The year 2001 has turned out to be a memorable year for Miriam Peters. She has just re-launched her ultra-chic furniture design shop, Crate and Barrel, under its new name, Minnie Peters. Earlier this year, Miriam and her partner Nigel Bray put the finishing touches to their period house in Monkstown which they call their "love nest".

It's been a hectic schedule, with weekly buying trips around Europe and overseeing the day-to-day running of the shop.

Despite this, Miriam found time to travel to Cork every week to spend time with her brother Patrick, who died of cancer in May. Running on full cylinders since the business relaunch, she has barely had time to mourn.

"It's hard to be without him, because we'd talk on the phone every day about the business. He wanted to know everything I was doing. He was very positive all the way through, but I was on automatic pilot all of last year," says Miriam.

The newly relaunched store, in a former snooker club premises on George's Street, is one of the coolest interiors outlets in town. "Minnie" - Miriam's childhood nickname - is still used by family and friends who knew her when she was growing up her in the family pub in Dunshaughlin.

A self-starter with an instinctive flair for design, Miriam left school at 15 to train as a hairdresser with Peter Mark.

Art was one of the few school subjects she excelled in - a true case of "talent will out", bringing her eventual success in the design business.

Miriam met Nigel when on a visit to the Somerset headquarters of bespoke cabinet-makers Chalon. Nigel now runs the Chalon franchise store in Blackrock and - unsurprisingly - a magnificent distressed wood Chalon kitchen is at the heart of their revamped Monkstown house.

"We bought the house July two years ago," says Miriam. "It was in great condition but, being in the business, I wanted to put my own stamp on it. I knew we wanted it to be quite a sociable house, with the kitchen not cut off. This way, I miss nothing when we have guests - I like cooking, but I didn't want to feel like a slave in the kitchen."

With this in mind, the couple demolished a wall, bringing the staircase and inner hall into the kitchen area. Specially made doors with shimmery bevelled glass panels look through to the diningroom.

Cream-painted kitchen units and old pine free-standing cupboards have swish easy-glide interior fittings. Suspended over the cream Aga is a French-style stone canopy which they waxed to achieve an antique look.

"A bit of fun" was added in the shape of a quirky modern seascape, bought by Miriam as a present for Nigel, who is a keen yachtsman.

The cream sittingroom with splashes of bronze and gold is furnished almost entirely from the Minnie Peters store. Pine floorboards have been laid to a traditional Victorian method and buffed to look original.

Panelling to dado level balances the high ceilings. Very much a lived-in home, thick candles on the antique black marble mantlepiece are frilled from regular use.

In the midst of a row of carved Buddhas on the mantlepiece is a Sacred Heart candle lamp, lit in memory of the victims of the Twin Towers disaster - when she was 19, Miriam worked as a waitress in Greenwich Village, New York.

Next to this, a carved horse which once belonged to her father is probably her most prized possession.

"My mother had a good room full of Lladro and Beleek china when we were growing up, and the five of us used to run in and out, just for the danger. The statue was given to Dad by a trainer when his horse won at Leopardstown.

"When my mother gave it to me as a birthday present four years ago, all I could think of was the fear that if anything happened to it she'd kill me," laughs Miriam.

On top of a stone-painted Chalon dresser in the diningroom is a huge leaf-framed mirror, carefully restored by Miriam. "It was covered in several layers of paint, but through a chip I could see it was all original gold leaf," she says.

Occasionally, a sofa or an armchair will disappear for a while, on loan to a customer in a hurry for their order. The shop is open seven days a week, leaving little time for relaxing in their pretty stone-walled garden.

"I walk D·n Laoghaire pier most mornings before work. Coming from Meath, I'm a GAA girl and go to all the matches in the summer," she says.

"I don't want to expand. I like the idea of Minnie Peters being a kind of boutique for the home. I've a great team in the shop, so I'm spending more time sourcing and designing," she says.

"I've a lot of friends working with me. My hairdressing background means I work well with friends - I get great support from them and from the rest of my family."