A design conversation with Eoin Lyons and John Kelly was a lesson in luxury and liveability …
Design Week Dublin‘s (DWD) Design Talk at Anantara The Marker Dublin with architect John Kelly and interior designer Eoin Lyons of LyonsKelly was an hour of pure indulgence for attendees. For those who love a sense of luxury combined with a liveable quality, this was a design conversation full of information and inspiration. With images of their fabulous projects displayed on screen, architect Amanda Bone teased out how their combined architecture and interiors comes together to such great effect in a single integrated approach.
The practice, which now employs a team of 15, specialises in the design, redesign and renovation of private homes. LyonsKelly has developed particular expertise in the reconfiguration and reuse of period houses, and their clever imagining of space and meticulous, detail-focused decoration is underpinned by a thoughtful approach to how their clients like to live. “It’s all about how to enhance our clients’ way of living via good design,” they say.
When John and Eoin – partners in life as well as in work – first met, it was on a trip to Milan with Helen Kilmartin of Minima to look at furniture (“the last junket” as John puts it) before the global financial crash in 2008. Back then, John was an architect with de Blacam and Meagher while Eoin was working independently as an interior designer. It wasn’t long before they began to collaborate. After a number of joint projects were successfully executed, and with word-of-mouth about them building, they decided to set up a practice together.
Among the projects shown was a stunning coastal period property, which the duo renovated, extended and decorated. The project involved building a gym and swimming pool; using the excavated stone to construct an extension in harmony with the landscape to include a kitchen with a panoramic view.
SEE MORE: A Coastal Victorian Home Reimagined For Contemporary Living
Another was an Edwardian property, which combined the traditional and classic with the contemporary. A fabulous scheme in the countryside showed the duo’s versatility: the original traditional farmhouse, restored and renovated simply, juxtaposed with a stunning garden pavilion among the trees, its overhanging roof canopy providing sheltered outdoor space in rain or sunshine, the perfect place to entertain. Further away, a wonderful hilltop site beloved of their clients who would walk there to watch the sunsets, proved irresistible to LyonsKelly, who saw its potential for another pavilion that could double as guest accommodation.
SEE MORE: An Imaginative Extension In An Edwardian House In Dublin
The final project in the portfolio that guests got to see was one of their most recent – their own home and HQ. In 2022, John and Eoin acquired a Georgian townhouse near Dublin’s centre city. Built in 1810, it had lain empty for 20 years and was in a state of disrepair. In just two years it has been transformed. Now, the practice team works in the basement, with client spaces on the hall floor and private spaces above. One can’t help think that all our old buildings in the city could benefit from this practical and visionary treatment, bringing functionality and life to the streets on a 24-hour basis, not just 9-5pm.
John and Eoin described how the best outcomes result from working closely with both the client and their carefully chosen suppliers: “We don’t work with a**holes,” said John. “We love working with craftspeople, artisans, stonemasons, curtain-makers, who really know what they are doing and who care deeply about quality and materials.” Equally, they build relationships with clients, taking them to see galleries to find artworks, and to London and Paris to select furniture and lighting. Those lucky enough to avail of their talents find they look after everything from start to finish – from getting planning permission to placing the cutlery in the drawers.
For details of Design Week Dublin, in partnership with Range Rover, see www.designweekdublin.com.
SEE MORE: A Luxury Apartment In Dublin 4 Complete With Exquisite Finishes
Click into the gallery to see the guests who attended.
Photographer: Conor Healy, Picture It Pix; @pictureitpix
