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DEE COLEMAN IS an interior designer and the resident design expert on Home Rescue: The Big Fix. Here she talks to Ruth O’Connor about her career so far, trends in interiors and why human centred design is crucial.
What inspired you to start your business? Tell us more about yourself.
With twin babies and a Swedish husband in tow, I arrived back in Dublin in 2014 after 22 years in the UK. It wasn’t a great time to be looking for work as an interior designer.
I’d had my own design practice in London but was open to working for another company – I had no professional network, no trusted trades or suppliers, and starting up on my own seemed like a tough road. I met with a few design companies in Dublin but I think having worked for myself for so long I was probably unemployable.
Everything worked out and slowly I started picking up work myself. I had a stroke of luck when I fell over an advert for the Dublin Institute of Design who were looking for a lecturer for the Interior Architecture Course. I landed the gig and discovered that I really enjoyed teaching. The cherry on-top was that I met my business partner Jenny Coughlan. Like a lot of the biggest decisions in my life it was more of an instinctive evolution than a masterplan.
What have you learned so far in business?
I’m always learning – though some lessons seem to be taking a long time to learn. The most valuable one is to listen to my gut and stand my ground. Anyone who runs their own business will tell you that you can’t be successful unless you’re prepared to walk away if it’s not right. You need to know your own worth and to value it.
What has been the most challenging time for you in business?
Those early days when I was lecturing part-time, growing my private client list and looking after twin babies were tough. It was easy to feel like I was underperforming on all fronts. My mum and my husband were both unwell too. When you work for yourself in a small start-up you are very vulnerable to challenges in your home life – there’s no such thing as sick pay and compassionate leave.
Do you think it’s necessary to be a ‘people person’ as well as design obsessed to do what you do?
Human Centred Design is the only design I’m personally interested in. For that, people are necessarily are front and centre. I’m not interested in it if it’s not solving a problem and improving spaces. Over the last few years I’ve become convinced that our designs need also to be biophilic – that just means loving nature – so in as far as possible our decisions support the natural world as well as the wider community. I’m not as advanced in that as I would like to be but will be focusing more on working with suppliers and trades that have policies that are consistent with that. It’s the boring stuff but it really matters and will have a lasting imprint on the planet. Humans are nature.
Where do you look for inspiration?
When I am feeling centred, the ideas and designs flow – as I get older I am trying to push less and allow things to flow more. The sea is where I can breathe and connect with my senses. I am very lucky to be able to head down from my house and grab a bit of that whenever I need it. Apart from the invigoration of the air and the water the colours are always perfect – nature does not get it wrong. Everything about music inspires me – the energy of a live performance cannot be beaten. The styling on a album cover, the attitude of a lyric… it all makes an imprint and percolates in my designs.
Describe your workspace.
We have one room in a large terraced Georgian building on the seafront in Malahide. The walls are painted Oval Room blue and we love it. It is packed to the ceiling with samples. My favourite area is a lovely high countertop table where we pull together our schemes. I like to pace around when I’m on the phone which drives everyone mad.
Describe a typical working day.
The rhythm of my day very much depends on what jobs we have on and what stages they’re at – some weeks I am bouncing from building site to building site, and sometimes I’m in the studio with my team working on drawing packages and colour schemes. Other weeks, if I’m lucky, I get to visit suppliers and go to trade shows. Six months of the year I’m filming Home Rescue. I’m always learning, always meeting people.
So, how important is collaboration to what you do?
Collaboration is everything. With clients, suppliers and crucially my tradespeople I can dream up whatever fabulous joinery or stone detail I want but its pure theory until I can work through the details with the skilled craftspeople we work with – that’s where the real magic happens.
If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
I love talking to people and finding out about them so maybe some sort of podcasting or broadcasting. I’d also love to find a way to influence the standards around the building of new homes. The architectural, engineering and box ticking approach in Ireland is missing a real (low cost) opportunity to positively impact lives.
What has been your proudest moment/ favourite project so far?
There are so many that make me smile when I think of them – but I’d say a job we did for our clients Anne and Bill in West Cork. They bought a pub, The Algiers Inn in Baltimore, picking up the keys the week before the Covid lock down was declared. I’m very proud of the relationships we built and the difficulties we overcame but equally proud of the pub we helped to create. It really is quite unique and special.
What are the most interesting things happening in the design space, in your opinion, right now?
On a global level, the evolution towards an understanding that we are part of nature and that our designs have to reflect that. We will either lean into that and be part of the solution or continue to generate waste. I really hope it is the former. On a more day-to -day note I’m really enjoying the increasingly bold use of colour – the expression of individuality through colour is fabulous. It’s such a powerful tool.
What’s next for you and your business?
I love that life is still evolving and exciting – I’m open to anything – watch this space!
Notes:
Home Rescue: The Big Fix is a heart-warming mix of human stories and home makeovers changing people’s lives by redesigning their homes, replacing chaos with order and rediscovering the things that really matter. The Home Rescue crew includes designer Dee, builder Peter Finn, declutter expert Aidan Gately and a team of expert fitters, painters, chippies and clutterbusters. Home Rescue: The Big Fix airs Thursdays at 9.35pm on RTÉ 2 and is available to stream on RTÉ Player.
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