design house Style So Simple, an award-winning interior design studio working on both commercial and residential projects throughout Ireland, Europe and the United States.

DFS Palace four-seater sofa in blush velvet.

“I love layering sumptuous fabrics in neutral tones, so if laidback luxury is your thing, I think you will love my choice to make your own home your sanctuary,” says Aoife.

“Our homes are our space to showcase who we are and what we love.”

Aoife’s top tip

How can we make a serene space for ourselves in this crazy world?

“Lighting can create a calm and peaceful ambience in our homes, look at adding candles and table lamps in areas you want to relax in and dimmable lights throughout the house are always a good idea to have full control of the overall ambience in each room,” says Aoife.

“Select colours not just for trends but how you want to feel in a room. An example of this is a nice moody navy or green in the living room to create a cosy feel. Blues have been shown to lower blood pressure and green helps to reduce anxiety so both also work great in bedrooms.”

JEN CONNELL

Jen Connell’s speciality is Regencycore inspired by her love of French and English traditional interiors.

Jen is a creative director with over 10 years in the industry, who develops lifestyle content for brands and shares her passion for glamorous decor on her Instagram @jenconnell.home.

Her first home in Dublin was featured on RTÉ’s Home of the Year. Recently, she embarked on a new adventure with a move to a Georgian country house in Co Limerick.

Her decor is inspired by music, film, and French and English traditional interiors.

Jen’s starting point for her elegant room is the DFS Palace sofa in glorious pink. With its traditional Chesterfield silhouette, elegant, scrolled arms, buttoned back detailing and raised wooden feet, the Palace sofa brings instant glamour to any space.

Jen’s top tip

“The key to a romantic, regency core look is to opt for luxurious fabrics like velvets and silks in soft colours and layer with gilt frames, antique pieces and your favourite artwork.

Jen's home featured on RTE's Home of the Year. Picture: RTE

“My favourite tip to make this trend or any other work for you is to choose items that you have an emotional reaction to,” she says.

“A piece of furniture, fabric or small decorative item might remind you of one of your favourite films, or inspire a sense of nostalgia and trigger a treasured memory. If you love it, it’s right for your home.”

SUSAN McGOWAN

Athlone native Susan McGowan specialises in the design of luxury residences and imaginative commercial spaces.

Susan, whose interior architecture and design studio Ashen & Cloud will take centre stage at the permanent tsb Ideal Home Show, designed the overall look and feel for sofas specialists DFS, drawing inspiration from the DFS “Thingsters campaign” championing personality-led interiors.

Susan has worked with DFS and Jo, Aoife and Jen at the DFS Interiors Inspiration Centre.

It takes the form of three room sets packed full of personality. Susan, who returned to Athlone to build a home for her family following several years of working and living in Dublin, will also be known to many via her Instagram account @Ashenandcloud.

She wants the space she and her fellow creatives devised to enable visitors “draw inspiration from all the different ideas, having your home as your sanctuary, sustainable living, and chinoiserie chic”, she says.

Susan’s top tip

Susan has a passion for colour schemes. What’s her key advice for curating your own palette? “When starting with a blank canvas, find something that is going to be definitive,” she says.

“This is usually something that you have decided you love… a floor, a wall colour, an anchor piece of furniture or even a fabric that you find beautiful.”