The Finishing Touches - The Gloss Magazine

The Finishing Touches

Aoife Rhattigan, interior designer on RTE’s DIY SOS, is part of the team that offers a deserving family in very challenging circumstances a home makeover to help improve their quality of life. DIYSOS is supported by Avoca, who generously provide home furnishings and accessories as finishing touches to complete these transformations. Read more about Aoife’s work – and her #avocamoments – below …

Now that restrictions are easing, we’re all enjoying the little moments we’ve missed over the past 18 months, like meeting up for coffee with friends, soaking up the joys of nature on swims or walks with friends or visiting our favourite restaurants.

In a new series, we meet some of Avoca’s firm friends and fans to find out what it is about Avoca that makes it such a special, memorable place for so many. Below, interior designer Aoife Rhattigan shares her #AvocaMoments.

We’d also love you to share your #AvocaMoments with us. To be in with a chance to win lunch for you and your family* at your favourite Avoca café, all you have to do is share your #AvocaMoments. You can email us on digital@thegloss.ie or share a picture or video on Instagram, make sure to tag and follow us @theglossmag and @avocaireland and use #AvocaMoments so we can see your entries. 

*Voucher worth €150 for lunch for four people at the Avoca café of your choice.

Interior designer Aoife Rhattigan knows from experience that a home renovation can be life changing. In her role as interior designer for DIYSOS, she and a team of architects, builders and trades, set out to renovate the homes of deserving families. Each project has to be completed within nine days and is solely dependent on the generosity of volunteers and supplier donations. The RTE series brings out the best in people and in companies, she says. “In each episode, an army of volunteer builders, labourers and trades, friends and neighbours come together to help a local family whose lives have been impacted by a significant loss or misfortune.” Aoife and her team at Restless.Design are responsible for house designs on DIYSOS from start to finish, and she loves to add Avoca pieces at the end as the icing on the cake.

“Our homes are where we should feel safe and comfortable, where we can enjoy precious times with our families. We work with inspirational families whose challenges are so overwhelming that they do not have the resources to create the space that might make a real difference to how they cope. That’s where the programme and sponsors like Avoca who donate items free of charge help in a really tangible way.”

While all the families on the show are quite different with different needs, Aoife says the accessories that transform their houses into homes are always the same: “I always start with the Avoca throw. Nobody can resist its beautiful colours and textures so this always forms the basis of every Avoca shop I do for DIY SOS. From there it really depends on the personalities in each family, at Avoca it’s easy to find interesting items that reflect the style and personality of the home owners.” Avoca is a great source of colour for soft furnishings and home wares – all the finishing touches Aoife needs for every project. She chooses lamps, cushions and vases for the living areas, bowls, platters, candlesticks, teapots, mugs, tea towels, cake stands, even cookbooks for the kitchens, and luxurious lotions and potions for the bathrooms. “I’m literally the kid in the candy shop on my trips to Avoca for DIY SOS, I adore these visits.”

Aoife is in awe of the resilience of the individuals and families she has met during filming of DIY SOS who remain positive despite massive challenges. “It puts life properly into perspective and sharpens your focus on the things in life that really matter.” She also finds inspiration working with the amazing volunteers who sacrifice their own family and work time to pitch in – with community spirit, humour and dedication – to transform the lives of a family in need.

She finds the process of sourcing lovely things at Avoca for families in need is itself rewarding on a personal level. “Even if I’m just shopping for others, I find just entering the store and absorbing the atmosphere has a positive effect – from home wares to food and fashion, the stores are a delight for the senses no matter what: that’s my favourite #avocamoment.”

www.avoca.com

To be in with a chance to win lunch for you and your family* at your favourite Avoca café, all you have to do is share your #AvocaMoments. You can email us on digital@thegloss.ie or share a picture or video on Instagram, make sure to tag and follow us @theglossmag and @avocaireland and use #AvocaMoments so we can see your entries. 

*Voucher worth €150 for lunch for four people at the Avoca café of your choice.

LOVETHEGLOSS.IE?

Sign up to our MAILING LIST now for a roundup of the latest fashion, beauty, interiors and entertaining news from THE GLOSS MAGAZINE’s daily dispatches.

Choose Your Categories

Newsletter

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This