To all those who lust after a home that makes a statement about your taste, and art that carries that ineffable whiff of luxurious yet quirky discernment, but don’t quite know where to find such things: welcome to the Róisín Lafferty Gallery.
Fans of Lafferty’s award-winning work already know the interior designer’s boundary-pushing vibe, which hovers just the right side of, “What the actual ...?” without ever quite being too shouty. Even if you’re not the owner, or friends with the owner, of one of her recently done homes (think rose marble kitchens, cobalt bookshelves, brass archways and walls made of mirrors); you may have experienced it with a stay at the Montenotte’s marvellous Woodland and River Suites and Clubhouse, perched above the Cork city docklands.
There, you can brush your teeth in a sink carved from a phenomenal block of stone, soak in a bath at the foot of your bed, be shaded by an interior tree, and generally disport yourself amid brushed brass, pale oak and travertine.
A decade ago, Lafferty, a design graduate of Kingston University in England, was working out of her home in Dublin’s Mountpleasant Square with eight full-time employees. A move to Baggot Street followed. Today she has a team of 25, based in a beautifully restored Georgian building on Fitzwilliam Square.
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“It happened sooner than planned,” she says. “Life presents itself. I knew we were going to have to move – we had a beautiful office space, but we had started to outgrow it. And I always had a dream to have a gallery.”
Going against the advice she gives to her clients, she grew the idea around her as she went. “When you have clients, and are working on beautiful projects, you never prioritise your own things. So part of the gallery was, for me, forcing those ideas to come to fruition.”
Carpet tiles (“horrible blue”) were ripped out, offices deconstructed, and a goal emerged: hosting the designers’ dinner at The Gloss magazine’s inaugural Design Week Dublin last May. “There’s nothing like a deadline,” she smiles. Lafferty’s inspiration came from the classic fashion ateliers, “the old-school Balenciaga, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld – where it’s a house and it fully embodies those designers”. A more local example would be Louise Kennedy’s HQ on nearby Merrion Square. “It’s wonderful,” Lafferty agrees. “You’re making it not corporate, you can invite people in, you’re almost creating your own world.”
So what might you find in Lafferty’s world? First up, it’s appointment only, so expect to sit down with a coffee – “Or a glass of champagne,” Lafferty notes – and chat to the designer or one of the team. The gallery is laid out over the first two floors – the rest of the building is given over to the design studio – so you’ll get a tour. You may buy something: Lafferty says prices start at around €2,400 “for a smaller work of art” (so you’re not going to pick up some scented candles for €25); or, she says, clients may commission something.
While you may not have a stash of thousands up your sleeve, or perhaps your house is already full of wonderful things, Lafferty’s Gallery is also a showcase for one of the design world’s most accessible ways to jazz up, or cool down, your vibe: paint. Lafferty’s recent collaboration with Fleetwood, in which rich heritage-inspired colours such as the chocolatey Zallal, signature green Necchi, and plaster-rose Dahana sit beside bright accent pops of Cobalt blue and scarlet Lover’s Walk. “The critical thing about paint is to get the tone right. Always use a paint sample. Something might look nice in a reference image, but if it doesn’t work with your light you’re not going to have the same feeling.” Look at it on your walls in both daylight and artificial light, she advises.
Lafferty also suggests painting everything – skirtings, sills, doors, walls and ceilings – in the same colour, to create an ideal backdrop for the rest of your stuff. At her gallery, the method looks so absolutely right, you’d almost think we’re due a comeback of white gloss accents, such are the vagaries of fashion. Paint, says Lafferty, is a way into design that everyone can afford: “No one has any excuse not to express themselves.”
In the gallery, you’ll also find art works: one-off vintage pieces sourced in collaboration with Domhnall Ó Gairbhí; creations by designers including Bryan O’Sullivan, Tom Faulkner, Richard West, Mila, Modet and Edwyn James; and Róisín Lafferty’s own new range. We picked a few favourites:
Sphere table: Róisín Lafferty Collection
“I never wanted to rush my own furniture collection,” Lafferty says. “The Sphere has been on my mind for eight years. I wanted to create something that would last, that is beautiful in its own right.”
The blush-rose Breccia Medicea dell’Acquasanta stone for the Sphere table, which is part of the collection, came from a quarry in Pietro Santa, Italy. It had been closed for more than two decades, but persuading the owner to reopen, Lafferty created a simple-looking piece in which hidden engineering creates the appearance of gravity-defying balance. The piece was crafted by Miller Stone, and as the quarry is closed once more, the edition is limited to five. (POA)
Chelsea: Artwork by Hugh O’Conor
Lafferty’s gallery represents a number of artists, including Molly Judd, Jan Cools, Elsbeth Shaw, Arran Rahimian, July Adrichem and Hugh O’Conor.
For some art lovers the art comes first, and the interior must adjust to suit. For some it’s more of a balance, while for others it’s a question of finding the right pink to go with your sofa.
“I don’t want our spaces to look the same, and sometimes that’s about finding that graphic, emotive piece that really completes an interior and draws your eye in,” Lafferty says, suggesting that she’s in the balance business. “Chelsea is our key piece in the main gallery. I think Hugh’s blend of being a film-maker captures a moment of cinema in his photos.”
Moonface wall lights: Róisín Lafferty Collection
The Enid Blyton book The Magic Faraway Tree always set Lafferty’s imagination racing as a child. “The Moonface lights were inspired by my favourite character. The magical thing about this book is that when you get to the top of the tree, you can go to different worlds and different lands.” Throw in a touch of Danish designer Verner Panton and you get glass and alabaster pieces that can work individually or be grouped together for extra glow. “I want them to be timeless, not trend led. I want my designs to last.” (from €4,500)
Vintage librarie pair: sourced by Domhnall Ó Gairbhí
The right vintage pieces can make a just-done room look like it’s been fabulous forever, or imply that you’ve come from generations of well-travelled fine furniture lovers. They are also, of course, frequently fabulous in their own right. A petal coffee table by Brazilian architect Jorge Zalszupin is veneered in jacaranda rosewood – a timber so beautiful it was almost logged to extinction, so vintage is, these days, the only way to ethically own it. Lafferty’s own pick is a pair of mahogany libraries, which she loves for their “theatrical tapered edges. They look alive, I almost expect them to start walking”.
Stiletto dining table: Róisín Lafferty Collection
“I do love drama, high fashion and shoes. This led on to this table ...” Not as in dancing on the table, although get the party right and you never know. The burgundy lacquer is glossy enough to be mirror-glassy, so when dinner’s over, you can maybe touch up your make-up in it. The table stands on solid brass feet. “It also comes from my love of vintage Italian design. It expands to almost three metres, so there’s a lot of support embedded into the design, but looks extremely simple.”
The Róisín Lafferty Gallery is open by appointment at 23 Fitzwilliam Square South, Dublin 2; roisinlaffertygallery.com. Lafferty’s paint collection for Fleetwood’s Prestige range can be seen alongside Arlene McIntyre’s collaboration from 2024 at fleetwood.ie/prestige
