INTERIOR DESIGNER CARLA Benedetti has moved house five times since she was 21-years-of-age and her personal and professional style has developed over each of those moves. Ruth O’Connor caught up with the designer at the Dulux Heritage Stand at the PTSB Ideal Home Show to talk about how evolving tastes are reflected in her current home – a stone cut cottage in Co. Wicklow. 

Interior designer Carla Benedetti.

Carla Benedetti and her husband Trevor Athey sold their home – a converted stable on the grounds of Glandore House in Monkstown, Dublin – at the tail end of the pandemic with dreams of having a greater sense of space and of nature.

As can often be the case with house moves and renovations, the best laid plans can sometimes go awry, and the project took longer than expected. However the couple and their daughter now have a beautiful home in the Wicklow countryside with all the individuality that Carla’s clients associate with her and she has created a warm and welcoming home characterised by unique textural finishes and tastefully quirky furniture, art and accessories. 

The view to the sitting room in Carla's Co. Wicklow home.

The cottage has the appearance of a much older building but was actually built by the previous owner in the 1990s. Over the course of two or so years after purchase, the house was reconfigured to allow for better insulation, was rewired and replumbed to include an air to water heat pump. 

The sitting room features interesting furniture, Carla's beloved plants and books and walls painted with lime plaster paint by Bauwerk.

The house features a calm and cohesive colour palette throughout and interest is achieved through the use of various textures on the walls and floors and the addition of interesting objects and accessories. The sitting room features the use of lime plaster paint by Bauwerk on the walls which adds a cosy natural feeling to the room.

“I always think that you can add ‘colour’ through texture,” says the designer. “I felt that this house lent itself to that – not to go too wild or too modern but to bring in a country feel without being too obvious. I think that’s the style I’m leaning into these days.”

“I tackled that wall myself with the lime paint. There’s a lot of movement and texture in the lime paint. It’s blotchy but that’s how it’s meant to be – it gives the effect of a normal plaster wall but it’s a great product because you can introduce whatever colour you want in the paint. In my case I was after a very organic look.”

The sitting room features stone tiles by Ca’ Pietra laid in a herringbone pattern while the kitchen features stone slabs by the same company.

Ca’ Pietra stone flooring is used on the ground floor – a herringbone pattern is employed in the sittingroom while stone slabs feature in the kitchen. “People might be surprised by stone on a floor in a sitting room but that would be quite common in Italy for example or indeed in old Irish cottages,” says Carla. “I didn’t want the inside of the cottage to be totally disparate to the style of the outside but I also didn’t want to go down the ‘cottage-core’ route – it was about elevating the space by including touches that make the space unique while avoiding a very obvious ‘cottage’ look.” 

“I think the best way to design an interior is to put the best materials you can afford into the things that you can’t change. Buy really nice flooring, statement lighting and a good kitchen if you can and then you can add in one off, individual things to add character and individuality to your space.”

Carla likes to source furniture and accessories from a range of different places both on and offline. One of her favourite shops is Vintiques by Dee in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.

Carla does a lot of research, both from a personal point of view and also from a research point of view for her own clients. “I am constantly spotting things, whether in shops or online, and will then go off and research them,” she says. “Many of the items in my home are not new, I’ve had them in my previous homes, but when they are used in a different setting or context they can appear different. Many of them I have collected over the years – one of my favourite shops is Vintiques in Dun Laoghaire – the owner Dee is an amazing person with an incredible eye.”

Plants are a vital part of Carla's home decor.

Another key addition to Carla’s home is her use of plants. “I think plants are a really nice way to style a room and to provide homeliness to a space. I am naturally drawn to nature and have always loved plants – they’re a great way to add texture and colour to your home. They’re also living things and it’s great to bring life to a space. When I take them down to water them I feel that there’s something missing.”

Books are also used as both reference points and styling elements throughout the home: “I have about a million design and art books – I just need to find or build the right bookshelf to house them now!” she says. 

The kitchen in Carla's previous home in Sandymount, Dublin.

In one of her previous homes in Sandymount, this writer was privy to Carla’s use of bold colours such as dark grey and rich navy as well as the inclusion of bold and bright accessories, ornaments and lighting. In her new home however, there is a greater sense of restraint, and of, perhaps, maturity. Does she think her taste has changed over time or is it that each individual home requires a colour palette and style that speaks to the building itself?

The mezzanine office in Carla's previous home in Sandymount. Donal Murphy Photo. Donal Murphy Photo.

“When I was living in Sandymount I was at the start of my interior design journey and was probably, to some extent, emulating popular styles. I knew what I liked but I hadn’t done enough of it to have really honed my taste,” she reflects. “I think maybe with time, age and confidence I have a clearer sense of what I like and what my taste is. This current house is quite dark inside too so it doesn’t lend itself to dark colours in the same way as my previous home in Sandymount.” 

The kitchen in Carla's Co. Wicklow home.

Carla says that she designs “with her gut”: “I know that can sound a bit ‘designer-y’ but I think I have a good ability to go into a space and to know what will work. Even as a child I was always artistic and creating things – cutting out paper dolls, moving furniture around… After art college, I worked in graphic design and still continue to do graphics for valued clients. My dad Sergio Benedetti is a mosaic artist – he was a hard working man who came home at the end of the day and went into the garden – so art and design wasn’t pushed on us as children but I guess I was always surrounded by it.” 

The eclectic sitting room in Carla's previous home in Monkstown, Co. Dublin.

When it comes to her work as an interior designer, Carla believes that interior designers can bring value to their clients in terms of their ability to optimise space within a home, in terms of creating a space that is individual to the client, in terms of the use of colour and in terms of having a packed address book full of suppliers and tradespeople. 

“Particualarly with the influence of platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, everyone wants to try to decorate their own homes, and I get that, but if you don’t have the knowledge and the skill or you don’t want to buy a showroom look employing an interior designer can be a great idea,’ she says. 

“If you want to do something a little bit different and you find a designer who matches your taste that can be pure gold. You get all their knowledge of design and their skills in sourcing and project management so it can save you both time and money,” she says. “Often people know what they want but they just don’t know how to achieve it so that’s where a designer such as myself can add value. They can also introduce their clients to brands or products that they just won’t find in the shops or can help them to navigate the huge range of choice that is out there on the market.”

Address Book:

To find out more about Carla Benedetti’s interior design services go to carlabenedetti.com or follow her on Instagram at @carlabenedetti.