his attractive newly-built apartment at thePhoenix Park Racecourse in Castleknock, Dublin

15 has just undergone the interior design treatment.Its owners, Ben and Avril, a thirty-something professional

couple, have a healthy interest in design yet, like many oftheir contemporaries, found themselves too bogged downwith work commitments to give their new home the attentionit required. Enter interior designer, Ger Smyth, stage left.

Avril says: “We wanted someone else to do all the hardwork. It was great rushing home from work every day andseeing something new in the apartment.”

Ben adds wryly: “I didn’t want to spend every weekendout shopping for the apartment.”

Positioned on the second floor, Ben and Avril’s propertyextends to approximately 1,000sq feet, including balconyspace. Unusually for an apartment, particularly one that wasso recently constructed, it has two halls. The outer hall, ratheringeniously, doubles as a study. During the day it is dressedwith an attractive console table and an extraneous diningchair from the main reception room. At night, however, orwhenever one of the couple is feeling particularly studious, aspacious cupboard positioned between the two halls isopened to reveal a filing cabinet on wheels. This is thenwheeled out and pulled around to the side, a lap-top isplaced on the table and, hey presto, Ben has a study for hisprep for engineering projects.

Turn the corner and the inner hall is furnished with adecorative picture and mirrors. Here Ger opted for twocolours, both from Colortrend, to provide visual interest. Arather green or stone colour, Devine Crunch, features on themajority of wall space while Devine Whip, which is a lightershade, has been applied to the walls opposite to create the

Designer DreamsGer, who has been involved in the interiordesign trade for ten years and has worked ona number of high-profile domestic andcorporate projects, stresses that Ben and Avrilwere dream clients. Having ascertained theirrespective tastes and preferences, shemobilised her will and tightened her musclestowards a single end: making the couple’sdecorative dream come true. Four monthslater and with a wave of a magic wandcoupled with the obligatory interiors know-how, she – and, indeed, the owners – canadmire a fait accompli.

T

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DESIGNER KNOW-HOW HAS TURNED A MODERN APARTMENTIN PHOENIX PARK INTO A SLEEK PAD FOR A PROFESSIONALCOUPLE, WRITES JJ GIBBONS. PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK RUSSELL-HILL

Racecourse Thriller

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illusion of reflected sunlight. The floor treatment, meanwhile, comprises long oak panels which were sourced at Matt

Britton Flooring in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow. The floorboards are carried through from the hall tothe main reception room. This continuous visual flow contributes to the carefully createdillusion of space when one reaches the living-cum-dining room.

Facing the visitor here is floor-to-ceiling glazing, which incorporates a patio door leadingout to the balcony. A square bay window to one side has been dressed with seamless voiles.These, Ger explains, are on a pulley so they can be opened fully if required. A fertile blendof form and function, they give the room a bright, airy feel and also act to diffuse the ratherharsh Irish winter light.

Metropolitan Wave by Silent Gliss were the tracks Ger went with for with both sets of milkchocolate curtains here. It was an expensive option but, according to all concerned, hasproved a worthwhile investment as the tracks create an attractive wave-effect when themain curtains are drawn.

The living-cum-dining room is a particularly bright space due to its extensive glazing.Once again, Ger has used a liberal application of Devine Whip on many of the walls butopted for a darker shade, Devine Stone, on the walls to the left and right of the entrance tothe kitchen for impact.

POSITIONED ON THE SECOND FLOOR, BEN ANDAVRIL’S PROPERTY EXTENDS TO APPROXIMATELY1,000SQ FEET, INCLUDING BALCONY SPACE.

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To liven up the sofa, Ger has usedwonderfully tactile cream and taupecushions. “That is where pattern come in –the accessories,” she explains, waving anillustrative hand across her handiwork.

The sofa faces a snazzy plasma screenwhich is the focal point of the room. Thewheel-mounted occasional table is fromLiving and is reminiscent of an Eileen Greydesign.

A square bay to the left of this room hasbeen made work hard for its space and is used to partially house the dining area. A four-seater wenge wood table here provides a stylish centrepiece and can be extended toprovide space for a party of eight if required.

The colour scheme in the room is mainly deeper chocolate browns with taupe in thebackground, which is one of Ger’s favoured combinations. “Copper is mixed withchocolate wherever I get the chance,” she says. “I bought some of the Paul Costelloetableware and mixed it with plain creams.”

