(Image: Crown paints)

More and more I'm been asked to design ‘Home Office’s’ for clients and I’ve taken on a project in my own home to make my working space more efficient. The ‘Home Office’ has become very popular over the last couple of years.  Whether it’s for professional reasons or just for keeping up with correspondence and weekly administration, it’s important that the space you work in is enjoyable.

The main requirements for a home office are a desk, a comfortable chair, good storage and light. When deciding on a work area in your home, choose a place that has plenty of light. Good light creates an atmosphere of motivation so you need to cater for dark, shorter winter days and evenings with good task lighting. Adequate storage is also very important as it will enable you to keep your work space clutter free. The smaller your office space the more uniform your storage should be as it’s easier on the eye.

If working full-time from home try separate your work life from home life so the lines between the two don’t blur and it becomes difficult to have down time. If you are unable to allocate a small room you could partition a small area with either a movable screen or purpose built armoire. Don’t put your working area in your bedroom as this room should be a haven for resting.

Colour: Small offices are often painted white to appear more spacious but white isn’t the most inspirational colour to sit in front of. If you do choose a colour it should be a colour that you love as you might be sitting at your desk each day. The colour should be stimulating without being overpowering. Green’s tend to be good colours for study’s as they are both relaxing and nurturing. Colour is so personal, even as I write the colour ‘green’, I’m wondering what colour you are conjuring up in your mind! I’ve just painted one wall in my home office/T.V. room/music room Farrow & Ball, Teresa’s Green... and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Upcycling update.

My ‘Upcycling’ seminar at Roisin Cross Silks went down very well. We had a full house and why not? When people are spending less on Interiors it’s always good to learn new tricks, enabling you to re-energise your home, without breaking the bank.

One subject that did come up last Saturday was ‘Shabby Chic’- a phrase coined during the recession to describe a style of interiors. When it was mentioned I just had to say ‘S-T-O-P’… It’s ok to design your home out of a skip when you’re a student but as you mature so too does your home, as your home should reflect you and your personality. If you are ‘upcycling’ it’s important that you do it properly or not at all.

You can source your item at home or at one of the many auction houses or second hand shops. I bought this old plywood side table at Oxfam Home, on Francis street. Having sanded it, primed it, lightly sanded it again, I opted for a stressed wood finish on the legs and faux marble finish on the top.

We’re planning another upcycling day on Saturday 28^th May 2011.

www.avrilmurphyallen.com

Before 'Upcycling'

Before I give my tips for 2011 I wanted to share some reflections as we move into the New Year.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how the current economic situation influences the way we design our homes today. Apart from the trend of less expensive design solutions, when we do have money to spend, it is even more important to plan an interiors project, and think it through, so that expensive mistakes are not made.

My philosophy as an Interior Designer has always been that my role is to help my clients express their own design ideas.  For this reason my own practice has been one of coaching my clients so that they articulate their ideas and manifest them in interiors for which they feel ownership.  I suspect also that the need for us to live with the spaces we create for longer, will force us to be more involved in the design as well as more involved in the budget.

Personalization is very strong in Interiors in 2011, not just tailored to your needs but also reflective of you as an individual.  While my interiors coaching does bring out the interior designer in my clients there is also an increase in the number of people updating their own skills, giving themselves the ability and confidence to play around with their own interiors.  In addition to the possibility to take an Interior Design course (and this is where I can introduce a shameless plug for Dublin institute of Design), don’t loose sight of the opportunity to re-skill in something like specialist painting, sewing or furniture restoration.  In this way you can follow the trends of this economic age of austerity that will be characterized by diy, re-use and re-cycling.

Upcycling is a trend that has evolved over the past year.  At its most simple level this is a way to update old furniture and add a personal touch to your home.  I am running a seminar on February 12^th on ‘Upcycling’, with not just the inspirational ideas but also the know how on how to go about such a project. For more details and to book a place log on to www.silks.ie.

For 2011, colour as always will be significant.  2011 will see the neutrals still holding their own. The reason why they are so popular is they are very easy to live with. I actually think we get bored with our interiors so by keeping stronger colours to the accessories we use in our designs, makes it easy to update a room when you want to and at a budget that matches the times we are in.

www.avrilmurphyallen.com

Last month I was approached by Down Syndrome Ireland to help them with the Honey Days campaign which they were launching in October. This campaign is a key part of Down Syndrome Ireland's fundraising calendar. Funds raised from the campaign are shared between the National organisation and local branches and so monies raised support a wide range of projects at both local and national.

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These last few weeks seem to be all about sofa’s for me. Maybe because I was buying for my own home and two of my clients were looking for new ones. For myself I needed a cream or white one. My room is quite small so I didn’t want a dark expanse of colour cluttering up the space. I also have two children who actively use the room so the sofa had to have removable, machine washable covers.

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