Houzz Tour: Deep Colours and Warm Textures Revamp a City Crashpad
A two-bedroom flat in Dublin has been overhauled to create a stylish, comfortable retreat for the owner when he’s working in the city
Lara Sargent
21 July 2016
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience writing for national magazines, newspapers and websites.
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience... More
When businessman Darragh O’Loughlin bought this flat, he knew exactly what he wanted from the city centre property. “Darragh uses the flat for a few days a week,” explains interior designer Dana Kallo of Black Fox Interiors. “He lives with his family in Galway and travels out of the country for work, so this is more of a temporary accommodation. But even if it’s usually only used by one person, when the entire family is in town, the space has to work for five.”
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Businessman Darragh O’Loughlin, and occasionally his wife and their daughters
Location Ballsbridge, Dublin
Property Part of a 12-storey 1960s apartment block
Size 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Designer Dana Kallo of Black Fox Interiors
Photography Brian MacLochlainn
This seventh floor flat is spread out across a generous 75 sq m, but the interior was dull and outdated when owner Darragh O’Loughlin bought it.
“My client was in search of a new design, closer to his taste and lifestyle,” explains designer Dana Kallo. “The furniture was old and it lacked personality, and there was limited light, which didn’t help.
“We went for a modern style with a few midcentury accents. The idea was to create a comfortable place where Darragh could relax during the few days he would be there. You could even say it’s slightly ‘male-centric’, as it’s designed with the idea of a single man living in it.”
The previous owner had already created the open-plan space by demolishing two of the kitchen walls. “It allows the hallway to be visually connected to the kitchen and living room, and it now receives natural light,” Kallo adds.
Who lives here Businessman Darragh O’Loughlin, and occasionally his wife and their daughters
Location Ballsbridge, Dublin
Property Part of a 12-storey 1960s apartment block
Size 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Designer Dana Kallo of Black Fox Interiors
Photography Brian MacLochlainn
This seventh floor flat is spread out across a generous 75 sq m, but the interior was dull and outdated when owner Darragh O’Loughlin bought it.
“My client was in search of a new design, closer to his taste and lifestyle,” explains designer Dana Kallo. “The furniture was old and it lacked personality, and there was limited light, which didn’t help.
“We went for a modern style with a few midcentury accents. The idea was to create a comfortable place where Darragh could relax during the few days he would be there. You could even say it’s slightly ‘male-centric’, as it’s designed with the idea of a single man living in it.”
The previous owner had already created the open-plan space by demolishing two of the kitchen walls. “It allows the hallway to be visually connected to the kitchen and living room, and it now receives natural light,” Kallo adds.
The living room has multiple functions: it’s a dining area, a home office and a family room all at the same time. The living space is 27 sq m and the kitchen is 8.5 sq m.
“The main challenge was to work around the gas meter in the middle of the living room,” says Kallo. “This raised a few problems and limited us when trying to plan the new kitchen island.”
The plush carpet is luxurious underfoot and was essential for reducing the noise for residents in the flat below. “Porcelain tiles resembling a wooden floor were fitted in the kitchen,” says the designer. “It was the only place where the building regulation sent by the property management company allowed a different finish besides carpet.”
The living room, like both bedrooms in the flat, is finished with voluminous blackout curtains. Sheers are drawn across in the daytime to make the windows less visible, but still allow light to filter through.
Edison Industrial Minaret pendant light, Cult Furniture. Carpet, Matt Britton.
“The main challenge was to work around the gas meter in the middle of the living room,” says Kallo. “This raised a few problems and limited us when trying to plan the new kitchen island.”
The plush carpet is luxurious underfoot and was essential for reducing the noise for residents in the flat below. “Porcelain tiles resembling a wooden floor were fitted in the kitchen,” says the designer. “It was the only place where the building regulation sent by the property management company allowed a different finish besides carpet.”
The living room, like both bedrooms in the flat, is finished with voluminous blackout curtains. Sheers are drawn across in the daytime to make the windows less visible, but still allow light to filter through.
Edison Industrial Minaret pendant light, Cult Furniture. Carpet, Matt Britton.
The deep brown corner sofa maximises seating in the living area. The owner was very clear about the colours he liked and disliked, so strong reds, blues and oranges were replaced with a colour scheme based around brown, black, white and grey with hints of yellow and green.
“People are afraid of using dark colours in small spaces because they think the interior might look even smaller,” says Kallo. “Because of this, a lot of rooms end up covered in white and beige, lacking personality or cosiness. In our view, a compact space needs contrasts to give shape and create perspective. We can’t appreciate the brightness of a white piece if we can’t see it on a darker background.”
