It’s the big question! When it comes to wardrobes should we go for built-in or free-standing units?  

Bedrooms must be planned carefully. Don’t forget how much time we spend in bed! It’s very important to get the layout right. Next to the vitally important question of ensuring your bed is comfortable, is the thorny question of storage.

A walk-in wardrobe is the number one choice if possible. In an old or small house, where storage is at a premium, perhaps a spare bedroom could be converted?

A walk-in wardrobe normally consists of a mix of open rails, shelves and racks. If you don’t like the open look, doors – how about glass ones? – can be installed. When designing a walk-in wardrobe, I try to ensure that there is a low surface positioned to place a suitcase. Nothing is more annoying than falling over your case while trying to pack for that exotic holiday.   Boxes and baskets can look very attractive on open shelving too.

When installing built-in wardrobes in your bedroom, floor to ceiling units provide the best solution, as they give you space overhead for extra storage. They can be custom-made to suit your own particular requirements.

You can continue the coving over the top of the units to make them look as though they are part of the room. Always ensure that your wardrobes are well lit. A lone centre light fitting is often inadequate when it comes to selecting items of clothing, so installing a couple of recessed downlighters, strategically positioned, is often a good idea.

 Built-in wardrobes should have the rails high enough to allow for shoe racks underneath. Wire baskets or pull-out wire drawers are a great idea - you can see your socks and scarves at a glance. Install hanging space for ties and belts too. You can store far more clothing in a well-designed unit. They are good for awkwardly shaped rooms or rooms with sloping ceilings and they are made to measure.

Sliding doors are a good option.  These are usually set into a frame with floor-to ceiling doors which run in tracks at the top and at the bottom. And the range is finishes is infinite: enamelled doors are very popular at the moment; wood veneers; sandblasted or frosted glass; mirrored or laminate doors. The choices seem endless!

If you want to design your own built-in wardrobes, try to estimate how long a run of hanging space you will need, make a note of how long your clothes are and plan it carefully.

However, many people prefer the look of free-standing wardrobes and chests of drawers. The obvious benefit is that you can take them with you when you move.

 A window seat is a good idea too.  You can store your winter woollies there during the summer and it’s the ideal place for spare bed-linen.

When it comes to organizing ones home around an elderly relative, I think I am allowed to have a little rant about split-level houses. Just examine the following case: an elderly parent is coming to live with her daughter. The home is split-level, with the living area on a different level to the designated bedroom on the ground floor. So how to get Mum into this part of the house? And even if your ageing mother is not coming to live, what happens if you break your leg or end up in a wheelchair?

Unless it is absolutely essential to have your home built on different levels, why does anybody think it is necessary to add steps to the interior at all?

I spend a great deal of my time trying to persuade clients to abandon plans to build a split-level home, when taking this design direction is for no good reason other than they think it will “add character”. But at what price to your sanity when elderly or disabled people come to visit?  Character is added to ones home through good design and decorating, with the addition of treasured possessions. A new-build can seem soul-less at the beginning, but ones home takes on shape and character with the addition of fabrics, furniture, light fittings and accessories. A random step-down to the living room will make no difference whatsoever to the final picture.

In order to live a full life, ones elderly relatives need to feel that they are not restricted to a small corner of the house. Independence needs to be maintained for as long as possible and, in my experience, a “granny flat” is rarely an option. Clients regularly ask me to convert a bedroom and bathroom in order to prepare for their parents arrival in their homes on a permanent basis. When this is being done, I also take a close look at the sitting room to ensure that it suitable and safe

In the previous edition of this magazine, I discussed the points to note when adapting the bedroom and bathroom to accommodate an elderly relative. Now it’s time to examine the sitting room.

Top tips:

Ensure that there are no loose rugs to trip over. A fitted carpet is the best option.

The sofa or armchair must be low, firm and high-backed.

Get a low footstool. It can double up as a coffee table.

Make sure that there is enough space between all items of furniture to accommodate a walking aid, and that there are no small tables or magazine racks that can be tripped over. In other words, the less clutter the safer the sitting room.

Dining chairs should, preferably, not have arms, as these can prove awkward when trying to sit down. Dining chairs should also not be too heavy to move with ease.

Lighting needs to be adequate and a good reading lamp should be positioned behind or beside the chosen sofa or armchair. All electric wires should be safely tucked away.

The sitting room should be warmer than you would probably like it to be, under normal circumstances.

Let the room be cosy, friendly and really cheerful and bright. Try to make it a home-from-home for Mum or Dad. They deserve it.

As an interior designer, who specialises mainly in residential design and decorating, I am receiving more and more enquiries about building and renovating for the elderly and for those with impaired mobility.

With an ageing population, many homeowners are now looking at converting existing rooms - or future-proofing a new build – to accommodate family that are not as nimble as they used to be. This enables elderly people to remain living within their communities for far longer. Lots of young couples want to have their parents to live with them when they are no longer able to comfortably care for themselves. For a young family, accommodating a member of a different generation within the home should not prove to be too disruptive, with a little care and good planning.

Home builders often ask me how they can make provision, in the early stages of the build, for this eventuality.

