Old House Renovation

• See photos of work

Customer reference for Taylored Interiors as told to pickapro by Sibylla and Guggi Rowen from Balinteer, Dublin 16 on 22-Feb-2006

When was the work done?
Between April and July of 2005.

What was involved?
Everything! It's a very old house. We brought it back to a shell and started all over again - we replaced the roof, wiring, plumbing, floors, carpets, bathroom and all the interiors. Mary was involved in anything to do with the interiors. She also found us somewhere to rent for 3 months and organised storage for our furniture.

How did you choose Taylored Interiors?
Our builder had met Mary through a local business group, BNI and recommended her to us. I met her and really liked her.

Had you definite ideas in mind before you talked to Mary Taylor?
The house was built in the 1780's. I wanted to keep that old feeling - I didn't want to go modern.

Did Mary Taylor introduce new ideas?
Yes - she'll make suggestions but she doesn't come in and take over. She'll understand what you want to do and go and do it. Then if you get stuck she makes suggestions, but she never forces anything. She brings you along with her.

The great thing is she'll do as much or as little as you want. I've recommended her to a lot of people who might just need her for curtain materials, but it's still well worth while getting Mary's help.

How did the project run day to day? Was there any disruption?
We moved out which I think was really important because it allowed the builders to get on with it. And the whole job was finished in 3 months. We were very lucky with all the people working on the job.

What was the biggest benefit to you of using Mary?
She saved me an awful lot of time. I didn't have to go racing around looking for stuff. She came to me with the books and her swatches. I wouldn't have known where to go to get the nicest stuff. There was a lot of hunting for antiques and very fiddly items. At one stage, we need a sandstone tile in an exact shade of cream and Mary goes off and gets it. I wouldn't have found half the stuff without her.

And it was great to have someone who'd done it before and was able to say for example that a colour would be too busy. That's really important, because if you make a mistake you could be stuck with it. You can't return 20 metres of velvet, for example.

Also it was great to have someone to bounce ideas off, especially on a big project like this where you can feel overwhelmed.

She's also backup now - we had to get a chair upholstered after our new puppy got to it and Mary looked after that for us.

In the beginning, I saw an interior designer as optional, but she became one of the most important people of job. She was invaluable. I'd have had a nervous breakdown without Mary!

What's your favourite part now?
All of it. It turned out so beautiful. It's very soothing. I think of the house as an old lady who's beautiful again.

Would you recommend Taylored Interiors to others?
Yes, I couldn't recommend her highly enough. She really knows her trade and she has endless patience. I could ask for anything and she'd find it. I wasn't always easy but she was brilliant. It was wonderful to work with her.

And she was always there for me. If I got her answering machine, she'd call me back within 10 minutes.

Any tips for other people?
Move out. It makes the builders life easier and yours. They were able to work from 6:30 in the morning to 6 in the evening. And they didn't have to turn on electricity and water for us every night. So the work was done a lot faster.

And don't rush - take your time on decisions.