Corner sofa, SOUL Furniture. Cushions, TK Maxx and Homebase. Chiva functional coffee table, BoConcept.
Read more advice on how to make dark walls work in your home
“People are afraid of using dark colours in small spaces because they think the interior might look even smaller,” says Kallo. “Because of this, a lot of rooms end up covered in white and beige, lacking personality or cosiness. In our view, a compact space needs contrasts to give shape and create perspective. We can’t appreciate the brightness of a white piece if we can’t see it on a darker background.”
Corner sofa, SOUL Furniture. Cushions, TK Maxx and Homebase. Chiva functional coffee table, BoConcept.
Read more advice on how to make dark walls work in your home
The rich timbers and deep colours are a theme that runs throughout the flat. Darragh asked the designer to retain as much furniture as possible from the existing kitchen.
“The doors were replaced with flush laminated MDF panels – glossy black for the wall cabinets and walnut veneer for the base ones,” explains Kallo.
“Because the flat is mostly used by Darragh on his own and usually during the week, we went for mini appliances integrated under the counter. There’s a fridge and freezer under the breakfast bar and a dishwasher and washing machine under the L-shaped counter between the kitchen and hallway,” she adds.
“The doors were replaced with flush laminated MDF panels – glossy black for the wall cabinets and walnut veneer for the base ones,” explains Kallo.
“Because the flat is mostly used by Darragh on his own and usually during the week, we went for mini appliances integrated under the counter. There’s a fridge and freezer under the breakfast bar and a dishwasher and washing machine under the L-shaped counter between the kitchen and hallway,” she adds.
Kallo designed the new breakfast bar with a granite top that matched what was already there, then repositioned the dining table in the living room.
The bar stools are comfortable and offer just the right midcentury feel.
Toronto bar stools, EZ Living.
The bar stools are comfortable and offer just the right midcentury feel.
Toronto bar stools, EZ Living.
Another big task was taking out the fake fireplace in the living room and replacing it with a media unit.
“The wall-hung library next to the TV is a bespoke piece made from sprayed MDF. It turned out be a real challenge because of the angled wall behind it,” Kallo explains.
The printed and embossed wallpaper creates a textured design that resembles grass cloth. “I really like the warm, cosy feeling you get from it,” the designer says.
Seri wallpaper, Anthology.
“The wall-hung library next to the TV is a bespoke piece made from sprayed MDF. It turned out be a real challenge because of the angled wall behind it,” Kallo explains.
The printed and embossed wallpaper creates a textured design that resembles grass cloth. “I really like the warm, cosy feeling you get from it,” the designer says.
Seri wallpaper, Anthology.
To balance the budget, the bespoke furniture is teamed with high street purchases, such as the storage units under the TV, which are from Ikea. The neat dining table and chairs are other high street buys, offset with a striking light fixture overhead.
“We had to lower the ceiling a few centimetres in all rooms except the bathrooms to allow for a new lighting system,” explains Kallo. “We went for the tall LED white plaster finish downlights from Astro Lighting to minimise the space required above the new ceiling. It was also a good opportunity to change all the sockets and switches in the flat, and organise the different light fixtures on separate circuits controlled by single or two-way dimmers.”
Swing three-light cascade pendant by Kare Design, Wayfair.
Discover ideas for planning perfect lighting
“We had to lower the ceiling a few centimetres in all rooms except the bathrooms to allow for a new lighting system,” explains Kallo. “We went for the tall LED white plaster finish downlights from Astro Lighting to minimise the space required above the new ceiling. It was also a good opportunity to change all the sockets and switches in the flat, and organise the different light fixtures on separate circuits controlled by single or two-way dimmers.”
Swing three-light cascade pendant by Kare Design, Wayfair.
Discover ideas for planning perfect lighting
The small home office hub is now included in the open-plan living room. Before the wall between the kitchen and hallway was demolished, this was the end of a long and dark corridor.
“When we first met Darragh, he was already using this alcove as an office with a counter he’d had installed there, but he had no lights or storage space,” explains Kallo. “We kept the alcove as a home office and designed the bespoke furniture to add more function and style.”
The new desk has a large drawer, and lights were installed under the wall cabinet. The Eames office chair was the finishing touch.
Wine rack, Design55.
“When we first met Darragh, he was already using this alcove as an office with a counter he’d had installed there, but he had no lights or storage space,” explains Kallo. “We kept the alcove as a home office and designed the bespoke furniture to add more function and style.”
The new desk has a large drawer, and lights were installed under the wall cabinet. The Eames office chair was the finishing touch.
