If I could sum up 2024 in one word it would be: BUSY.
It has been a year of incredible projects, luxe interiors, new architectural spaces, and a whole lot of caffeine. And here’s the best part: This year I have been brewing up a BIG announcement. But since this is the season of goodness and light, I’m also reminded that patience is a virtue.
For now, I will simply say that a brand new interior design website is nearly ready to launch… with some very exciting news! So hold on just a bit longer. Until then, I hope you’ll join me in ending this year on a high note and give it everything you’ve got as we plow toward some much-earned rest– and a whole lot of fresh energy in 2025!
Full disclosure, I don’t know how Insta-influencers do it. How do they manage to bring their professional A-game every single day while also maintaining an up-to-date online presence? Whatever they’re drinking, I’d love a sip. As it is, I choose to focus on my clients and the nitty gritty details of their interiors projects that bring their vision to life.
Case in point, I was radio silent most of last year because when I wasn’t busy planning my dreamy August 2022 wedding, I was knee-deep in work here in North Carolina and in Ireland. Since October I’ve had a number of projects on the go, but one in particular is on my mind at the moment: the refurbishment of a 1967 ranch-style house in Winston-Salem’s leafy Old Sherwood Forest neighborhood. What started as a simple bathroom has blossomed into a 650-square-foot extension complete with a walk-in wardrobe, dual custom vanities, a highly-detailed window seat with built-in storage, and wet room with sauna tub. To that, we’re adding a stone-paved sunroom extension with a double-sided fireplace, bi-fold doors that allow the wall separating the newly paved patio to disappear, and a split-gable exterior set off by a beautiful King Post truss. As lead designer, I have so enjoyed using my years of experience working in architecture firms, interiors, and historic preservation to weave architectural gravitas, balance, proportion, and carefully chosen materials into a cohesive scheme. My client has particular practical needs and a distinctive Transitional taste that I am excited to combine into a home that is as beautiful as it is timeless.
Permits acquired and with works scheduled to commence the first week of February, now it’s time to get down to all of the highly customized work we do at Today & Tomorrow Interiors. Bedding, casegoods, window treatments, wall coverings, lighting, rugs, and decor to name a few are on the upcoming docket. And of course, we’ll soon be choosing tile, paint colors and other selections that are an integral part of the interiors scheme.
This job is the tip of the iceberg of all that I’m excited to dive into professionally in 2023, including creating a new website dedicated solely to my interiors projects for easier navigation and a more complete online portfolio. I may not have a ton of time for Insta or keeping a blog as fresh as a Salisbury Green sunroom, but that’s just because I’m too busy doing what I love. Do you have an interiors job that you need help bringing to life? Drop me a line today!
If you thought that the pandemic would bring the fields of preservation, construction, and design to a grinding halt, you wouldn’t be alone… but you’d be wrong. The past year has left no time for making sourdough starter (although I did manage to conquer Netflix). Instead, my colleagues all agree with me– with folks relegated to their homes and developers planning ahead for society’s inevitable re-opening, we have needed clones to keep up with all of the new projects. This is a good complaint to have, of course, especially as I have spent the last six months (to the day!) transitioning into my new transatlantic consultancy, fostering both old and new jobs in Ireland and generating novel projects here in the US of A.
Earlier this year I spent a great deal of my time completing a project that began in 2020, by contributing to the architectural inventory and recording of a major historic core in Dublin’s North City Center. This survey included nearly 70 historic buildings and some of the capital’s earliest Georgian developments through its 20th century Neoclassical edifices that appeared in the rebuilding after the Easter Rising. Every room was meticulously described in written format, highlighting remaining historic features and their likely provenance, with a corresponding set of photographs to record the buildings in perpetuity. It was a collaborative team effort and a landmark study of which I am very proud to have been a part.
Switching gears, I have also been very busy in compiling conservation tender documents for a new residential project in Sandycove, Co. Dublin. That late-Georgian building has important mid-Victorian embellishments and is also being updated by the design team led by Saul Design to form a contemporary, relevant, and comfortable historic home with its original (and later) salient character intact. Liaison with a series of conservation and building specialists was integral to finding appropriate and economical solutions to project aims. We have just started on site and I am looking forward to seeing the transformation.
