Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications
Calling all Irish entrepreneurs: The Pitch 2025 is open for applications

IMAGE

Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life
Money moves: Smart financial strategies for every chapter of your life

IMAGE

Tried and tested: the world’s most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner
Tried and tested: the world’s most powerful cordless stick vacuum cleaner

Megan Burns

WIN a three-course dinner for two with Champagne at Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins
WIN a three-course dinner for two with Champagne at Forbes Street by Gareth Mullins

IMAGE

If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Dynamo MD and TG4 Board Member, Róisín Ní Ráighne
If I Knew Then What I Know Now: Dynamo MD and TG4 Board Member, Róisín...

Sarah Gill

The gender pay gap is closing but barely – here’s why
The gender pay gap is closing but barely – here’s why

Leonie Corcoran

This stunning Connemara home makes the most of its incredible views with earthy tones and organic textures
This stunning Connemara home makes the most of its incredible views with earthy tones and...

Megan Burns

Danieli Bergin: ‘The Bróg mission is to design unique shoes that blend Irish heritage with a modern twist’
Danieli Bergin: ‘The Bróg mission is to design unique shoes that blend Irish heritage with...

Sarah Gill

A first-time guide to buying art for your home
A first-time guide to buying art for your home

Megan Burns

Kidsuper’s Colm Dillane on his SS26 show at the Louvre and his Irish heritage
Kidsuper’s Colm Dillane on his SS26 show at the Louvre and his Irish heritage

Paul McLauchlan

Image / Editorial

Distress to Impress


By Sharon Miney
23rd May 2015
Distress to Impress

Try a tree trunk: untreated wood gets the star treatment

How to pull off the distressed look with ?lan…

When it comes to unassuming elegance built around rare antique finds, perfectly distressed vintage pieces and raw elements of nature, no one does it better than Pearl Collins, of ultra-elegant event planners Pearl & Godiva. Here, we show you six ways she has perfected the look in her awe-inspiring West Cork new build. Scroll down for the highlight reel…

1. You’ll rarely go wrong with an antique. This beautifully worn, authentic French dresser is in a delectable state of distress – the fact that the original piece is excellent quality is what makes this look work (it goes without saying, the same approach does not go so well with modern flatpack furniture!).

2. Untreated wood is unbeatable. Bring the essence of nature inside with wholesome chunks of trees that haven’t been processed right down to that perfect veneer of shop-bought sheen. This pig’s bench was sourced from Geert Antiques.

3. Colour is key. The distressed look can get tired and washed-out looking pretty quickly if you have an exclusively neutral or monochrome palette. Repaint vintage finds in bold, uplifting shades, such as cerulean blue and tantalising teal. These unashamedly frayed fabrics above also benefit from their beautiful hues.

4. Salvage treasures that have a story. Not any old thing deserves to take pride of place in your home, just because it’s old. This magnificent black bureau was shipped all the way from Sweden after Pearl’s magpie eye picked it out.

5. Play with contrasts. Pearl and Michael made their bedhead out of a Mercury mirror sourced from Anton & K. To balance the shabby-chic bed frame, it was vital to have the bedding be as luxuriant and inviting as possible – the couple’s sumptuous silk-edged blankets and velvet cushions are from Tine K Home.

6. Seal the style with unusual flowers and foliage. Artfully placed air plants, sweet alien-looking succulents and beautiful blooms (as seen above, courtesy of Pearl’s florist mother, Hanoko) mark the difference between “nice try” and “nailed it” when it comes to a beautifully distressed aesthetic that doesn’t veer into messy territory.

Shop Anton & K, Geert Antiques, Tine K Home

pearlandgodiva.com

Photography: O’Malley Photographers

Love this? Now tour the whole of Pearl’s West Cork new build.

Sharon Miney for?@Image_Interiors