Wine rack, Design55.
Crisp black and white paintwork and glazed doors create a smart entrance to the flat.
“The hallway has a gallery wall featuring an interesting collection of urban landscapes from cities around the world,” says the designer. “They are Darragh’s personal acquisitions from all his travels.”
“The hallway has a gallery wall featuring an interesting collection of urban landscapes from cities around the world,” says the designer. “They are Darragh’s personal acquisitions from all his travels.”
Luxurious textures and deep hues continue into the master bedroom.
“The bedroom was quite dated and had no personality,” says the designer. “Everything was painted in a vanilla white and seemed rather feminine. The owner wanted a comfortable bedroom that would suit his style, with better lighting and a relaxed atmosphere.”
Kallo kept the interior of an existing wardrobe Darragh had and simply added new sliding doors. The bed has a lift-up mechanism that creates generous extra storage under the memory foam mattress.
“Since the owner travels abroad often, and back home to Galway, we also designed a dedicated interior partition for luggage and bags.”
Bed; chairs; floor lamp, all BoConcept.
“The bedroom was quite dated and had no personality,” says the designer. “Everything was painted in a vanilla white and seemed rather feminine. The owner wanted a comfortable bedroom that would suit his style, with better lighting and a relaxed atmosphere.”
Kallo kept the interior of an existing wardrobe Darragh had and simply added new sliding doors. The bed has a lift-up mechanism that creates generous extra storage under the memory foam mattress.
“Since the owner travels abroad often, and back home to Galway, we also designed a dedicated interior partition for luggage and bags.”
Bed; chairs; floor lamp, all BoConcept.
All the furniture pieces in the bedroom were chosen for their clean, modern lines. “The headboard fabric was selected to match the upholstered bedside table and chest of drawers. The walnut veneered panelling coordinates with the wardrobe and brings the room together,” explains Kallo.
A thick grey carpet offers a comfortable feel for bare feet. “The colour variation, highlights and shadows make the carpet appear darker during evenings under artificial lighting and brighter during the day when natural light filters through the sheer curtains,” she adds.
Bedside tables; chest of drawers, all Made.
A thick grey carpet offers a comfortable feel for bare feet. “The colour variation, highlights and shadows make the carpet appear darker during evenings under artificial lighting and brighter during the day when natural light filters through the sheer curtains,” she adds.
Bedside tables; chest of drawers, all Made.
Initially, the spare bedroom had a very narrow entrance, with built-in wardrobes on one side and a library on the other.
“The most important request for this bedroom was to make it suitable for the girls, but still work as a guest room for friends,” explains Kallo.
“The main idea was to use white furniture and contrasting colour accents. We used the same Anthology wallpaper as in the living room but in a blue-green shade, subtle green, short-drop curtains, and a teal stool for the dressing table.”
Most of the furniture was bought in Ikea, based on the idea that the children will grow and the use of the room might change.
Bolltistel bedding, Ikea. Mirror, Next.
“The most important request for this bedroom was to make it suitable for the girls, but still work as a guest room for friends,” explains Kallo.
“The main idea was to use white furniture and contrasting colour accents. We used the same Anthology wallpaper as in the living room but in a blue-green shade, subtle green, short-drop curtains, and a teal stool for the dressing table.”
Most of the furniture was bought in Ikea, based on the idea that the children will grow and the use of the room might change.
Bolltistel bedding, Ikea. Mirror, Next.
Both bathrooms were part of the brief from the beginning: new sanitaryware, a new shower in the en suite and a new tub in the main bathroom.
“Both were lacking in storage space and had small mirrors and old radiators,” says Kallo. “The tiles, on the other hand, looked good, so Darragh decided to keep them.”
During the refurbishment, some of the tiling had to be removed, but the team managed to replace them with matching glass mosaics, or patch up other parts with the original ones.
“Both were lacking in storage space and had small mirrors and old radiators,” says Kallo. “The tiles, on the other hand, looked good, so Darragh decided to keep them.”
During the refurbishment, some of the tiling had to be removed, but the team managed to replace them with matching glass mosaics, or patch up other parts with the original ones.
In both bathrooms, the designer chose heated towel rails for comfort and tall, mirrored cabinets for a clean, modern look.
TELL US…
What do you think of this city crash pad? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this city crash pad? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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The bathrooms are delightful, and I love the desk alcove (♡♡) - but have to agree with the other commentators here that the apartment, albeit quite sleek, IS very dark and, dare I say, .... masculine!! So, as the primary client is a male, perhaps it does suit him - and that's what counts, after all.