While the majority of my time is spent in North Carolina now, I am delighted to still be working for Ireland’s heritage by engaging in my ninth National Inventory of Architectural Heritage survey, this time as an Editor. With nearly 1,200 buildings due to be recorded in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown over the next six months, we have our work cut out for us. Luckily we also get to survey some of south County Dublin’s finest, most regal, and interesting structures. On a personal note, I am delighted that my old house in Monkstown will also be recorded this time around! Stay tuned for highlights of these architectural gems here on the blog.
I’ve also been very busy on this side of the Pond. In March I began work on the interior design of an existing building in Banner Elk, North Carolina that was purchased by a newly-formed real estate firm. The open-plan building required a new internal layout to accommodate a reception and waiting area, conference room, offices, and staff amenities areas. I presented three space-planning options to the client and compiled concept and mood boards, with inspiration taken from the local geography and vernacular architecture, as well as from corporate branding and the aspirations of their clientele. Now that construction has begun, I’m delighted to be reviewing appropriate color schemes and finishes. Come back soon for before-and-after photos!
Last but not least, I am delighted to have spent my time more recently contributing to the amazing work of the team at Today & Tomorrow Interiors in Winston-Salem. They are a well-established and talented practice that specialize in high-end interiors, focusing primarily in the Winston-Salem and Charlotte areas, but with client projects as far away as the Florida Keys, Daniel Island in South Carolina and many other sought-after locations. Of course Winston is a storied and venerated town with a collection of well-maintained, beautiful historic homes that I am excited to work on. I’ve designed a custom upholstered bed frame with bold fins and nailhead trim, am working on the re-design of a master bedroom, and many other projects.
What I love most about the work I do is its variety of focus, skill, scale, and style. Some projects focus solely on interior design, others on heritage, while still others require detailed knowledge of historic building materials, conservation, and construction project management. My favorite jobs are those that combine them all! There is no shortage of interest these days, only a shortage of time. But after the year we’ve all had, I’m just glad to be here (there, or anywhere), at all.
It’s not as if 2020 needed any more excitement. Between forest fires, social unrest, significant elections, and a pandemic, it was a year that needed no embellishment. And yet even as the world went through a major transition, I also found myself in a place of change and transformation. After considerable thought and reflection, I made the decision to start spending the majority of my time in my home state of North Carolina, USA. Establishing an intercontinental consultancy in interior design and heritage preservation has long been on my agenda, and it felt like an auspicious time to make that leap.
I am delighted to be retaining all of my Irish clients and connections. The pandemic taught all of us just how much can be done remotely with a computer and an internet connection; I have many ongoing and new interior design and conservation projects in Dublin and its environs, and will be returning on a regular basis to check-in, maintain existing, and take on new jobs in the Irish capital.
I am also exceedingly excited about the new adventures that lie ahead in the country of my birth. No matter where you may be, I am available now to speak with you about your residential, commercial, or retail project needs, whether your focus is on interior design or preservation, for buildings and spaces new and old.
My email address remains the same, but you can find both my US and Irish phone numbers on my Contact page. I look forward to working with you and to applying the international experience I have gained over the last 12 years to your project.
Once one of Dublin’s most sought-after residential addresses, most of the former townhouses in Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Square now serve as grand offices overlooking the private green that remains at the heart of the early-19th century development. This office building on the eastern side of the square was purchased several years ago by a private developer, with separate office tenants at each level. As each tenant’s lease expired, opportunity was taken to upgrade the finishes and furnishings of the property to achieve a more modern and elegant character. In this instance, the project entailed upgrading the existing staff amenities, including kitchenette, lounge, and toilet facilities, as well as a spacious front office with period features.
As the project Interior Designer, Sunni’s role included space planning and concept design, kitchenette specifications and bespoke furniture drawings as well as setting-out of M&E features, colour scheme co-ordination, furnishings and finishes selections and installation specifications.