Sofa so goodThe reception area’s dominant furnishing is a bespokebrown chenille modular sofa from The Sofa Factory onMill Street in Dublin 8. In addition to its sizeable mainbody, it incorporates a separate section which isusually positioned in the middle of the floor but can,when required, be reconnected with the rest of thesofa to make an even larger L-shape

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Ger only had one wall to work on in this reception area.She decided on highly contemporary lacquered shelving,from Lomi Furniture in Baldoyle, Dublin 13, which is now usedto house the couple’s collection of DVDs as well as aselection of accessories.

Coco Chanel, a dominant force in shaping fashions,famously observed: ‘Simplicity is the key to elegance’. Itwould appear that Ger Smyth in 2006, too, subscribed to thisphilosophy when it came to fitting out and decorating themaster bedroom.

“I didn’t want a cosy bedroom; I wanted a stylishbedroom with good light and I wanted it to be restful,” Gerexplains. “I also wanted it to be multifunctional - one shouldbe able to go to the bedroom and read.”

She painted the feature wall Alencon Lace, again fromColortrend, while opting for a lighter version, Swiss Almond,for the rest of the room. The velvet-like carpet, meanwhile, isa darker version of taupe, and provides a sleek foil to thewalls while anchoring the room beautifully. The deep taupe

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KitchenThe kitchen was ‘inherited’ insofar asit came with the apartment and, assuch, posed less scope fortransformation. Nonetheless, Ger wasable to apply discrete designertouches, adding some floatingshelves, again from Living, anddressing the room, carrying throughsome of her copper and neutralcolours which work well with thegranite worktops and slate floor.

“WE WANTED SOMEONE ELSE TO DOALL THE HARD WORK. IT WAS GREATRUSHING HOME FROM WORK EVERYDAY AND SEEING SOMETHING NEW INTHE APARTMENT.”

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BedroomPride of place in the main bedroom is, inevitably,the bed where a luxurious beige brown suedefabric has been applied to the headboard to adda touch of contemporary elegance. The bed,which is flanked by circular tables from Lomi, isdressed with an indulgent quilt from House of Fraser.Although predominantly brown, has a blue barrunning through it and features bauble crystalshanging off it in fringes. These catch the natural lightand act as a kaleidoscope for the various shades oftaupes, browns and blues.

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theme is carried through on the curtains which conjure up images of the Orient with their bluebranch motifs.

The en suite is kitted out in white floor and wall tiles. Blue and brown towels and accessoriesinject plenty of colour to negate any feelings of aesthetic sterility.

Fittings in the main bathroom, meanwhile, were included as standard with the apartment,thereby removing the opportunity for Ger to give free reign to her talents. She has, however,enlivened the space with the introduction of a selection of lime green accessories.

It is the spare bedroom, where she was fully able to set her creative juices in motion, whichranks most highly in Ger’s affections. “I wanted the feel in this room to be one of luxury,because it is a room for visitors,” she mentions. “It can afford to be showy since it is not goingto be slept in all the time.”

The room did present one decorative dilemma insofar as its window is not symmetrical andis positioned to the left of the wall. To counteract this, Ger ran a pole right up to theperpendicular wall and simply pulled the curtain to the right side.

The curtain has a deep border on it and Ger used the same fabric from the border to makethe headboard. The mirrored lockers and console table are from Next.

The colour in this room is a variation of pistachio green. Again, Ger has elected to use twodifferent shades - the back wall is darker and more dramatic - to create visual interest. Whatcatches the eye most, however, is a vast oversized alarm clock from Brown Thomas.

One gets the feeling that wakening up to see that huge timepiece, particularly after a fewglasses of bubbly and a perhaps forty winks - one might think one was on the set of ‘Honey Ishrunk the Kids!’ For the record, Ger used to work as a prop designer for commercials. It is aquirky addition and, as with the rest of the interiors, works well.k

Ger Smyth Interiors, (087) 256 1141, email: ger@gersmythinteriors.com

“I WANTED THE FEEL IN THIS ROOM TO BE ONE OF LUXURY, BECAUSEIT IS A ROOM FOR VISITORS,” SHE MENTIONS. “IT CAN AFFORD TO BE

SHOWY SINCE IT IS NOT GOING TO BE SLEPT IN ALL THE TIME.”