Donegal woman Aoibheann McNamara is the proprietor of the Ard Bia restaurant at Nimmos in Galway, and she is into slow food and slow fashion. She began her career from a heritage centre in her home town of Ardara, then studied history of art and completed a postgraduate course in arts administration. Co-founder of the Tweed Project with Triona Lillis, she recently converted an old carpenter's workshop in Galway, which is now home to her and her six-year-old son, Oni.
Describe your style in interiors
My house is Nordic-industrial influenced by the Faviken restaurant in the north of
0 of 6
Sweden
, one of the most remote in the country and based in an 18th-century barn.
Everything was then made to measure in an industrial style by talented local carpenter Nathan Nokes and my builder Ian Morrissey. All the beds and a large table were made by Nokes. and Morrissey customised a lot of the pull doors on slides and shelving. The stairs leading to Oni's bedroom were modelled on those leading to the sea at Blackrock.
Which room in your house do you most enjoy and why?
The main kitchen-livingroom, as it is a huge open space with room to have big dinner parties and events, for Oni to skateboard and a swing on the hoops. I found CS Salvage in Derry brilliant for
Belfast
sinks. Space is the ultimate luxury and that is what I have tried to achieve here.
I have found some amazing mid-range spaces around the world with a keen eye on design and creativity on a budget.
What items do you love most? I love the reindeer hides from the Arctic Circle and even though they shed terribly they create the look I want. And I love the Donegal deer head and antlers that are mounted on the wood-panelled wall above the secret door to the bedroom. I love my art collected over the years from all the artists with whom I had the pleasure of working.
Who is your favourite designer and do you own any of their work?
I don’t really connect with this as my main focus is on eco-recycling, using old things and maybe painting them so that their age and character enhance the space.
Which artists do you most admire?
I really love the work of my friend Joana Astolfi in
Lisbon
. She works in a very three-dimensional form, wood boxes with another world inside.
She is working with Hermès window displays and is really imaginative and brilliant. I am lucky to have a lot of her work and they transform the space into something very different, which is when art works best.
What is your biggest interior turn-off?
When someone isn’t seen in their space. When an interior designer is brought in and everything matches and no personal style is visible. I think that is sad and a waste of an opportunity to make your space your own.
I’d love us to embrace the confidence of other countries; especially Scandinavia, where personal and national design confidence is strong. We are getting there.
Which travel destination stands out?
I am obsessed with
Morocco
because it is indescribably inspirational to me. Those Beni Ourain Berber cream rugs in undyed natural wool, the endless sense of craft and possibility and the melange of colonial elements with the depths of colour and vibrancy make for an amazing mid-century reimagined look.
If you had €100,000 to spend on anything for the home, what would you buy?
I wouldn’t waste that much money on something for the house. I’d buy a house – a riad in
Marrakech
– and then I could live in a dream forever.