The key thing about having a blog is the need to keep it current. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), the number of projects that are in the works at the moment keep me at the drawing board and away from the keyboard.
But for now, this short note is to wish you all a belated Happy New Year and to tell you briefly of some of the incredible jobs that are already on site or in the works. From the historic enclave of Montpelier Hill, to a restaurant’s rebirth on the North Side, to a modern office retrofit in Fitzwilliam Square, 2020 is off to a busy start. High quality Interior Design is making its mark on the historic as well as the contemporary fabric of the city, where old and new merge happily together to create vibrant, dynamic spaces for Dublin’s diverse population.
Watch this space for even more to come… just as soon as I can steal a few minutes!
Minister Madigan has just announced two schemes to be run in 2020 that will enable the conservation, repair and refurbishment of Ireland’s historic structures: The Built Heritage Investment Scheme and the Historic Structures Fund. Together, these two schemes will offer over €4.3 million in conservation grant funding, and will generate a further €5 million in private investment. Both schemes typically cover repairs and works to the external envelope of historic buildings (roof, walls, windows, etc.), as well as internal structural works, temporary enabling works, and the repair of significant decorative elements such as joinery, plasterwork, and other features.
The Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) will provide €2.5 million for essential repairs and for the conservation of Protected Structures or Proposed Protected Structures, and in exceptional circumstances, buildings within Architectural Conservation Areas (ACAs) or within the amenity of a National Monument. Funding will range from €2,500 to €15,000 per project, and successful applicants are required to demonstrate at least a 50-50 matching expenditure.
Pilot Scheme for Routine Maintenance and repair works
In 2020 the Department is piloting a “micro grant scheme” for works of routine maintenance and minor repairs, which were not previously eligible for funding under the BHIS scheme. The maximum award for any such project(s) will be €2,500 for each project. If successful, this scheme may be run on nationally on an annual basis thereafter.
The Historic Structures Fund (HSF) will provide more than €1.8 million for projects of a larger scale. The intention of the scheme is to:
enable larger scale conservation works to be carried out on heritage structures which are deemed to be significant and in need of urgent support;
encourage the regeneration and reuse of heritage properties and to help to secure the preservation of protected structures and/or historic-culturally significant assets;
support the investment of private capital in labour-intensive projects to conserve historic structures in public and private ownership for community use.
Within the HSF there are two streams:
Stream 1 will provide funding of between €15,000 and €50,000 per project for essential repairs and smaller capital works for the refurbishment and conservation of heritage structures. Applicants will be glad to hear that this stream may fund up to 80% of the project budget.
Stream 2 will provide funding of between €50,000 and €200,000 for larger enhancement, refurbishment or reuse projects involving heritage structures, where a clear community or public benefit can be demonstrated. In exceptional circumstances, the grant funding may cover up to 80% of the project budget, though matching funding is standard protocol. In a drastic departure from previous schemes, Stream 2 may be phased over two calendar years, rather than the usual deadline in October of the same year as the application.
Structures eligible under the HSF are the same as those eligible for coverage under the BHIS scheme. Unlike in past years, only one application can be made per structure across all grant schemes, so doubling-up is no longer possible. Furthermore, as per usual all statutory requirements (i.e., planning permission, Section 5 applications, Ministerial Notification, etc.) must be complete by the time of works commencement, and the grants will not fund any works that have begun prior to being awarded funding. Competition for the HSF will be considerable, but successful applications will be eligible for greater levels of funding.
With only one application allowed per property, the onus is on your heritage consultant to understand the various merits, requirements, constraints and possibilities within each scheme, the statutory consents that your project requires as well as the applicable timetables for same, and the possible budget for your proposed scope of work, in order to make the most of your conservation grant application. Be advised that applications are due no later than 31st January 2020, with some local authorities having set the deadline at 24th January 2020. It takes some time to collate a strong application, and next year there is a significant pot of funding to be distributed. If you have a project in mind that you would like to discuss, get in touch today!
