DesignSolutions: Gillian Sherrard was looking for storage that didn't look like storage

Problem: Gillian Sherrard, an interior architect from Derry who lives with her husband in a Victorian villa-style house in Monkstown, Co Dublin, needed somewhere to store crystal glasses and extra china that would be only be used when having formal dinners

She had given her own house an overhaul two years previously, in which the house was extended and the layout altered. The kitchen is in the new part of the house and is reached through the dining area to the left of the double fronted entrance. And while the kitchen has a multitude of presses and cupboards, there was nowhere for the good stuff.

Not only that, she also wanted to house the stereo - her husband is a big music buff - in the dining area for ease of access. It's a high-tech model in three separate sections. "We could have just left it sitting out somewhere but I wanted to hide it away. I guess what I wanted was storage that didn't look like storage."

Solution: The fireplace stands at one end of the dining area and Gillian designed flush storage that would fill recesses. The visual line from the kitchen units runs straight along the entire side of the room.

"It's always difficult to know what to do on either side of a fireplace. In the alcoves, you often see a dresser - which I hate - or a chair or open shelving."

Echoing the arch of the fireplace, bookshelves were included and are curved at the top. Between the one on the right side of the fireplace and the kitchen there are what appear to be three panels. These are actually tall presses that open to reveal adjustable shelving. "They're only 350mm deep, where a standard press would be 600mm, which is good because presses are often too deep and you can't get at the back."

It is here that Gillian stores everything she wanted to keep near the dining table - including the stereo. Made by a specialist joiner, there are mouldings on each door to give an illusion of a panelled wall rather than presses.

"It would have looked very blank without the mouldings," says Gillian, "and the whole thing would have looked a bit skimpy without the dado rail beneath the doors. The skirting, too, is important, a small one would have given the hidden presses away but this matches what's in the rest of the room."

Also adding to the illusion is a small print hanging on the centre door. Each has a press and release catch: "It would be terrible to use handles."

They are painted with Crown's Antique white paint ("good because it has no yellow tone") and was done in a slight oil finish which gives a slight sheen and makes it easy to wipe clean.

The press nearest the kitchen is given over to CDs and the stereo. "My husband is really into music - he sits at the table on weekend afternoons and reads the paper."

Her favourite style of decorating involves mixing different periods and here the ceiling lighting and leather dining chairs are from Duff Tisdall.

But all in all, it's the hidden storage that is one of the most successful features of the room.

Gillian Sherrard
sherrarddesign@indigo.ie