My Favourite Room: ‘It took me 3 years to find this painting’

Interior stylist and House of Indi owner, Zoë Carney shows us around her Dublin home

“This is the corner of our living room. The main piece I actually found in a charity shop and I gave it a new lease of life. It was fully carpeted on the inside so I tore out the carpet and put in new shelves and painted the interior white.

“On the outside I just painted in between the dark wood to brighten it slightly with a Farrow & Ball paint in a really light sage green. I call it my ‘curiosity cabinet’ and the pieces I’ve collected – lots of vintage objects and some books I really love — are housed in there.

“The lamp is from my shop [25 Drury Street, Dublin and online; see below] and the hare is a piece of art that my family bought for us when our daughter was born. The painting is a big thing for me – I had seen it in a book and I made it my mission to find it.

“The artist, Sir Gerald Kelly, painted Polynesian women and his work was very popular in the 1950s. It took me three years to find an original print and frame from that time period. I eventually found it on eBay.

“I would describe my style as eclectic, vintage and classic. It’s a real blend of new and old coming together in harmony. The whole room is very soft and the pops of colour I have are somewhere between a yellow and a mustard.

I started collecting when I was about 8 and then really went for it in my late teens. It’s always been my thing

“I’m definitely a collector. I started collecting when I was about 8 and then really went for it in my late teens. It’s always been my thing. My poor Mum, I’ve housed so much furniture in her house…  I finally moved it all out 10 years ago.

“Before I opened House of Indi in 2014, I went to auctions and every single charity and second-hand shop in Dublin. I’d look on eBay and online; I’d go to antique fairs abroad.

“I believe in shopping everywhere — new and old — and I think houses really work if it is a blend of both. Something that has been loved before against something that is brand new works so well.

“Your house should be filled with things that excite you and that you’re passionate about and you love. If you buy something because it’s trendy you won’t love it forever. That painting brings me so much joy and I’ve had it for 12-13 years. I still think she’s stunning and it’s because I went out there to find it and make it mine.

“If you want to start collecting, I would suggest focussing on what you’re passionate about whether it’s glass or china or whatever else — and don’t try to copy someone else’s look. Obviously you can be influenced and inspired by people like I am constantly. But I think you naturally gravitate towards things and when you do, you start to build a collection for your home and you don’t worry about trends at all.

“And the things that you spend money on — and that take a bit of time to get — you’ll love forever.”

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