18. A lesson in DIY design and renovation with Vivian McKendry of @the.project.home

The Interiors Podcast

A lesson in DIY design and renovation in today’s episode of The Interiors Podcast. We are speaking with Vivian McKendry of @the.project.home.

Vivian moved to Ireland with her husband from Hong Kong. Before leaving Hong Kong, she worked in the construction sector as a project manager, where she was exposed to the creative side of interiors and managing projects for hotels, clubs and offices. This role really leads nicely into the DIY renovation journey Vivian found herself taking here in Ireland.

Vivian also runs her own business, One More Thing, that specialises in unique interior pieces along with some stunning dried and preserved flowers bouquets and decorations. So, she really does have a creative flair and an eye for beautiful design.

Vivian and her husband's first home after moving back to Ireland was an 1980's constructed small home in Dublin. But the size did not restrict Vivian’s design flair and eye for detail, as she made use of every space to ensure her home was not only beautiful but also liveable.

After a few years in this home and Vivian's e-commerce business taking off, they soon outgrew this small space, so began the hunt for their next place to call their own. The size home they knew they needed was just not affordable in Dublin for them at that time, but because COVID was changing people's ideas of working locations, they realised that they didn't need to be held to living in Dublin, and that they could cast their net even further, so began to look around Dublin's border counties. A trip to The Curragh, in Co Kildare, showed them exactly where they wanted their next home to be.

After a false start, they finally found their home. It was quite a big step up from their 80sqm home in Dublin, this new property was a 5 bedroom 300sqm house, but this didn’t phase them at all.

In this episode, Vivian tells her all about how her project management skills allowed her to design and plan her new beautiful home, what services and trades they employed, and what jobs they took on themselves.

This episode is such an interesting story about what is possible and what is available for the work of a DIYER. We talk about the importance of understanding what you want for your home and then finding suppliers and experts that can execute that dream, and how key it is to have good relationships with those suppliers and experts.

Even if you are not about to take on a huge renovation journey like Vivian and her husband did, this episode will inspire you to dream about what is possible in your own space.

Resources:

Follow Vivian and her renovation journey on Instagram: The Project Home by Vivian @the.project.home

Vivian's interiors business: One More Thing - https://onemorething.ie/

Floor planning: https://floorplanner.com/

Kitchen design: Peter Bourke, The Kitchen Shop - @tksdesigns_thekitchenshop

Builder: Peter Doyle from Bridgefield Construction Ltd

Wood experts: http://www.woodworkers.ie/

Windows: Vindr VS Windows - https://vindrvs.com/

Tiles: Tile Merchant - https://www.tilemerchant.ie/ / Floor tiles @tilestyle / Zellige tiles @tile.expert

Marble dining table: @westelmuk