July 11, 2025 • 51 mins
In this episode of the Interiors Podcast, host Tanya Neufeld Flanagan interviews Domhnall O Gairbhi from Acquired.ie, a specialist in mid-century modern furniture.
They discuss Domhnall's journey into the world of vintage design, and the nuances of sourcing and restoring unique pieces.
The conversation also explores the differences between Scandinavian and Italian midcentury design, the significance of statement pieces, and how to incorporate vintage elements into modern interiors.
In addition to the website, Domhnall's Acquired.ie have a showroom based in Stradbally, Co. Laois which is by appointment, and Donal's latest venture is a collaboration with the Roisin Lafferty Gallery on Fitzwilliam Square.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Acquired.ie and Domhnall O'Garvey
03:05 The Journey into Mid-Century Modern Design
07:01 Understanding the Market and Sourcing
11:28 The Aesthetic of Mid-Century Modern vs. Traditional Furniture
13:03 Regional Differences in Mid-Century Design
15:48 The Sourcing Process and Building Networks
22:19 Restoration and Customization of Vintage Pieces
26:45 Personalized Sourcing and Client Collaboration
30:54 The Importance of Quality and Presentation
34:45 The Role of Statement Pieces in Interior Design
38:30 Mixing Different Woods and Styles
40:26 Exploring Different Furniture Types
53:23 Collaboration with Roisin Lafferty Gallery
57:39 Final Thoughts on Vintage and Mid-Century Design
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:23):
Welcome back to another episode of the interiors podcast.
Today I have somebody who I've been begging to come on for an interview for a while.
It's Domhnall O Gairbhi from acquired.ie.
Welcome Domhnall.
Thank you very much Tanya, I'm delighted to finally pluck up the courage and do yourwonderful podcast.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, after I saw you do that podcast with your antiques pals, what's it called again?
(00:47):
It's called dealing in the years.
Dealing in the ears, yeah.
It's little pun on that.
Yeah, so good.
It's really clever name.
Yeah, yeah.
Whoever came up with this deserves a medal, I think.
Yeah, well, so for those of you who don't know, Domhnall runs acquired.ie, and tell uswhat is acquired.
Acquired is basically, we deal and specialize in mid-century modern furniture, lighting,art and design.
(01:13):
It's, I suppose it's kind of a very niche company and we deal with very specific andsometimes high-end, sometimes not high-end pieces from around Europe, around the globe
really, you know, just we source and sell some very, rare and...
Beautiful pieces from around the globe.
Yeah.
And would you call them vintage?
Would you call them antiques?
(01:33):
What is actually the technical differentiation?
That's a really good question, And it's a question I times, I have friends for 30 yearsand they don't know what I do.
It's a hard one to explain to them, to explain to people.
I suppose the easiest thing to say is that I'm an antique dealer, but technicallyspeaking, that's not correct because the pieces I sell for the most part,
(01:58):
are not antiques.
antiques are classified as antiques when they're 100 years old or more.
So the pieces I sell are dating mainly from the 1950s right up to the 80s, even sometimesinto the 90s.
they would be classed, I suppose mid-century pieces really are
(02:18):
from mid-century from 50s to 60s, but it branches really from maybe 50s to 70s, so that'sthe difference.
I class myself as a design dealer.
Trying to explain that to people, it's a very difficult thing to to explain because it isso niche.
that's what sets you apart because a lot of people who are getting into interiorsredecorating their homes, they know about mid century.
(02:43):
A lot of people will have like a G plan coffee table or a sideboard that was theirmothers.
but what you source is, quite different.
So tell us how you ended up running this business.
Where did it all start?
I suppose it all started, my entire life from when I was a child, I've always had a loveof woodwork and cabinet making.
(03:03):
My dad was a carpenter, so as a child I would have been working with him and making piecesmyself.
And I suppose from there, that's how I got into the business really.
With antique dealers,
I would say for the most part, modern day antique dealers, they inherit the business orit's passed down from generation to generation where their granddads, their dads, their
(03:27):
moms, you know, it's a trade that they inherit basically from their parents orgrandparents.
not in my case.
after school I did furniture design and making in a college called Letterfrack.
It's called ATU Connemara now.
But there I learned furniture design and making.
So that's how I really started off in the business.
(03:47):
After college I went to New York and worked in
an antique restoration workshop in Manhattan.
Cool.
that kind of exposed me to, in Ireland, we wouldn't have a huge history of mid-centurydesign and, know, internationally famous, more contemporary designers.
But when I went to New York, that kind of opened my eyes to a different world.
(04:09):
And I fell in love with,
mid-century design there.
It was my first real exposure to it apart from learning about it in college.
And we did kind of classes in the history of furniture and so on and so forth, which Iabsolutely loved.
But my first real exposure was when I went to work as an intern slash apprentice in aworkshop in Manhattan where I was working daily in a workshop on
(04:37):
antique pieces, but also I was going out to apartments and houses, absolutely stunningplaces and seeing furniture that I had only seen in books So yeah, that would have been my
first real exposure to mid-century modern design.
you know, it grew from there, basically, my love and passion for it.
And
When I came back to Ireland, I worked as a furniture maker.
(05:01):
I made furniture myself and I realized it's an extremely hard way to make a living as amaker.
So I branched and diversified a little bit into buying and selling art.
I also have a huge love for art.
I suppose they kind of go hand in hand with each other.
just from there that kind of developed into where I am today, little steps, step by stepby step by step and eventually wound up with where I am today basically, you know.
(05:30):
And was there like a gap in the market for people selling this one you set up?
when I set up acquired, it's almost 15 years ago now.
so yeah, was there a gap in the market?