I am delinquent with my post updates, but my only excuse is because there have been so many great projects moving full steam ahead over the last few months. Luckily I have managed to dodge the manic “summer works” jobs and instead have been focusing on getting several larger projects off the ground, and tidying up a few that were already on site.
Much of Friday was spent in a high-lift access bucket swinging high over the former St. Andrew’s Church in Suffolk Street, reviewing the upcoming conservation works with some of Ireland’s brightest specialist conservation contractors. Next week I will be assessing the necessary works to the many stained glass windows, and compiling a detailed schedule of repairs to the historic wrought- and cast-iron railings to the front boundary, some of which date to Francis Johnston’s rebuilding campaign of c.1795. If the last time you entered this magnificent structure was when it served as the Dublin Tourist Office, you won’t believe the difference the upcoming redevelopment will make; it’s adaptive re-use at its best!
I am also delighted to be part of the design team on several upcoming residential refurbishment projects in Dublin’s illustrious Kenilworth Square, the Continental aspect of Lower Baggot Street, and for an excellent early-Victorian structure in Blackrock’s Carysfort Avenue. Several of these projects involve well-detailed, highly modern, and sensitive extensions, along with carefully considered repairs, building services upgrades, and internal renovations. One is also subject to a Built Heritage Investment Scheme grant which was secured earlier this spring, so hurry back for more updates.
The great weather we have been enjoying also allowed me to pop down the country to take some great photos of the completed restoration of the Rathcam Barn near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, in time for the project to be featured as part of the national Heritage Week on 21st August. If you fancy a day out on an intact mid-19th century country house estate with original walled gardens, landscape features, and farm buildings, look no further.
Works to revitalise the intact mews building in Dun Laoghaire’s Vesey Place are also coming along nicely. Recent months have seen the application of many traditional building skills, such as rubble stone and brick pointing, wetdashing, limewashing, timber and joinery repairs, and many others. Soon we’ll be re-laying the cobbled courtyard using a traditional Hoggin mix, and the beautiful internal limestone sett floor will be repaired in order to underpin the historic ambience of the new residential interior.
It’s been a busy summer, and it looks like the autumn is going to be even more so. Stay tuned for all the latest news, which I hope to update long before year’s end!
If the grand stretch we’re beginning to see each evening means anything, it’s that you can count on another NIAH survey beginning. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) was established in 1990 to fulfil Ireland’s obligations under the Granada Convention through the establishment and maintenance of a central record documenting and evaluating the architectural heritage of the country. Over the last couple of decades, the Republic has slowly but surely been documented, county by county, area by area. This most recent survey commenced on Monday, 4th February and marks Phase III of the survey of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR).
I’m delighted to say that this is my seventh survey in as many years, having previously worked on the survey of Co. Cavan as well as Phase I of the DLR survey, and Dublin City surveys Phases I, VIII, XI and XII. Each record entails a detailed architectural description of a building as well as its site, a methodical photographic record, and an appraisal of significance, whereby the various categories of special interest as set out by the Convention are reviewed. The survey is meant not only to create a record of historic buildings for posterity and for instruction, but also benefits homeowners, designers, planners and local authorities.
My time on DLR Phase III started with two particularly impressive sites: the iconic Victoria Fountain located along the Dun Laoghaire Seafront, and the imposing former Kingstown Men’s Christian Institute on Upper George’s Street. The former was erected in 1900 to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria to Ireland, after which the monarch departed the country at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, just adjacent to this site. The original inner fountain (design no. 20) and outer, cast-iron canopy (design no. 18) were manufactured by Walter MacFarlane & Co., a Scottish firm, who produced the monument at the Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow, Scotland. This fine, filigree monument is resplendent with heraldic symbology, including cranes, owls, lions and swans, all of which represent vigilance and guardianship, and a bust of the Queen herself also adorns a shield. The monument achieves an extraordinarily cohesive scheme, whose rife, delicate mouldings belie the robust nature of the cast-iron structure, which is a testament to the skill of Victorian metallurgical workers. The monument was damaged in 1981 and painstakingly restored in 2002.
