Tag: image interiors and living

Winning Interior Designer of the year at the Image Interiors & Living Awards two weeks ago was a very surreal experience. We are so busy at the moment with current projects and new ventures that it is sometimes impossible to take some time to reflect. The afternoon of the awards provided the perfect opportunity to do so.

I had been looking forward to the awards ceremony for a number of weeks, it is always nice to see friendly faces, old friends and meet new people who share my passion. This year I was up for Instagrammer of the year and Interior Designer of the year, two competitive categories.

The interior designer category was made up of some of the best in the business, and not to sound clichéd, but it was an honour to be in such company. It was such a strong category with every nominee truly deserving of the win. I am extremely proud of the work we have done at KLD over the last year and when I found out I won, it was a wonderful and welcome surprise. These days you can’t take anything for granted, nothing is set in stone and quite simply anything can happen.

Winning the award is the icing on the cake of what has been a great year for KLD, a testament to all our hard-working and talented designers and colleagues who make everything happen. Our designs for Urbana and Therapie were both longlisted for the inaugural Dezeen Awards 2018 and our Vaults design has been shortlisted for the Fit Out Awards 2018.

“Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” Swami Sivananda

Speaking of which, I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for their hard work and commitment over the last 12 months. I feel lucky to have such a dedicated and talented team around me and of course this award is for everyone at KLD. I am very proud of Kingston Lafferty Design and what we have achieved, especially in the last year.

This is also a good opportunity to thank all our collaborators, suppliers and of course clients. KLD wouldn’t be where we are today without their hard work and commitment to our cause, which is quite simply to design beautiful and functional spaces for people to enjoy.

We have a lot of plans at KLD, we are always looking at what is next, what the future holds. You can never rest on your laurels. There is a quote that I love, and I try to embrace it as much as I can in all I do: “Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.” Swami Sivananda

The photos in the blog are from a selection of projects we have completed or which have been nominated for awards in the last 12 months. Included is The Vaults which opens its doors this October.  Also one close to our hearts is the Pot Bellied Pig, which is shortlisted in the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards 2018, with the winner being announced this week in London. Other photos featured include our collaborations with DFS and Fleetwood Paints as well as our beautiful design for Abbey Capital Offices and 2018 Dezeen award longlisted, Urbana and Thérapie.

We have some very exciting projects coming up including the design of the new Cinammon Restaurant in Ballsbridge and Hatch student accommodation in Cork, watch this space.

Irish design has evolved dramatically over the past decade and one place we have always looked to for inspiration and advice is Image Interiors and Living.

The publication has throughout its existence been forward thinking, insightful and full of beautifully designed spaces and products. From handmade ceramic artists to inspiring painters, and of course a host of talented Interior Designers, the Image Interiors & Living Design Awards this year comes as a very welcome addition to the Image family.

The shortlist is a celebration of Ireland’s exciting design scene. We are particularly happy to have KLD’s Creative Director, Roisin among those short listed, but also to see so many of our peers recognised for their contribution to design.

Most of all, the shortlist paints an excellent picture of the wealth of talented designers we have in Ireland.

The list is an array of countless inspiring stories of creatives who took a leap of faith and put everything into cultivating their passion. 

Ireland has a long history as a creative nation, from some of our earliest ancestors within craft, music and literature, creative thinking has for centuries been at the core of Irish culture.

We place a great value on the arts in Ireland. Today our design scene is awash with a diverse and growing group of Designers, and although so many of today’s design concepts would be alien to our ancestors, it was the creativity and passion for design instilled from generation to generation that led us to the wonderful design scene we have in Ireland today.

The list is also a fantastic amalgamation of the historical and the contemporary, how skills and crafts have been passed throughout our history which led to cool, contemporary design businesses that promote age old traditions and the respect for the crafts process.

A scene so varied, vibrant and inspiring should be celebrated, and at KLD, Roisin and our entire team are honoured to be apart of that celebration.

Click here to vote in the Image Interiors & Living Design Awards.

We are delighted to have our South Circular Road Residence featured in this months issue of Image Interiors + Living

This was a project for our client Karinda, who was someone we worked with before on Smithfield Residence and were very excited to work with again, especially as her family had grown, and her and her partner now had a little girl and now another baby on the way. Smithfield was a great project and filled with character and industrial quirkiness.

We designed a lot of custom pieces for that project, most of which were then carried forward to their new home. Part of our design brief was to create something new and suitable for the new home from the existing items.