There's very few, specialist dealers in Ireland.
So yeah, I suppose there was a gap in the market, but it was something that I just likedto do.
that didn't really play in my mind at all, whether it was.
(05:50):
whether there was a gap in the market or not, was something that I wanted to do andenjoyed doing, you know.
Yeah, it was passion driven.
Absolutely,
And tell me, for the average person listening who might not know the distinctions of thestyles of this furniture, How would you describe stylistically the shift between the more
classical items of brown furniture people might be used to seeing in old houses, antiques,versus this shift to modernism in the mid-century?
(06:16):
I think brown furniture is a term I don't really like because some of the antiques,they're absolutely amazing and brown furniture is, to me, it's almost a derogatory term.
yeah, okay.
I can see that.
If people just kind of just use it without really understanding it, antique furniture isabsolutely amazing in its own right.
(06:40):
But sometimes I see that term creeping into the mid-century modern furniture also andpeople using that, you know, like just a recent example I just sourced.
absolutely incredible Rosewood coffee table, which Rosewood is brown.
but this was like a really, rare find, really unique piece.
(07:03):
Absolutely stunning.
It's some of the most amazing grain pattern I've ever seen.
You know, just a real gem of a piece.
And maybe the first or second person said, yeah, it's nice, but I don't like brownfurniture anymore.
I can't get my head around that.
It's just one that kind of irks me a small little bit with that term.
Okay, it's a little reductive.
It's a little reductive.
(07:23):
I think, so Tanya, getting back to your original question, the differences betweentraditional antique furniture and more mid century modern design.
Basically, you just go through the ages.
You know, had you had Georgian furniture, which was made from really incredible hardwoods,a lot more simpler than
The next day where we moved on to Victorian furniture, it was a lot more decorative andhad more turnings and maybe a little bit more ornamental Edwardian.
(07:50):
So it just goes down through the ages.
I suppose mid-century modern furniture is a lot more sleek, minimal in design than moretraditional antiques from Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian periods.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Because a lot of people who might be more into contemporary design and are more minimalistand don't like brown furniture or have a certain view of vintage don't realize that a lot
(08:17):
of the shapes of furniture that they like have all come from mid-century modern icons anddesigners.
Yeah, absolutely, Tonya, you're 100 % right there.
it's often said it's like with mid-century modern furniture, with acquired, it's a designthat really transcends architecture.
(08:38):
It absolutely does.
works.
I've said it before, we do an awful lot of period homes and it works in a Georgian house.
as well as ultra contemporary new build, it just works.
that's what good design is all about.
It will work in such a huge variety of settings, right from that period, Tom, up to anultra contemporary new build.
(09:01):
Yeah, and I think with mid-century you get some of the best of, antiques in the sense thatlike they were the solid construction, you know, you don't have MDF and all of that stuff
yet.
But you also have, like you said, sleek lines that can work if you want a morecontemporary feel or a more minimalist feel, you're not so much into the ornament.
you get the best of it.
(09:22):
It's also a period of innovation and new materials.
know, you're chrome, they're using plastics, they're using plywood.
Plywood is a very important part of it.
You know, they're also using, as they would have in the past in antiques, they're usingreally high-end and rare veneers, you know.
(09:43):
But it is, it's a period of real innovation in design.
in furniture design, they're carving timber, they're laminating, bending, it's new ideasand new ways of doing things.
It's, a period of constant innovation.
Yeah, absolutely.
And a lot of what you source tends to come from Italy, it seems like.
(10:03):
And also, I think you do a lot of French sourcing, and then of course, Danish.
A lot of people I think are used to the Scandinavian mid-century and maybe English andeven some American.
What are the differences between the different regions?
for me, Italy is my main area for sourcing.
I have a little warehouse in Italy and I suppose it's a personal thing really, it's yourown taste, but I appreciate pieces like we do a lot of Scandinavian, Danish and Swedish
(10:32):
pieces also remarkable quality, some of the best designers.
in the world, But if you were to compare Scandinavian design and Italian design,Scandinavian design is much more simplistic, It's much more clean lined and minimal.
Whereas in Italy, there's maybe.
describe it as more flair.
(10:52):
they sometimes put the actual look above the use, you know.
uh There is a glamour, it's the aesthetic, it's the look of the pieces from Italy, justcertain things about it.
For me, it's what really excites me and, finding real fine quality Italian design isjust...
Absolutely gorgeous.
(11:13):
you know, 99.9 % of the pieces are, really functional, everyday use, but then you get theodd piece that's just solely done for the way it looks.
And it's amazing too.
Yeah, it's a lot.
There's a lot of fun.
think Scandinavian mid-century furniture can be quite serious.
But the Italian has, like you said, there's a bit of gloss or there's a glass.
(11:33):
A little bit of flair, don't know.
You just know it when you see it, you know?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I think that that's part of what sets you apart from, I don't know, kind of Etsydealers that might be selling, you know, a G plan coffee table, which are also beautiful.
And I think work great with contemporary interiors, with classical, with your pieces.
So tell us a bit more about the process of sourcing.
(11:56):
The way I've worked at TAN is over the years, I have built up a network of people rightthroughout Europe and even further afield.
Now, lately, we're also sourcing in Brazil, they have some absolutely incrediblemid-century modern design there.
But that's my latest venture.
(12:18):
Now also gone to Brazil and set up a network of people there.
over the years, from private dealers, it's the way the business works for me is one thingleads to another.
I may have started out dealing with other dealers, going to international fairs, going toauctions are really good.
source and from what from basically one thing leads to another.
