In this week's episode I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Sarah Duggan. Sarah's home was featured on RTE Home of the Year 2022.

Sarah tells us all about their house search, how the time they spent looking at the market allowed them to figure out what they didn't want in a home as much as what they did want.  She tells us about how a chance viewing found them this 74sq m house in Portobello, Dublin.

They have made the most from this small space, while knowing that it probably wouldn't be their forever home, but it was their now home. This is a wonderful episode for anybody looking to get on the property ladder and anybody looking for inspiration of what to do if the space isn't exactly their first choice.

After purchasing the house they had to do a full renovation, rewiring, plumbing, insulation, the works with hard decisions along the way about extender or adapted the space they had.  

In this episode Sarah shares some valuable tips from her experience of undertaking this massive project, for you to learn from and take on board if this is something that you would consider

We also speak about the importance of using an architect on any renovations, but especially when space is limited, for them this has meant that every inch has been utilized.  Also working closely with other experts such as joiners has meant that they have cleverly created solutions in this small space. 

You can find Sarah on Instagram Sarah Duggan @portobellorenovation

Resources

1. EMMET DUGGAN - architect

2. Chartlon Construction

3. Ben Kerrigan / Kerwood Design (kitchens/joinery)

4. Clara Joinery

5. Dublin Mouldings

6. Antique Fireplace Restorations

7. Gaff Interiors (vintage and thrifted furniture)

8. CADesign.ie (midcentury replica furniture)

9. Made.com (mid-range contemporary furniture)

10. House and Home article 

Today I have the pleasure of talking with Dublin-based architect Graham O’Sullivan.

With over 15 years’ experience, Graham’s career has brought him from his beginnings in Galway looking after residential and commercial developments, to London where he had to opportunity to work on larger architectural projects. In London, Graham and his interior designer wife Stephanie kept their eyes open for the next up and coming areas to get onto the property ladder. In this episode, Graham walks us through how they identify sound investments and approach the projects they undertook as their lives evolved with children and busy careers.

After two successful renovation projects, Graham, Stephanie and their children moved back to Ireland where they had to get creative in finding a site for their forever home, which ended up being a former warehouse they demolished to build the award-nominated Coal Lane House in Cabra, Dublin 7. Tune in to hear how two industry experts get strategic about buying, selling, renovating and settling down.

Resources:

Coal Lane House: @coallanehouse

Henry J Lyons, Architects: https://henryjlyons.com/

In today's episode I have the pleasure of talking with homeowner and renovator Tereseanne O'Reilly, based in Tramore, Co Waterford. Self-employed couple Tereseanne and her husband Declan, owner of Evoke Kitchens, spontaneously bought this second property in 2019, just weeks before their wedding, with a view to renovating it pretty shortly after moving in. Since the pandemic hit, they only started their reno in the last few months. They are turning a 1990s 3 bed bungalow into a modern two-story. The house sits on an acre of land overlooking Tramore Bay in Co. Waterford, with views of Tramore itself, the beach and sand dunes and the Comeragh Mountains in the distance. Tune in to hear how industry pros approach and manage a renovation, and how you might be able to DIY parts of your project to save money and take control of your dream home.

Bio: Tereseanne O'Reilly is a homeowner and one half of @ourhouseandthesunset with her husband Declan, who also owns @evokekitchens. Professionally, Tereseanne is the Managing Director of a web design and brand strategy company called The Forest and a presenter, formerly a full-time radio DJ.

Resources & Professionals

Kitchen: Declan Furlong - https://www.evokekitchens.ie/

Architect: David Merrigan, MDP & Partners, Waterford - https://mdpandpartners.ie/david-merrigan/

Key moments & stats:

