Moving into a new home can be exciting yet overwhelming especially with a busy lifestyle. From choosing which furniture to buy to figuring out what colour palette you want to go for in a certain space, it can be hard not to rush and decorate your space quickly with items that you don't necessarily love and will not bring you joy as your home evolves.
While decorating your home is very personal, it doesn't hurt to ask for some help with the never ending list of decisions to make! Celine Gill of Style at No 5 Interiors is a big believer that starting with a strong moodboard sets you up for success in your renovation. We talk with Celine to find out how she uses her expertise to create beautiful homes while making it a personal and holistic experience for her clients.
Celine is an interior designer based in Limerick that offers a range of services to suit busy homeowners from online consultations to room styling. She focuses on creating timeless interiors while carefully thinking about sustainability, creativity and personal connection the homeowner has to their space! Read on to get to know Celine at Style at No.5 Interiors!
1. What does your business Style At No.5 Interiors specialise in and what type of projects do you work on?
Style At No.5 Interiors is an interior design studio that specialise in residential design. I work with individuals and families to create beautiful, timeless homes that are calm and uncluttered and function for the people living there. I have worked on homes at the planning stage, newly built blank canvas homes, holiday homes, family homes, large homes and small homes. All homes have their own challenges and it fundamentally comes down to personality. My main focus is to help people maximise the space in their homes and for them to really enjoy living there. I believe how you feel in your home can have a profound impact on your overall happiness.
2. Do you have a signature style? How would you describe it?
I really work to my client's tastes and lifestyle. I don't have a signature style in terms of maximalist/minimalist and modern/traditional etc. Overall I want the design to be simple, easy to execute and represent them. We might want to show off a client's key pieces, maybe personal items like family photos or a family heirloom or a beautiful marble fireplace and work around that. My ideal client is someone who wants to create a home they love and is open to new ideas and has an interest in sustainability from the perspective of buying quality (new or vintage), keeping key pieces that they love and creating a design that will serve them well into the future.
Adding in colour and personality to the space is integral to what Celine does, this blue bookcase is a perfect example of her out of the box thinking.
3. When did you first become interested in design? Tell our readers a little about your career.
I have always loved design but my path to working in it was a roundabout one. I started my career a long time ago in technical writing and then learning and development in software companies. Working with people and being organised has served me well in my new career. Also I have a background in journalism and photography which help with building my website and social media marketing. I love all aspects of interior design, designing a well laid out space that functions, layering in colour, pattern, texture and special pieces that mean something to the homeowner. I love working with local craftspeople and suppliers. It's a really supportive industry and I'm so glad I made the move into working in it. It's such a varied job and with every project, I learn something new.
A simple paint and accessories change can make the world of difference to a space, Celine created a warm and earthy palette in this living room.
4. What does a typical day look like for you?
My day starts with my husband and I getting the kids to school (If it's a week day) or to activities (if it's the weekend!) We are lucky to be based near Limerick city so a lot of what we do is in walking distance. I might have a client consultation where I visit a client in their home or a building site and we walk the house and discuss the design plans for it. I take photos and measure the space so I can do up a floor plan back at my desk. If I'm working at home. I will work on design projects or chat to potential clients. As well as email proposals. answer client or supplier enquiries, marketing, have video calls with previous clients, write blogs or manage my finances. Another day might be spent sourcing in furniture, lighting or flooring stores. My phone is full of photos and videos of furniture shops and my house is full of paint colour charts, carpet samples or wallpaper and fabric swatches.
5. And to help our readers get to know you a bit better... What's your favourite food? Your favourite place to go on a day off? And your favourite piece of furniture and why?
My favourite food, I would probably have to say prawns in a spicy tomato sauce with a nice glass of riojia and some crusty white bread. Favourite place on a day off would be Lahinch beach, it's such an escape, a nice walk along the beach and fish and chips and a few hours watching the big waves coming in, you won't find me swimming though! My favourite piece of furniture is our dining table, it's not an especially fancy piece but it's where all my favourite memories have been made over the last 7 years in our home. It's seen it all, from arts and crafts, games to family dinners and celebrations. It's seen it all. It's a natural oak table and I don't cover it so it shows all the marks of life.
6. Can you please give us an insight into your design process or how you work?
My design process starts with getting to know my clients and how they live, what works for them in their home and what doesn't and when and how they will use the space. I'm an independent designer, not contracted to use any particular paint, furniture, flooring etc. So my goal is to choose what's right for my client and their budget. As much as possible, I want to source locally and Irish. I strongly believe in supporting the local economy and I often introduce my clients to Irish suppliers that they have not across. The first part of the design is getting the function and flow right. The "design" part, colours, furniture and accessories are important but secondary to the function. In terms of starting a colour scheme for a design, it could be centred around an existing piece that my clients have, sometimes it's a painting, a rug or a piece of furniture they want to keep.
7. What has been the highlight of your career so far?
It's early days as I really only started in January 2020 and then the pandemic hit but I have been lucky to work with some great clients since I began. The highlight so far has been having our house featured in House and Home Magazine. It was a huge confidence boost. We worked so hard on improving the house over the last 6 years and making it a home for the 5 of us. It was great to see the photos in print. It was a lot of work to get it ready for the photoshoot though! Other recent highlights have been getting invited back into client's homes to see the finished design, I can't tell you how happy that makes me to see it all come together.
8. Any exciting plans for the future you can tell us about?
I am organising an in-person mood board workshop in Limerick where I will work with people to create a physical mood board of images, colours and fabrics for them to plan an update to their home. I'm really excited about it, it will help them start their project with a focus and avoid them making costly mistakes in choosing paint or furniture. If it goes well I'd love to do more speaking and training events on interior design, sustainability and creating timeless interiors.
Get in touch with Celine via her website or on Instagram!