(12:40):
So for example, I go to a dealer in Italy and I may have gotten contact with him online orwhatever the case may be, and go there and buy something and speak to him and he'll tell
me, do you know such and such a person or have you visited Paulo?
He lives just down the road.
that's how it works.
(13:00):
It's basically, I it's networking in a way.
And yeah, that's one thing leads to another.
now I'm in a situation.
But it does take years of work to get to that stage.
also, you have to do things correctly.
You have to do what you say.
have to pay people.
(13:21):
when you say that you pay them, you have to be there, you have to do everything.
And with that, you gain respect within that community and that leads to recommendations,et cetera.
So yeah, that's how I've started over the years, built and built and a network of dealers,working in...
different auction houses all throughout Europe and people get to know you and you knowsometimes they'll ring you up and say listen I'm just after finding such and such a piece
(13:49):
would be of interest to you and you know that's how it works basically.
And do you go to estate sales as well or is that not so much a thing anymore?
Not really, to be honest with you.
I'd say it's probably more in America, estates, I haven't really come across them inEurope much, to be honest with you.
But if you know of any, let me know.
(14:09):
Yeah, and I think if there were, maybe it'd be more the UK and maybe it'd be moreclassical furniture.
I often hear pieces in estate sales and finding like, you know, this is like one in amillion piece, but that has never happened to me before.
Actually, no, no, have to retract that because recently I did find an absolutelyincredible piece in, it wasn't in an estate sale, but it was basically like,
(14:37):
it was like a second hand shop.
Okay.
Middle of absolutely nowhere.
was, delivering some pieces to one of my couriers in Italy that was transporting goods forme.
So I, drove to him dropping off the pieces and, he just said to me, there's a shop downthe road.
Would you like me to take you down?
I said, why not?
And.
(14:57):
just went in and my face dropped.
was just like full of clothes and all.
It had nothing of interest to me.
And then I just walked into the back room, and my jaw just dropped.
It was the most incredible.
It was actually a Danish desk in Rosewood.
And that is that is a purchase that I have recently.
So it's similar to this HL I suppose.
(15:18):
But yeah, that is one that that that's turned up recently.
All right.
just out of the absolute blue, you know?
And tell me, is there a specific designer that you can attribute that desk to when you sawit, or it just had attributes that you liked?
No, just had attributes.
I knew the moment I saw it.
I knew it was Danish, just from what we spoke about a moment ago, but it was justabsolutely sensational.
(15:40):
It was the last thing I was expecting to find or see at that moment in time.
Now it's back in Ireland.
think I see it on your website.
it the Rosewood one?
Yeah.
I have, I think I have about five or six different ones.
but anyway, it is a Rosewood desk.
Well, and that's kind of nice to hear that even you, what you're dealing with is quitehigh end.
(16:03):
You would still sometimes venture into a secondhand store and find something that isn'tparticularly, okay, it's not by Eileen Gray, but you see it and it has elements and you
can choose it.
Cause one of the questions I have for you is, it have to be designer or how can you tellthat it's still premium quality?
Yeah, it doesn't have to be by a specific designer.
(16:25):
It's great if you can attribute it to a designer and you have provenance and stuff with apiece, Many of the pieces by aren't attributable to a specific designer, but you just know
by...
the sheer quality of the piece, that it's a really good, well-made piece.
Yeah, I guess that's why people buy from you because they they don't have that instinctivereaction that you might or they don't see the potential in something.
(16:50):
And if you saw something you liked, but it was not in great condition, how do you approachrestoration?
Well, from my background in making, that's it.
That has stood me very well over the years.
it allows me to do stuff maybe that other dealers aren't able to do in that.
You know, I have a background in furniture making.
So if there is and it happens with a lot of different pieces that I have that that can bein terrible condition.
(17:15):
But I know.
by looking at what needs to be done, what can be done, if it's possible to do.
So I would buy also a lot of pieces that need work and need to be restored.
I have two guys that work with me basically full time restoring furniture and also notjust wooden furniture, I also have, in terms of upholstery,
(17:41):
can completely change a piece.
It's difficult for some people to visualize.
I know exactly what it is because basically when you're doing it every day, you know whata piece is going to turn out like once fully restored or also when you're putting new
upholstery on a piece.
It's a tricky one when you're trying to sell a piece, but just last week,
(18:03):
I had a customer who I'm always nervous showing someone a piece in its original conditionor in its original upholstery because frankly, sometimes the upholstery is horrific and it
takes certain people to be able to see the bigger picture.
So it's probably not a sales method to show someone.
(18:24):
what it is, but if they can visualize and get over that it's a great way because they thencan decide on what color, what fabric, rather than me choosing for them, they can have
that input into the piece as well.
just going back to what I was saying there, I an absolutely amazing pair of Hans Wegenerarmchairs in oak and had a
(18:49):
and her husband were down in my showroom maybe last week or the week before and you knowthey bought some really unusual different pieces and they said if you come across a nice
pair of chairs we have a new place being built it's on the coast and for some reason I hadthis pair of Hans Wegener chairs in my store and I don't know why but I just thought that
(19:10):
it really suit a coastal home.
So I said, I'll take the plunge and show them to this lady in their original state.
I'm not sure, was she an artist or what?
But she really got it.
She really understood what they were gonna look like and the potential that they had.
So the form and everything of the chairs is absolutely beautiful.
(19:30):
But the upholstery was just, it was naff, it was horrible.
It was brown, war.
You know, it just didn't look right.
But I showed her a video, we talked through it and I showed her another pair of Danisharmchairs that I'd recently sourced for another client had done in a beautiful kind of a
sky blue velvet.
And I asked her to imagine this pair of chairs in that sky blue and she just absolutelygot it.
