Opened Up

Ciara and Ken wanted a beautiful kitchen for the new extension in their Blackrock home. What Shalford Interiors created is a stunning example of a bespoke hand-painted design that is exactly what the couple wanted.

Our previous kitchen was completed 11 years ago and had cherry units with a black granite work top; which in hindsight was too dark for the room,’ recalls Ciara. ‘We even painted the cherry doors cream a few years ago to brighten it up. When we bought the house 11 years ago it was in original 1960s condition. We had to do a lot of work generally to upgrade the house and were on a very limited budget by the time we got to the kitchen.’

As an avid cook, Ciara knew her kitchen had to be something special. ‘I love cooking and did an intensive cookery course when I gave up work. I just seemed to spend more and more time in the kitchen, especially with the kids, so plans for my dream kitchen starting formulating many years back,’ she explains. ‘I suppose I wanted to make right all the mistakes I had made in my first kitchen and had time to plan it properly.’

With this in mind, Ciara began to think about who would design her kitchen. ‘I spoke to friends, got recommendations and looked through magazines,’ she recalls. ‘ I then drew up a shortlist of kitchen companies and sent them a brief on what I wanted to achieve. When I first visited Shalford Interiors, designer Ferghal stood out to me as the one who had listened the most to what I wanted, but still had lots of suggestions and ideas of his own. Also, I felt the quality and craftsmanship of his work was superior to all others.’