Happy Monday all,
Hope you are all excited for the week ahead :) Well, if it a busy one take a minute or two to see what the ladies from North Design have to tell us about design inspiration, their favourite interior stores, and even a little design advice for any of you interior lovers who wanna set up your own interior design business.
Louise and Lauren have been running the Irish design house North Design for 2 years. In that little time, they have completed some of the most inspirational interiors in our lovely Dublin; they were even nominated for a Fit-Out award last year!! For anyone that loves Interiors, you will know what a huge achievement this is.
So I am delighted that these two ladies took time out of their busy schedule to sit and give us all a bit of design advice!
Enjoy xx
1:So ladies :) Can you tell me a little more about North Design?
We set up NORTH almost 2 years ago because of a passion to create spaces that were derived from our clients way of living and individual outlooks on a feeling of home for example, or a great place to have coffee. We love to design an array of different interiors in collaboration with our clients to create something truly unique!
2: What has been your favourite interior project you have worked on and why? :)
From a commercial perspective it would be Coffee 2 Go in Blackrock - it was exciting to design their second premises in a suburban area to mirror the success of their flagship cafe in town. The budget wasn't huge so creativity was key to ensure that the design was still considered and most importantly, the space met the functional needs of their business. On the residential side, we always love our Castlewood Avenue project for a home that made a statement the minute you stepped in the door. The client was great to work with and whilst having a strong idea of what she wanted, had confidence in us to push the boundaries and ensure the whole project came together.
3: What was the inspiration behind this interior?
Coffee2Go's design came from a twisted version of industrial interiors with a playful edge. The brief partly came from the client and their brand, but they were happy for us to run with any impactful ideas we came up with, whilst also taking note of how other cafes in the area were designed and not mimicking them as Blackrock is a small village. During strip out of the previous cafe, we unearthed the original green and neutral toned terrazzo floor that was used during the time the shop was a butchers, so this then influenced some of the colours shown through out the space.
4: What are your go-to interior shops and why?
This is very dependent on the style and budget of the client of course, but some go-tos in Ireland would be the likes of Lamb Design, Woo Design, or scouring the warehouses of the Vintage Hub for antique and mid-century treasures. Online stores like Finnish Design Shop, Living & Co or Bluesuntree are great for high and mid range pieces with a design edge.
5: What advice would you give to homeowners taking on a new renovation?
Give yourself time to do the project right. Most people underestimate how long the design and build process can take, between initial concept to getting tenders pack from contractors to eventually starting the reno and not factoring in problems that might arise during construction. The hardest part of our job is watching clients go past their intended deadline by months on end. Get a good design/construction team who will prepare you fully for this process and things should run smoothly!
6: Finally ladies, as both interior designers and businesswomen, what advice would you give to interior lovers that want to start a career in interior design?
Passion for design will take you along way, but organisation will take you further! A huge element of our roll is timelines and organisation, and whilst it can be hard juggling everything, for your clients sake it's important to always stay on top of your project admin and deadlines and your business will run smoother. When it comes to design, be open to inspiration from every corner but don't lose sight of what's important to you when making your vision come to life.
So all I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did! To keep up to date with North Design check out their website and Instagram.
For the next episode of design talk I will be chatting to the fabulous lady Jen Connell art director for packed house & previously RTÉ, Oh her home is also to DIE FOR! So not one to miss people! So pop back on the 10th of February to see what design tricks Jen will have for us xxx
Style So Simple - Aoife xx
If you would like to be featured in this seasons Design Talk, get in touch!
Email hello@stylesosimple.com
Comments