(19:57):
And it was brilliant to have someone like that that can, you know,
you're the same yourself being an interior design work, you know, but not everyone workslike that.
If the customer can visualize what it will be as opposed to what it is, it's a huge helpbecause they can have more input themselves.
Yeah, and that actually leads me to my next question, which is, can people come to you ifthey're looking for something specific and you can find it for them?
(20:26):
Absolutely, yeah.
we obviously we have online and with our website and people love to browse there and havea look and see what did see what kind of different pieces we have.
We also have an archive section of pieces that we've had in the past.
And, that gives people a great idea for if they're looking for something specific, what wedo and what we have.
(20:48):
But yes, absolutely, they can come to our
showroom in Stradbally we operate by appointment.
It works for me that way because I'm on road a lot sourcing or delivering whatever thecase may be.
But yeah, they can come and spend it's an hour or two hours.
It doesn't matter.
it's a much more kind of personal experience for them to go and browse our wholecollection then.
(21:10):
if they see something they like there, they can buy it.
Or if not, if they want something
more specific, you know, it just gives them a good idea of what we can do and what we cansource.
Yeah, I still have to make it down.
I'm a little nervous.
I don't think my husband will be supportive.
I think he'll make me leave my wallet.
Yeah, maybe so.
You can just tell him that there is also a very good vintage car collector living in thesame complex as me.
(21:38):
that might be
I'll distract him that way.
That sounds very good.
on the kind of sourcing thing, would you be able to also work with people if they're notsure of what they want, but they love the things you have, they're lacking that
creativity, they don't have an interior designer, could they send you a photo of a roomand be like, I think I need like a sideboard or maybe a feature armchair like.
(22:01):
What do you think could work in this space?
Do you get involved at that level?
Yes, absolutely.
I suppose from working with interior designers on a daily basis, I'm not an interiordesigner, but I'm working with interior designers on a daily basis and it's part of what
we do.
I know what will work in certain areas.
So yeah, people will send me a photo of their hall or something and say, can you justimagine this sideboard or this console table there?
(22:28):
I just know it.
if something will look right or look really great and I'm more than happy to suggestitems.
Yeah, that's really good to know.
And also when you're talking about the upholstery, if you haven't chosen an upholstery foran item yet, and you're sourcing, somebody could have something specific in mind.
They're like, I want some armchairs here, but I actually want like, I want to upholsterthis in a zebra or I want to upholster this in a fabric I have that I have excess of from
(22:54):
something else.
So people can even customize some of their vintage pieces.
Absolutely, it all depends on what stage they get in at.
I much prefer in terms of upholstery to give the end user or the customer the option ofchoosing their own fabric or their own colors.
Then there's other times where I may have picked, for example, I tend to veer towards alot of greens for some reason.
(23:18):
don't know, I just love green.
Wow, I just love that green.
It works different ways for different people, I suppose.
Yeah, in my mind I just have like there's a lime green velvet something.
That's very you.
Yeah, I don't know.
That's just me.
just tend to be a lot of greens and maybe blues and stuff like that.
you know, some people absolutely love it.
(23:39):
Maybe some people don't, but it's just to have that choice.
it's really helpful for people to know that you're doing a lot of this restoration andreupholstery.
They might just assume, oh, you know, he just finds things in really good condition, butthere's a lot of work in the background there.
And I think that's represented in what you're paying because you can get things that are alittle banged up from other types of dealers.
(24:01):
but then that means the burden of fixing it up is on you or you just live with it in thatcondition.
That's a really key point, Tonya.
You know, for me, it's not just about that end product.
When you talk about an antique dealer or in my case, a design dealer, you know, there's somany different aspects of the job and what you have to do to get that one piece.
(24:26):
We like to present all our pieces in showroom condition, in...
pristine condition as they would have been 50, 60 years ago when they were just made.
Occasionally there's cases for a piece to be left in its original patina, but for the mostpart, we like to have them restored and presented as they would have come out of the
showroom or workshop, whatever the case may be.
(24:48):
But yeah, getting back to that point, there is so many different aspects of being
an antique dealer or a design dealer in terms of that end product, how you get it from,first of all, you have to source it.
Then you have to purchase it, transport it, and transport is not just, you know, down theroad, something you're transporting it across continents in some cases.
(25:12):
And then,
once you get it home, have to get it completely restored.
You have to get it refinished.
Then you have to photograph it.
Then you have to market it, get it online, advertise this, and eventually sell it.
After you sell it, you have to deliver it.
(25:32):
So there is so many different aspects that go into one piece.
And sometimes people don't.
realised that the amount of time, effort and finances that go into, a piece back to itsoriginal state and back to everyday use.
And I think it has a huge impact on the look of an interiors when a piece like the onesyou source has that pristine condition, because I think some people who maybe are just
(26:00):
getting into interiors or decorating their spaces, they might be like, no, I'm not so muchinto vintage.
That's a bit, you know, eclectic for me.
It's a bit dusty, brown furniture.
they have a certain idea in their mind of what that is.
And
It's the cluttered secondhand shop and it's the things at the charity stores.
(26:21):
But I think there's a giant spectrum within all of this and you are at a certain end ofthe spectrum and it can have a completely different look in a space if that sideboard is
sourced from acquired and the lacquer is brand new on it and pieces have been filled.
You can tell it's a mid-century piece, but it's not.
(26:43):
Dusty.
Yeah, no, it really is a timeless aesthetic, Tanya.
In terms of a sideboard, it's one of my favorite things to source and one of my favoritepieces of furniture.
But you can build your whole room around that sideboard and it'll look absolutely amazing.
And it's also something that...
friend of mine in Italy, an artist that I work with, he uses the phrase of conformed tononconformity.