Conversely, Kingstown Men’s Christian Institute was a men’s clubhouse built c.1891, firstly to provide a social spot for rural, Protestant men up from the country to find work in the capital. The club was later opened to Catholics as well as women. With funding given by William McComas, the building was constructed to the design of prolific Dublin architect of the period, William Kaye-Perry. The red brick of the facade is laid in English garden wall bond, set off by two- and three-storey projecting bays as well as a considerable amount of terracotta decoration. The end result is an imposing structure whose form and fabric set the building apart from many of its local contemporaries. Sadly, after serving as a social mainstay for nearly 130 years, the clubhouse was forced to close its doors in 2018, and the property was recently sold.
I look forward to a lot this spring, not only the (hopefully) better weather but the interest of many more unusual, inspiring and historic sites to come. Stay tuned for more treasures from DLR Phase III!
It’s true that 2017 was extremely busy, but 2018 was gone in the blink of an eye. So many fantastic, creative projects kept the weeks flying by, and brought new life for some wonderful historic buildings.
In Waterloo Road, the final touch on last year’s refurbishment project was to repoint the front facade, with aid from the Built Heritage Investment Scheme. The sand-and-cement pointing had caused many of the original red bricks to spall, and it was important to protect the sound historic fabric as well as the fresh redecoration and repairs to the interior. The cementitious mortar was raked out with hand tools and repointed with NHL 3.5, using Otterbein lime. Some of the salvageable, spalled bricks were reversed, whilst others were repaired using a Remmers mortar. Several samples were provided before deciding on the final colour in order to match the existing fabric as closely as possible. The voussoirs over the jack arches were also carefully repointed; there was historic evidence of inappropriate, non-original bonding patterns, which was corrected as part of the works. The missing, original Roman Cement cornice in front of the parapet blocking course was also reinstated, and feathered into the remaining feature at the adjacent building. The final result has fully restored the historic character of the front facade, along with the new timber sash windows and historically-accurate front door that were installed in 2017.
Near Mullingar, the sagging, under-supported roof of the c.1850 “Equine Barn” was also fully repaired. The rafters were original to the building but were undersized, allowing slipped slates, water ingress and rot to escalate in recent years. The roof was stripped and existing timbers were left in place, treated where required and sistered, allowing the historic integrity of the barn to remain intact whilst ensuring its longevity. Investigation into the existing fabric and consolidation of slate sizes and course-planning lead us to reinstate Blue Bangor slates on the east pitch, with green slates on the west, over a new breather membrane. The bottom course of slates over the wall plate were also bedded in a hot lime mix. The gabled ends were out of plumb, so rather than cutting each end slate to the same length, they were each cut to follow the line of the wall to provide a 50-75mm overhang. Historic evidence also indicated that the existing, fixed windows were not original to the property, and their poor condition informed their replacement with windows of more appropriate details. The arched barn doors were also repaired, and new doors to match the existing were introduced in pedestrian opes that were previously open to the elements. New cast-aluminium rainwater goods now properly weather the building, and a rainwater butt has improved the environmental efficiency of the barn, and supports the plant life in the adjacent walled garden.
In Dublin’s Leinster Square, the four aluminium windows on the front facade that cast a blight not only on the character of the Protected Structure but on the historic streetscape were replaced. The new timber sash windows are fully weather proofed and have done much to augment the historic milieu of this bustling area of Rathmines.
Other projects included concept generation and space planning for a Victorian house refurbishment project in Ballsbridge, conservation consultancy services for an upcoming mews conversion in Dun Laoghaire, interior design services for 4 no. apartments in Dublin’s north quays, and too many conservation reports, impact assessments and historic building inventories to count.
It has been a banner year and things show no signs of slowing down. The upcoming Historic Structures Fund and Built Heritage Investment Scheme 2019 are already generating interesting projects, and I look forward to the year ahead. Wishing you all a healthy and productive New Year!
Get in touch today
Sunni would be delighted to offer her wealth of diverse experience to your heritage or conservation needs.