"[My husband Declan's] background is in building and construction, he has an engineering degree from DIT...it was the reason we could do it as whimsically as we did...he had the vision, the forethought, the skills to [take on the project]." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We were in a fortunate position with the market and having equity in our first house that had gone up in value, which I had bought by myself as a PAYE employee in a previous career." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"Very slow process buying a house in the middle of the summer, by the way!" - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We were sale agreed in June [2019], moved in in October. Our plan was to live in through the winter and then start the renovation process. And then the pandemic hit." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"It was going to be [profit from selling the first house] and savings along the way that were going to fund the renovation...and the caution we took early on [because of the uncertainty of the pandemic with Declan being self-employed] allowed us to live in the house for longer than we anticipated and get to know the house through different seasons, and how we lived and flowed through the house." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We didn't know if we were going to add a second storey or not until we lived in it for a while. We didn't have a plan, really." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We worked with David of MDP & Partners who was great...we applied for planning permission and had no objections...David was familiar with the region so well, he guided us on what he thought would work and be accepted." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"The first thing we did was we built our garage - it was a functional space we needed to facilitate us to move out of our [first] house." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"Space wasn't a dictating factor [in the final design]. We went by each space and how we wanted to use them." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We have four dogs - and the house had to accommodate for them." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"I was just thinking - how do I work? How do I live, how do I operate? What are my habits? And how do I design my living space to accommodate those good habits and try and get rid of the bad habits." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"The renovation cost stayed on budget because we worked with the facilities that were already provided [by the existing bungalow], like positioning bathrooms to existing plumbing, it's surprising how much that can save. Being clever like that." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"Even with the size of windows we originally wanted...custom sizes were going to cost so much more...so we went back to standard sizing and opening mechanisms to save." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"You know what we did? We went big then we scaled it right back to still work with the premade standard size materials - we don't have anything custom - we wanted to be creative to still have a luxurious feel without going custom." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"People have unrealistic expectations of 'custom' design. You can still have a premium and beautiful home without everything being made entirely from scratch for you - because the price difference is often not 50% more, but 10x more - simply because of economies of scale." - Tanya Neufeld

"Start big and then ask: what is it that you really need? What is it that you can really afford? And what are the luxuries - should things stretch - what are the first priority luxuries we want to add? And what the first luxuries we'd be willing to give up?" - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"We would've paid double - €200K more probably - if we hadn't done the labour ourselves." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

"You get home from a day of work and you'll be working [on your renovation project] until you go to bed, working out every thing that can be done, researching, getting in touch with suppliers...if the only thing you can give your project is time, you will save a lot." - Tereseanne O'Reilly

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Welcome to episode 6 of the Interiors Podcast.  Our guest industry expert in this episode is Charlotte Cropper, an International Colour Consultant at Lick Paint with a background in textile, homeware and graphic design.

We speak about the steps required to understand your style and colour needs and how to create the perfect palette for your home.

Key moments & stats:

"Ask yourself the question - what mood do you want to create in that space? How do you want to feel? Write down a list of key words of how you want to feel. Next, write down the things you do that help you feel that way. This is very individual. When do you use the space you're in? What time of day? Where is the room in your house? What direction does the room face in? What else is going on in that room? Look at paint holistically with the furniture, flooring and lighting that's going to go in a room." - Charlotte Cropper

"One of the biggest misconceptions is around the world colour - black, white, beige and grey are all colours. It doesn't mean we're going to paint your house in a rainbow. You have to define your particular style - someone's minimal is different to my minimal." - Charlotte Cropper

"We find white just as interesting as any other colour." - Charlotte Cropper

"What is it about an inspiration picture that you really like? Is it the combination of certain items, a mood, a colour, a texture?" - Charlotte Cropper

"I wait 6 months before committing to a colour. I might start small and buy some accessories in the colour and live with it to make sure it's not just a trend drawing me to it." - Charlotte Cropper

"Take samples shopping with you. And don't skip the moodboard." - Charlotte Cropper

"In a north-facing room, cooler colours will feel even colder, so consider warmer undertones. In south-facing rooms, the opposite applies, but rules are made to be broken. Small,

Follow us on Instagram @theinteriorspodcast

Resources & Professionals

Paint: Lick Paint, https://www.lick.com/eu

Welcome to The Interiors Podcast.

Today I have the pleasure of talking with homeowner and renovator extraordinaire Lynn Ferrari, a Dublin native living her best life in Waterford City. Lynn discovered a passion for interiors in her first amateur renovation journey catalogued in her popular Instagram account, @myoldbrandnewhome, which then led her to flip her first property and invest in a new home during the pandemic with two young children in tow. Lynn takes us behind the scenes on how she managed this, and how to achieve a successful home renovation with a “less is more” approach that will be a great listen for all those looking to get creative on a tight budget.

Follow us on Instagram @theinteriorspodcast

Resources & Professionals:

Contractor: Paul Walsh - http://www.paulwalshconstruction.com/

Flooring specialist: Jonathan at The Floor Gallery, Waterford - http://thefloorgallery.ie/

SEAI grant information: https://www.seai.ie/grants/

In this episode I speak with industry expert, interior designer and stylist, Kate Hobbins-Lockett, a fellow expat who pursued interiors as a second career. Kate is based in Cork City where she runs Interiors by Kate HL with a focus on clean, timeless spaces and the power of styling. Today we're going to explore the topic of trendy vs. classic styles when it comes to interiors and Kate walks us through her signature style formula for a timeless space. We also discuss how to diagnose and understand trends, and how to make them your own, or avoid them altogether if that's what you want!