(27:06):
I think it's really good that, you know, if you get a really good sideboard and you'rebuilding your room around it, it's not something you can buy off the shelf that is in
every second house.
And maybe it's worthwhile saving for or having,
that one standout piece in your home and you can literally build a whole room around it.
tell me in terms of that, let's say that somebody is just dipping their toe into vintage.
(27:29):
it kind of random if you only have one mid-century sideboard in one room?
Do you have to start sprinkling things of that style throughout to make, to anchor it?
What do you think?
I don't think so.
I think you can have one piece or multiple pieces.
Literally, can mix with contemporary furniture, you can mix with antique furniture, and ifyou do it right, it'll look absolutely amazing.
(27:53):
Yeah.
And what about mixing woods?
Cause I think that's, that's always a tricky one.
Yeah, I suppose in terms of different woods, I would tend to more or less stick to thesame color, same palette, you know, when it comes to timbers.
My own personal favorite is Rosewood.
I'm a sucker for Rosewood.
I just think it's absolutely incredible.
(28:13):
More people love teak.
I also like teak, but for me, Rosewood is just so, special and it's not that.
It's not available anymore.
can't, there's no furniture now being made in Rosewood South.
I suppose that makes it that little bit more special and, you know, sought after as well.
And that seems to be a bit of a distinguishing element between some of the like moretypical, let's say mass production mid-century, where teak seemed to be kind of the norm
(28:39):
and the rosewood kind of comes out and it's like another, it's another tangent of thatstyle, which is usually a little glossier in finish, it seems like.
Yeah, I suppose it's the grain pattern also, Tonya.
know, Rosewood just has a real kind of...
a real charismatic kind of feel and look to it.
It's you know, it's absolutely beautiful timber.
(29:02):
where it was teak is also really nice, really durable, really, really great for furnitureconstruction.
again, it's just down to taste really and personal choice.
And would you mix, could you put Rosewood in the same room as teak items is that, or youwould just really try to be quite strict with it and like only Rosewood with Rosewood.
There's no real, there's no laws or no one force me to do anything, but it's, that's alldown to the person's own choice.
(29:29):
know, for instance, oak flooring is extremely popular in Ireland at the moment,archiflooring.
we put a lot of rosewood pieces into homes with oak flooring and it looks absolutelybeautiful.
So there's no rules or regulations of what you can and can't do when it comes to mixingfurniture.
(29:49):
Maybe if you had, just for example, if you had a rosewood sideboard, I think it would benice to have a pair of rosewood armchairs just to tie in with it.
But there is no rules or regulations.
If it works, it will work.
Yeah, and I think it's about looking at the undertones too.
So like Rosewood has quite like a strong red undertone.
making sure that I think it looks worse if the floors are a variant of that rather than acomplete contrast.
(30:14):
Like if it's like a really pale oak, the contrast against that Rosewood is really lovelybecause then it highlights the Rosewood.
You're not trying to match it.
Whereas like if you had a pine that hasn't been stained,
and it has that orange undertone too, might be a little much, a bit jarring.
Yeah, I'd agree with you 100 % there.
That contrast can be very nice.
(30:35):
Yeah, and on the flip side, like I think dark floors are coming back now.
If you had really dark floors that are almost like a chocolatey wall.
You can then go for you didn't go for an oak cyborg, you know, as well, you know, so it'sthat that that tends to work,
Yeah.
Okay.
So the sideboard, can you talk to me a little bit about the different terms that peoplehave?
So there's like sideboard credenzas, consoles, buffets.
(30:58):
what,
I think all those words apart from consult say credenza, a sideboard and a buffet.
I think all those words are basically interchangeable.
Okay.
probably America uses credenza, the word credenza as opposed to sideboard, buffet.
it's much rarer, like very rare, but I kind of associate with food, I would say it's morecredenza and sideboard.
(31:24):
And it's just, basically interchangeable.
You know, whatever, whatever you like.
I just say cyber.
Yeah.
And where are good places to put them?
good places to put a sideboard, I would say in an entrance hallway or in a living room orsitting room.
That would be where we would put them most, you know, because they offer, Tanya, theyoffer just not like a really great look, they're really functional pieces of furniture as
(31:52):
well in terms of storage.
You know, a sideboard will normally have
cabinet storage and drawer storage.
And you just get a lot of bang for your buck there when it comes to what that piece offurniture does in terms of storage, but also in terms of display.
You know, the surface, can decorate it beautifully with, you know, maybe two oversizedlamp side or sides, some little sculptures, books, hang your artwork above it, have a
(32:18):
mirror above it.
Sideboards are, pound for pound, they're the best piece of furniture you can have in ahouse in terms of look, in terms of their functionality and form.
And I think they're a great alternative to break up this trend towards a lot of built-injoinery, which, you know, people need storage more than ever.
We seem to have a lot of crap and people are living in smaller homes because it's just soexpensive.
(32:42):
And while joinery is amazing and I personally love built-in furniture and design it.
think it's nice to have that mix.
Otherwise things can get a bit blocky and suffocated, especially if you've got beautifularchitecture or ceilings or
you want to show off a piece of loose furniture that still provides storage is somethinggood to add into the mix.
(33:03):
Yeah, I've recently had had some clients that came down to the showroom and we had thisabsolutely stunning, rosewood sideboard, really, really beautiful.
And when they saw it, they fell in love with it and they actually changed their entireplans of their house after seeing it, where they were going to do a built in shelving and
they had kind of, it was like,
(33:23):
the gorgeous extension of their home and they had polished concrete floors where they weregoing to do a kind of a step out, if that makes sense, like a little mini wall that you
could sit on and some built in shelving over need of.
when they when they saw the sidebar, they absolutely completely changed their mind andsaid, you know, when they saw what this one piece of furniture could do in terms of
(33:46):
storage and look.
