Conversations with Creatives

In this periodical segment we get into conversations with like minded creative people, loving life and what they do. Our debut conversation is with Eoin Lyons, of LyonKelly Architecture and Design. You can read all about Eoin and LyonsKelly below

Located right next to one of the most beautiful Georgian squares in Dublin, LyonsKelly provides architecture and interior design as a single vision. It was founded by architect, John Kelly and interior designer, Eoin Lyons. The team specialise in the design of one off private homes, with particular interest in the reuse of historic buildings. As well as houses in Dublin, current projects include homes in London and Netherlands, as well as a hotel and restaurant in northern Spain.

Eoin, what was the path that lead you to interiors and can you remember the first project you worked on

My Dad is an architect so I grew up around that. I studied graphic design, wrote about fashion and design for The Irish Times and then started to do my own interior decoration projects. Then, fifteen years ago, I met my partner John Kelly and the first project we worked on together was a new brick house in Ballsbridge. We designed everything, from the house itself to the furniture inside. We had free rein and the house still looks great today.

 

Despite trends coming and going in the fashion world, style always shines through and actually doesn’t really change that much.  Do you think the interiors industry is the same?  

Yes and I think what makes an interior classic is using things that are not seen everywhere. We stay away from what is in all the magazines, keep the main pieces in a room simple and then add vintage, art and one off things. They make it stylish. We buy a lot of vintage furniture in London and Paris but we do some work near Barcelona and have started to buy there too.

 

 What do you look for when it comes to creating your wardrobe?

The same thing as an interior - use simple classics as the basis and add things with character. I like contrast - trousers with trainers, shirts with sweatshirts - not a whole look one way or the other. We all want to look as good as we can, so how things fit the body is most important - that clothes are flattering. I don't want to look old fashioned but also not like a walking mid life crisis - so something small like a printed t-shirt or cool belt is enough to lift things up. I think Bonne Marche in Paris has the best broad selection of men's clothes, to see a lot in one place. 

 

What's the first thing you go about targeting, when faced with a new project?  Do you have a starting point that you feel should always be the starting point and therefore the base of any great interior look?”

When we start a project we come up with one big idea for the whole job - something that all the smaller decisions will refer to further along the process. If you have a good concept the rest flows - we'd had concepts  based around London in the '80s, an aristocratic hunting lodge and a place to run away and hide.

 

What is your favourite restaurant, bar or social spot in Dublin? 

The Dylan Hotel because they are so kind and so dog friendly, my cockapoo Conor leads me there way too often.