About our guest:  interior designer Kate Hobbins-Lockett

Follow Kate on Instagram @interiorsbykatehl

And learn more at https://www.katehobbinslockett.com/

Follow us on Instagram @theinteriorspodcast

Welcome to The Interiors Podcast. In this latest episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Alex Calder about self-building in Wicklow over 4+ years through the pandemic. Alex takes us through the timeline of the project, their biggest learnings, the experts that were invaluable and all the nitty gritty details of the planning permission process for a modernist home - from leveraging local politicians to re-building a bridge!

Connect with Alex:

@caldalex for family life in Wicklow

@ahouseinwicklow to follow her family’s self-build in real-time

@betweentwoears for all things horsey

Follow us on Instragram @theinteriorspodcast

Resources & Professionals:

RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland)

www.riai.ie/work-with-an-architect

https://www.riai.ie/whats-on/news/riai_building_construction_cost_guidelines_2019

Architect: John McLaughlin Architects - http://johnmclaughlin.ie

Contractor: Carew Construction 

Planning consultant: HPDC - http://www.hpdc.ie

Engineer: David Maher

QS: Murray and Gillespie - https://www.murrayandgillespie.ie

Energy consultant: Passivate https://www.passivate.ie

Self-build mortgage broker: Helen at Rockwell Financial https://rockwellfinancial.ie/

In today's episode I am thrilled to interview Stephanie O'Sullivan Stephanie is also the proud owner and builder of Coal Lane House, which you might know from RTE's show, Super Small Spaces with Dermot Bannon.   With over 20 years in the design industry, working in architectural firms in London and Dublin, Stephanie has a wealth of knowledge and experience. We chatted about the role of the interior designer and also when is the right time to hire and so much more.  

Follow us on Instagram @theinteriorspodcast

Stephanie O’Sullivan at SOSullivan Interiors - Instagram @theinformed creative @sosullivaninteriors 

Interior design is not only a luxury but an necessity in a time where construction and price per square metre is out of reach for many people who have just bought the most expensive thing they will ever buy. Bringing down internal walls, changing windows, converting attics and adding small extensions in transformers space that otherwise leaves much to be desired   On this podcast I will bring you industry experts that will help you make the best decisions when it comes to choosing a home, buying a property, And understanding how much time and energy are going to go into making the changes you want to make it yours. However this podcast is not just for the small Dublin City starter home, We will also visit best practices of interior design and talk with craftspeople so that you know how to invest in the best joinery, furniture and soft furnishings to elevate your space and make it a long-term investment.  

In between our industry expert episodes, we will bring on homeowners who have successfully purchased and renovated homes, So you can understand a little bit of the behind-the-scenes of how it works, from a self build mortgage to flipping your first property as your lifestyle changes.

So to give you a bit of an idea of the three main problems as I see in the industry that we will tackle in this podcast are:

1. Money

2. Practicality and logistics

3. Inspiration and style 

We will always be on the lookout for high-quality craft people and industry experts from QS to a joiner, a painter to build, so if you have people you want to recommend please don’t hesitate to reach out so we can interview them on the podcast. We are also always looking to talk to homeowners with property buying, building, renovating, redesigning experience who are willing to go behind the scenes and share the nitty-gritty.

In between our industry expert episodes, we will bring on homeowners who have successfully purchased and renovated homes, So you can understand a little bit of the behind-the-scenes of how it works, from a self build mortgage to flipping your first property as your lifestyle changes.

So to give you a bit of an idea of the three main problem is I see in the industry that we will tackle in this podcast are:

1. Money

2. Practicality and logistics

3. Inspiration and style 

We will always be on the lookout for high-quality craft people and industry experts from QS to a joiner, a painter to build, so if you have people you want to recommend please don’t hesitate to reach out so we can interview them on the podcast. We are also always looking to talk to homeowners with property buying, building, renovating, redesigning experience who are willing to go behind the scenes and share the nitty-gritty.

Follow the podcast on Instagram @theinteriorspodcast 

Welcome to the Interiors Podcast, Ireland's first show aimed at empowering and educating homeowners and buyers, present and future, to make the most of their spaces.  

I'm your host, Tanya Neufeld, and I left a career in ad agencies and Facebook to run my own business. As I pivoted careers to interior design and bought my first home in Dublin, I realised how much confusion and frustration is out there, and how much potential there is to make your home of your dreams a reality and a long-term investment - which it SHOULD be as the biggest purchase of your life.

The mission of this podcast is to elevate YOUR property owning and buying experience in Ireland, arming you with the inspiration, the know-how and practical advice to create a home that lights you up and changes your life.

In each episode, I will cover topics ranging from self-building to choosing the right flooring for your house, extensions and paint colours. I will bring you behind the scenes with industry experts and homeowners to give you practical advice and the motivation to create and elevate your spaces.