So yes, what you just said, it does happen.
it looks absolutely amazing in their house too, and they're thrilled to bits.
And I think that's why people should consider furniture layouts earlier.
Like we actually designed our extension, calling it an extension is hilarious because it'shalf a meter on either side.
We extended half a meter on either side just so a table that I fell in love with andbought would fit.
(34:10):
And my architect is just like, would you not just get another table?
And I was like, I don't think you understand.
Yeah, no, but it's like that that just kind of leads us to another point as well Tony,that table, the way you fell in love with us and the way it makes you feel, that's a very
important part of, you know, what we do also in that the furniture has to, it's so muchmore than just a piece of furniture, you know, it tells a story, you know.
(34:43):
I don't know if you want to speak about the piece you've purchased recently for me, thatwas an amazing series of events really in that someone got in touch with me about that
tapestry and I bought it because I thought it was an absolutely beautiful, decorativepiece that I thought, this is going to look amazing on someone's home.
It wasn't something that I'd...
(35:03):
Not a piece that I'd buy regularly or anything like that.
It was kind of out of the blue, but I bought it for one reason, I thought it wasabsolutely a stunning decorative piece that I think somebody is going to fall in love with
it and like something really different in their home.
But when you saw it, meant so much more to you than that.
(35:23):
It a whole different meaning.
I don't know if you want to share.
Yeah, it was so serendipitous.
So this person reaches out, you buy it and you did a, an Instagram story.
was a video of, of some of the pieces you had and the tapestry was kind of in thebackground.
And I was on holiday in Mexico, just scrolling through my phone, I think on the way todinner or something.
(35:45):
And I see the tapestry, which is a rug, I think originally.
And it was a rug that my parents had in the house that they built that I grew up in.
And it was lost.
My father passed away.
He lived in Argentina.
It was impossible to ship things over.
The cost was just prohibitive.
So a lot of things, it still breaks my heart to even think about, the things he built overthe years that was probably bought in New York in the sixties or in the seventies.
(36:11):
Yeah.
That's where he, lived during that era and he loved.
modern furniture.
And it made its way to Switzerland and then to Argentina.
its journey ended there.
And it was so sad.
And I always told my husband about this rug.
in my mind, I thought it was a Kandinsky design because we actually had a print byKandinsky, which I think you actually now have as well, or a version of it.
(36:34):
You have a black Kandinsky print.
And in my mind, I had conflated both.
And I thought this abstract wool rug, which is an abstract nude of a woman.
And I remember being a kid and being like, is that pubic hair?
Yeah, and I it's a beautiful rug and I had been looking for it and I would search nudekandinsky Rug and I could never find it.
So, you know in my head it was lost and then when I saw it on your Instagram story I waslike, my god, that's it and I reached out to you I was like, it's a kandinsky, right?
(37:02):
And you're like, no, no, no, it's McGreet and then it was like, there we go.
That's why I was
explains it.
But I just thought that whole series of events was just absolutely amazing.
And from your point of view, it was a piece that your dad absolutely loved and then it hadgot lost throughout the years, whatever.
You know, then for me to find it and you to connect with me over it, I got a great senseof satisfaction that, you know, the right person had ended up with this piece.
(37:32):
Yeah.
It's funny how things work like that.
I don't know what it is in my job, but there's certain things happen for a reason.
I can't explain it.
I could give you another example similar to that, to our story, Tanya, about thattapestry.
But one time I was in Torino a couple of years back and
I met a dealer friend of mine and he had this, it was a piece of Murano glass.
(37:58):
To describe it to you and your listeners, it's a bit of a strange description, if you goto a carnival maybe not anymore, or maybe it's a pet shop, you could buy a fish in a bag
or you'd win a fish, right, a little goldfish.
So the piece of Murano glass looked like
a little goldfish was floating around in water within a plastic bag.
(38:18):
It was really cool, it was incredibly heavy too.
And I suppose it was life size because I could fit it into my backpack, it was extremelyheavy.
So when I saw it, fell in love with it.
my dealer friend was asking a lot of money for it.
I thought, you know,
it's going to be very hard for me to sell this and make any profit.
(38:41):
So I left it be.
I said, look, I'm sorry, I can't take it.
It's just not going to work out financially.
So I drove off and for the entire day it was playing around in my head.
Why did I leave that after me?
So I was in Turin and I was supposed to be going to Milan that night and at six o'clock inevening, I turned the car around and I went back.
(39:01):
And I said, ragged him, said, stay where you are, I'm coming back.
I'd give him the whole day.
came back and I bought the piece of glass from him.
And, you know, my other plans went out the window, but anyway, I bought that piece ofglass and I thought, you know what, can, I'll bring it home with me and maybe someone will
love it just the same way I did.
(39:22):
So I travel light when I'm traveling.
because I frequently put it in my backpack and I put it through the scanner in theairport.
And as you can imagine, that is all kind of alarm bells start going off.
This guy got a live fish in his bag.
So came out the other side and I was explaining to him what it was and can we take it out.
(39:43):
And next thing I had 10 people around me in the airport and I had to open up and show themand they're all saying, oh, this is amazing.
This is absolutely beautiful.
This is in Italy.
I can see the scene in my head calling over their pals.
All the security guards around and showed them everything.
So anyway, I got the piece home after all that.
And the next week, someone came to me and they saw it and they bought it.