One of the most rewarding things about designing someone’s home is the relationship you build with your client, often to the point that the relationship feels far more like a friendship than anything professional and then seeing how the lives of your clients evolve and change is really lovely, especially when you become apart of their life again and get to design their family home!

The house we designed was a modern family home, with a beautiful back garden and lots of unique features throughout. It was all about a light and airy feel with attention to detail. The industrial details still feature but with a scandi and eclectic twist. We also got to be playful and experimental with colour.

Karinda is Australian and grew up on a farm, she and her husband had a real love of art and the outdoors which can be seen throughout the house. We used a lot of planting in our styling to maximise this and to bring the outdoors in. We are big fans of indoor planting in KLD.

Whether using real or artificial planting, plants can add texture and architectural interest to the space. It is also very calming to be surrounded by nature in your home and proven to reduce stress and promote productivity.

We were delighted to work with the magical Appasionatta Flowers for the shoot day. Their dreamy succulents and planting added the perfect finishing touches to the space.

The house is home to the couple and their young daughter, it is an organised and practical space that allows them to function as a young family.

Storage was a key consideration so a lot of the design involved creating bespoke storage solutions for them. The cabinet above is more of a feature piece but the seamless joinery behind the sofa was designed to blend into the space. It offers a full wall of additional storage.. which in most homes is a God send!

One thing we love to see is a space that allows a family to be who they are. We can spend our lives trying to perfect every space and constantly trying to keep everything pristine but a better space is one that tells a story, realistic to the way we live our life.

Unbeknownst to us these spaces with genuine charm and details of daily life are often what people respond most positively to.

As with all photo shoots, styling was a part of the process, but the styling was done in a manner that was minimal and mindful of the existing design, so as not to alter the essence of this family home.

This mostly involved setting small scenes like laying a table with some beautiful kitchen ware and also dressing an al fresco table scene. The table is one of our own upcycled creations with salvaged builders trestle legs. It added quite a punch to the garden.

We sourced some items  from the gorgeous Article in powerscourt centre, flowers from the lovely Appassionata and three beautiful art pieces from the Print Makers Gallery for the shoot. The ceramics make for the perfect table spread and the artwork enhances the living area and bedroom beautifully.

Photography is an integral part of design and conveying our work and designs as best as possible is something very important to us and our business.

We were delighted to work with photographer Ruth Maria for this shoot, who has such an eye and captured stunning shots of the space.

We are so pleased with this gorgeous feature – thanks to all the girls in Image Interiors, Ruth, our suppliers and Karinda for making it all possible.

We were delighted at KLD to be asked to be part of Image Interiors and Living‘s ‘Ask The Experts’ and thought it would be helpful to develop our answer in to a step by step how to guide.

Q: ‘I have lovely cornice work on my hall ceiling, which is about 200 years old. Sadly, it is covered with so many layers of paint, you can hardly see any of the detail. Is there any quick method of stripping it back without risking it crumbling off ?’

A: Removing paint from detailed and delicate areas on original features like cornicing and ceiling roses can be both tricky and time consuming! To reveal the fine details of these original features, you’ll have to strip off the build up of paint. This will probably be a mix of both emulsion and oil-based paints that have been layers on top of each other over the years. Here are some easy steps How To.. Reveal Your Original Interior Cornicing.

MATERIALS NEEDED

– Scrapper
– Cloths
– Toothbrush
– Ladder
– Paint Stripper
– White Spirits
– Paint
– Paint Brush

PROCESS

Step 1 – Cleaning

Wipe away any dirt or dust with a cloth.

Step 2 – Scraping

Gently using a scraper remove any flakes or cracked paint. This should give you a good idea of how think the build up of paint has been over the years. Be careful at this stage not to damage the material beneath the paint by being too heavy handed with the scraper.Step 3 – Paint Stripper

Apply a ready mixed paint stripper (available from any paint supplier) this will begin to break down the paint. Follow the instructions of your chosen stripper, generally leaving the stripper on for 20-3o minutes before removing the broken down paint. Work in areas of 1-2 meters in length at a time.

Step 4 – More Paint Stripper

Due to many layers of paint you may have to repeat step 2 until you are happy with the level of detail that has been revealed. To help remove paint build up in grooves and detailed areas a soft toothbrush will get it to areas a cloth or scraper will not.

Step 5 – Painting Prep

When all the paint has been removed wipe down the area with white spirits using a cloth. This will leave a nice clean surface for you to apply you new paint.

Step 6 – Painting

Using a paint brush apply 2 coats of your selected colour allowing to dry between coats.

Top Tip

Always do a small test section with the paint stripper before taking on the whole job and wear gloves to protect your skin.