How would you describe your home? It is a two-bedroom apartment with a balcony. Because it is on the top floor of the building, the views are wonderful.
How long have you been living in there? I've been living here in Grand Canal Dock for 18 months.
How did you come to buy the apartment? I bought off-plans because the arrangement was affordable, and I knew buying in this area would be a good investment. Buying off-plans is quite a experience because you can't walk around the property before deciding to purchase. I subsequently had to wait two years for the place to be built and even moved in with my mother for a period when I was between homes. Being, in effect, homeless for those couple of months when at my mother's, I began to spend excessive amounts of time at the site watching every bit of progress! It was a long wait.
Have you made any significant changes to the property since taking up residence? The downside of buying a new property is that you mus work to add character to the space. While I have the super new kitchen and bathroom along with features like under floor heating, the new build was stark and came without any history. The first thing I did was to lay solid wood flooring myself. I'd done that in my previous apartment but this project was a little more challenging in that it was a larger space and I used expensive Asian birch floorboards in every room except the kitchen, removing door saddles to increase the feeling of space. I'm delighted with the results.
What is your favourite room? The guest bedroom/study because it's unbelivably quiet.
How would you describe the way you have furnished your home? The apartment is south facing and full of light. In order to enhance the feeling of space I painted it all plain white (except for the hall, where I used a period yellow shade) and also chose to furnish it with many pieces in white. In the living room I have a white leather sofa and my piano from childhood. In the dining area I've a glass-top birch table and six white chairs. I've made the bedrooms cosy using luxurious tapestry fabrics in the curtains. Over the bed in the main bedroom I've positioned a wall hanging I picked up in Thailand. In my mind, I'm living in some period house in Sandymount! I have hung all the paintings and drawings I've acquired over the years in the very large L-shaped hall, transforming it into my own private gallery. Unfortunately I couldn't specify finishes in the kitchen and the room was designed to be quite dark; the cupboards are a dark laminate and there's solid black granite work surfaces and stainless steel appliances as well as dark Chinese slate onf the floor.
Describe the way in which you use your home. I have a really good friend who lives three floors below me and we drop in each other all the time. I've also another friend who lives down the road and he'll also drop in unannounced so there are always people visiting. I regulary have people in for dinner and I often work from home.
Would you be a tidy person or a hoarder? I hoard things but they're not visible so the surface of my apartment is clutte free. If you open a cupboard, however, you never know what might fall out!
Do you see yourself moving in the near future? I'm lucky to have been able to get a place in the city centre but I don't think this is my long-term home. I dream of being able to eventually move out of the city and into a house with a bit of a garden.
Niall Morris is assistant director of Cosi fan tutte, which
is part of Opera Ireland's Spring Season running through 2 June in the RDS and
then in Limerick's University Concert Hall on the June 7 and 8.
www.operaireland.com
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