With these enquiries becoming a regular occurrence, I have begun to take a serious look at how to keep the comfortable elegance that so many homes lose when converted. They, so often, look institutional and off-putting. I decided that it had to be possible to obtain glamorous fittings and keep a home looking warm and welcoming.
Safety and security are very important in enabling anyone to feel confidently independent in and around the home, particularly in the bathroom. For example, a well designed “wet room” is an excellent idea, and the options for re-designing kitchens are pretty well limitless. With careful attention to retaining the aspects of design and decorating which gives a home a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, it is entirely possible to have your home both cosy and safe for all your needs.
When designing a room for an older person, I find it is best done by trying to plan for the future, when that person’s capacities may be considerably reduced.  There are many options to consider.

Top tips:

Comfort: A comfortable armchair that is easy to get out of and a bed that is not too high or soft. Good quality fitted carpet – an 80% wool mix is the most practical and easy to keep.

Lighting: Good lighting design with the emphasis on brightness and easy access to the switches. For example, a bedside switch is a great help.

Warmth:  Essential. Older people require warmer temperatures than the young. Fires and radiators must be easily controlled and well guarded.

Storage: Cupboards that are easily accessible at a low level with simple opening mechanisms.

Safety: Sharp corners and loose electrical cables must be dealt with.

Curtains: On a corded track for ease of use.

Bathroom: grab rails and an easily lockable medicine cabinet. Mixer taps and a controlled temperature shower system will help avoid extremes of water temperature. Non-slip flooring is essential.

Location: preferably on the ground floor for easy access to the garden.

Decoration: It is always best to try to incorporate as many treasured possessions as possible, to recreate a homely feel. Involve everyone in the decoration choices and use cheerful fabrics and colours.

Orna O’Reilly is a full designer member of the British Interior Design Assocation (BIDA) and operates from the west of Ireland.

Page 5

It’s great fun building your own home without any outside interference whatsoever. Now, I know that may sound nerve-wracking to most people, but I loved every moment of the procedure. Having handled countless house-building projects for clients over a couple of decades, this was my time in the sun.  And I made the most of it.

As the house was in a very pretty place - on an island in Galway Bay, no less - I visited regularly when the builders were absent, just to enjoy the site itself. On Sundays I would pack a small picnic, pick up the Sunday Times and head for Aughinish. It was a lovely summer in 2001 and I would carry my picnic and newspaper, sit on an ancient stone – once part of the old cottages – and relax. I remember the extremely loud, relaxed buzzing of the bumble bees as they went about their leisurely business on those glorious afternoons. On other Sundays, I climbed over the back wall and sat in the long grass on my blue and yellow rug. After my little, solitary picnics, I would pack my belongings into the car and walk to the beach, which was just a couple of hundred metres away. I had a special rock on which I loved to sit and look out over the bay to Salthill and Barna on the opposite side.

These were memorable and wonderful times and put the difficulties of my move back to Ireland the previous year right to the back of my mind. My focus changed completely and I felt the deep stresses of the past couple of years dissolving into the milky waters of Galway Bay.

Then it would be Monday again and my house was progressing well. The engineer would appear on site regularly to sign off the various stages of the build to enable me to draw-down my mortgage as agreed with the bank.

I chose my tiles, sanitary-ware, skirting, window-cills, doors and their handles, architraves and frames. I picked out my kitchen too – and herein lies a story.

Now, I’m an interior designer, helping clients to choose their kitchen finishes on virtually a weekly basis, so you would think that this would be a piece of cake for me. Not. The little story I’m going to tell you made me realise how many people, building their own homes, must be undergoing bullying on a huge scale.

I had decided I wanted a cream painted kitchen (very revolutionary in the west of Ireland in 2001) with beech counter tops. I had designed the kitchen with the sink on an L-shape – not under the window. I wanted my dishwasher in the laundry room, which was directly off the kitchen. The reason for the seemingly odd location of the dishwasher was twofold: living on my own, I only envisioned using it when the family was around; my kitchen was small and I needed all the space possible for my accumulation of crockery and cooking utensils. Also, as the area was open plan and quite small, I didn’t want the possible noise involved when my family was sitting back after supper chatting or playing backgammon or Scrabble. This had been decided. And I’m quite an assertive person. And I had designed it myself. And I’m a highly qualified interior designer. So, no problem – right? Wrong!

My builder informed me that he had a kitchen-maker of choice. Much better, he said, and cheaper, according to him, than my chosen firm. Right, I said. Let’s go and see him. A tall and supremely self-confident kitchen-maker met me and showed me around his showroom. We discussed my kitchen. He said he would quote me and I got back into my car and headed off. I can still remember the exact spot on the road to Kinvara where I pulled in to the side of the road. It was about ten minutes after I had left the kitchen maker on the Dublin Road when the penny dropped. I stopped the car and phoned the builder to inform him that I would not be using his chosen craftsman and that was that.

Here is the reason: I had gone in with everything organised as I have just told you. I had left there having been convinced that I must have a pine kitchen, with black granite countertops. My dishwasher would be under my sink, which absolutely had to be under the kitchen window, which he considered the only possible place for it. I cast my mind back to his showroom. Clue 1: almost all the kitchens were pine. Clue 2: all the counter tops were shiny black granite. How could I have been smooth-talked into such an about-face? Because I’m a woman, I suppose! Thousands of years of being indoctrinated into thinking that men know best. Who knows, but I was furious with myself and resolved to pass on this story to vulnerable home-builders as a lesson in keeping your eye on your goals and not allowing yourself to be smooth-talked into doing anything with your new home that is not part of your dream.