(40:10):
But that little piece turned out to be like, first of all, the guy that bought it washuge.
furniture enthusiast and we have since gone on to source multiple pieces basically for hisentire home.
We've furnished, lots of lots of unique pieces from that one piece led to that entirerelationship.
(40:32):
We're now great friends and also
it led on to all those other pieces that we sourced for him for his home.
So it's just funny the way, when I think about that, I think it's so strange, know,whatever made me turn around in the road that day and go back and buy that one little
piece of glass.
Everything seems to happen for a reason, you know.
(40:53):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's the the relationships you build then are really interesting.
And that actually brings me to a question I have about a new showroom, so to speak, theRoisin Lafferty Gallery, which is displaying a lot of your pieces.
Tell me about that collaboration.
Yeah, it's an amazing new gallery in Dublin in Roisin's new HQ in Fitzwilliam Square.
(41:20):
So I've been friends with Roisin for many years and worked on sourcing and she has come tome to purchase pieces for lots of different projects the first 12 years.
So basically,
she had all spoken about this, her new gallery space and wanted me to collaborate with heron the pieces that she wanted in source.
(41:48):
it's a new role for me outside of my own business with Acquired, working for and withRoisin with her new gallery space.
And we have some really, really incredible pieces in there.
You know, lots of the items that have never been offered for sale before in Ireland.
spoke to you earlier in our chat about Brazilian design.
(42:09):
We have some absolutely incredible pieces of Brazilian design in Roisin Lafferty's newgallery.
Yeah, what is it's there's a unique wood I saw it and I
It's again, it's called a Jacaranda.
It's from the Rosewood family.
again, that's again no longer available.
pieces are no longer made in that timber.
(42:30):
So yeah, that's where we are with that.
So it's a new venture for Roisin and I'm just delighted to be part of it in a small littleway and to
source and help her in any way I can.
It's a really amazing space and I think it's going to be a very important space for designin Ireland going forward, even for other interior designers who want to come there and
(42:57):
show their clients what's available and just give them different options that they're notgoing to see elsewhere.
Yeah, absolutely.
So the idea is you will have select pieces, some of your rarest pieces, it seems like, ondisplay at the gallery, which is also by appointment only.
Yeah, it's separate from my business, The Acquired.
yeah, those pieces are on view and for sale through Roisin Lafferty Gallery.
(43:20):
you can make an appointment to view and purchase there directly with Roisin LaffertyGallery.
Yeah, the pieces are stunning.
And I think it's a really good way to see how in a period property with her touch and themid-century pieces, how it all works together and really adds a warmth and history without
(43:41):
being stuffy.
And it feels like a museum, but at the same time, you could sit down in the armchair andreally get comfortable.
Absolutely, yeah, Listen, Roshan is an absolutely phenomenal talent.
She's leading the way and paving the way for design in Ireland and internationally.
So, you know, to have a space like that and to work with Roshan is, it's a huge honour forme and I'm absolutely delighted and very excited about it, to be honest with you.
(44:09):
Amazing.
And before we kind of wrap up, can you tell us some of the other kinds of pieces that youlike to sell?
So we talked about sideboards.
We talked a little bit about desks.
What are some of the other pieces that people could look at if, you know, let's say theyhave most of their furniture or they don't want to spend thousands, but they want a bit of
character.
They want a bit of history.
(44:30):
What other pieces could they look at?
We do all sorts really, Tenya, but I suppose if I just give you some of the key piecesthat we sell a lot, a pair of statement armchairs is something that we're very well known
for.
sometimes we go for Danish pieces by design icons like Finn Yule or Arnie Wadder.
(44:51):
Oftentimes, unknown designers, Italian armchairs can be absolutely gorgeous, reallybeautiful shapes and very comfortable.
We do a lot of those.
So a pair of statement armchairs is always something that anyone can have in their home.
know, just put them in a bay window with a little table beside them or a reading lamp.
It'll look absolutely amazing.
(45:13):
Console tables as opposed to sideboards.
A console table is different to a sideboard in that it doesn't have presses and stuff.
We do a lot of console tables.
You know, looks really great in an entrance hallway.
Lighting, lamps, you know, there's so many different things.
Also, dining tables, and chairs.
(45:33):
I think there are pieces that are really worth investing in and getting right.
We do dining chairs, probably Niels Otto Muller is one of the most renowned chairmakersand designers.
So we try to always have in stock maybe a set of six or eight Niels Otto Muller diningchairs.
(45:54):
extending tables, people like that
One of the biggest contributions of mid-century design to things we use every day is chairdesign, especially dining chairs.
I'm a chair addict.
In whatever form it may be, if it's a lounge chair, an armchair, a dining chair, Iabsolutely, I'm addicted to chairs.
(46:15):
love them.
They can add so much character to a room, know, like, get an impression, the upchair, it'sone that springs to mind just absolutely beautiful, huge, you know, big comfortable lounge
chair sit into.
I suppose when you look at furniture design history, it's always the chair that everyonegoes to.
(46:36):
It's one of the most important pieces we use every single day.
And yeah, as I said, I'm totally addicted.
Amazing.
Yeah.
So if people want to check out the acquired website or your Instagram, you're really goodat maintaining it and posting new things.
And got from a vintage Missoni rugs to mirrors, to lighting, to dining chairs.
I mean, there's seems to be nothing you don't do.
(46:58):
So people can reach out.
They can come see you in your, your showroom in Stradbully.
They can see some of your pieces if they reach out to the Roisin Lafferty Gallery toanything else you'd like to share with people.
just if there's anything at all that they're interested in, just don't be afraid to get intouch.
It doesn't matter.
We're more than happy to talk to everyone.
