Why I chose Heritage: Elaine Verdon

As an interior designer and founder of Dublin-based design studio Leo and Cici, Elaine is a proponent of exploring the full spectrum of self-expression through living spaces. Since founding her design company, named lovingly after her maternal grandparents, in 2018, Elaine has been helping residential and commercial property owners identify their aesthetic grooves. “To approach a space, you need to understand the person who lives in it. By uncovering little nuggets of insight, family photos or a favourite artwork, for instance, you find out how they want to feel in a space. It’s like putting a puzzle together.” 

It’s an approach she’s applied to a personal project, too. “My husband, Simon, is from Roscommon,” Elaine explains. “In the early 2000s, his aunt Mary built a bungalow five minutes from the family farm. She sadly passed away in 2017 and, to our great surprise, she left us her home.”

Elaine wanted to retain the emotional connection the family has to their Roscommon abode, while also staying true to her own love of strong hues. “Everything I’ve added to the house has been sympathetic to Mary,” Elaine shares. “She loved red and adored flowers so I’ve tried to bring those elements into the house. While there are photos of her in the kitchen and sittingroom, I wanted her to be in the space in a decorative way.” 

“I decided on Brushed Gold, a soft antique yellow, for the walls, ceilings and skirting boards to give an almost sunshine-filled colour drench to the space. This was offset with the use of an intense Florentine Red on the woodwork as our nod to Mary. She would have loved it.”

For Elaine and Simon, the hallway’s redesign is their love language – a personal commitment to this special place. “We consider ourselves the custodians and gatekeepers of Mary’s home,” Elaine says. “To create a space that reflects her and us has been the goal. Now, when we open the front door, we feel it.”

Discover the Dulux Heritage range and your stockist at duluxheritage.ie.

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