(47:19):
And yeah, if there is a specific piece you want us to source, just drop us a message.
suppose Instagram is the easiest platform.
It's really good for what we do because it's so visual.
You know, what we do, it's the perfect platform for.
antique dealers and design dealers.
Instagram or even on our website, which we're currently revamping.
(47:40):
So in a couple of weeks, that should be looking nice and sleek.
So if you want to reach out to us either on Instagram or acquired.ie, we'd absolutely loveto hear from you.
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much, Domhnall.
And yeah, I encourage people to get inspired.
Like I've been browsing through your current collection as we're talking, because it justreally helps give me a sense.
(48:01):
And I just can't stop smiling because there's so much fun there.
And I think people play it too safe sometimes.
So instead of painting a single wall red or doing something terrible like that, why don'tyou get like a great lamp?
You're correct.
Absolutely.
And I don't want people to be intimidated by it either.
(48:23):
think, you know, sourcing and dealers can feel very elitist, but the idea is like, youknow, a lot of people, know, depending what you're spending on your interiors, you can
afford a piece of fun decor and you can.
Yeah, it's not all the people.
Some people have that little bit of fear or whatever, but there's nothing to be afraidabout.
Just talk to us.
(48:43):
If we can help you out at all, we absolutely will.
And if there's specific set budgets, we can work within that too.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think the first piece I bought from you is a console we have in my entrance hall.
And God, you sent me a lot of different options before we settled on that.
And I was pretty clear on the budget and also the dimensions are super important.
(49:06):
So you might fall in love with something, but it doesn't quite fit.
Don't be in a rush to go for that one because something of the wrong size can totallyupset you.
It's worthwhile waiting to get the right piece done.
Absolutely.
when I was doing my own house, I, a furniture addict, I may have bought some pieces beforeactually building the house.
no, it's worthwhile waiting, I think, for a key piece for a room.
(49:31):
it's
a of statement chairs, if it's a sideboard, a console table, a mirror, whatever that pieceyou have in your head, it's worthwhile getting it right and making sure that you
absolutely love that piece and that it makes you smile every day.
That's the important thing.
I suppose that's the one piece of advice I'd give to people just to hold tough untilyou're totally 100 % happy.
(49:57):
with the piece that you got.
And that's something I say to my customers the whole time.
I want my customers to be absolutely, totally happy and delighted with what they have whenthey go home.
And to be honest with you, they always are.
Because they take the time and just make sure that it is, that's what makes it worthwhilein the end, having the piece that you put a lot of effort into.
(50:18):
and that it works for your home and makes you happy.
That's it.
That's what we're all looking for.
Thank you so much, Domhnall.
at the end of this conversation, I now want like three more things from your website,which is going to go down well with my husband.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Thanks so much for your time, Domhnall.
And I think we've covered a lot today and I hope people are maybe more inspired to thinkof vintage, think of mid-century and...
(50:45):
see how they can layer it into their own interior style and their home in exciting ways.
Absolutely.
Thank you very much, Tony.
It was an absolute pleasure and apologies I didn't get around to doing it soon.
Hey, we got you here in the end.
That's all that counts.
Thanks, Donuts.
Thanks so much, Tanya.
Welcome back to another episode of the interiors podcast.
Today I have somebody who I've been begging to come on for an interview for a while.
It's Domhnall O Gairbhi from acquired.ie.
Welcome Domhnall.
Thank you very much Tanya, I'm delighted to finally pluck up the courage and do yourwonderful podcast.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, after I saw you do that podcast with your antiques pals, what's it called again?
(00:47):
It's called dealing in the years.
Dealing in the ears, yeah.
It's little pun on that.
Yeah, so good.
It's really clever name.
Yeah, yeah.
Whoever came up with this deserves a medal, I think.
Yeah, well, so for those of you who don't know, Domhnall runs acquired.ie, and tell uswhat is acquired.
Acquired is basically, we deal and specialize in mid-century modern furniture, lighting,art and design.
(01:13):
It's, I suppose it's kind of a very niche company and we deal with very specific andsometimes high-end, sometimes not high-end pieces from around Europe, around the globe
really, you know, just we source and sell some very, rare and...
Beautiful pieces from around the globe.
Yeah.
And would you call them vintage?
Would you call them antiques?
(01:33):
What is actually the technical differentiation?
That's a really good question, And it's a question I times, I have friends for 30 yearsand they don't know what I do.
It's a hard one to explain to them, to explain to people.
I suppose the easiest thing to say is that I'm an antique dealer, but technicallyspeaking, that's not correct because the pieces I sell for the most part,
(01:58):
are not antiques.
antiques are classified as antiques when they're 100 years old or more.
So the pieces I sell are dating mainly from the 1950s right up to the 80s, even sometimesinto the 90s.
they would be classed, I suppose mid-century pieces really are
(02:18):
from mid-century from 50s to 60s, but it branches really from maybe 50s to 70s, so that'sthe difference.
I class myself as a design dealer.
Trying to explain that to people, it's a very difficult thing to to explain because it isso niche.
that's what sets you apart because a lot of people who are getting into interiorsredecorating their homes, they know about mid century.
(02:43):
A lot of people will have like a G plan coffee table or a sideboard that was theirmothers.
but what you source is, quite different.
So tell us how you ended up running this business.
Where did it all start?
I suppose it all started, my entire life from when I was a child, I've always had a loveof woodwork and cabinet making.
(03:03):
My dad was a carpenter, so as a child I would have been working with him and making piecesmyself.
And I suppose from there, that's how I got into the business really.
With antique dealers,
I would say for the most part, modern day antique dealers, they inherit the business orit's passed down from generation to generation where their granddads, their dads, their
(03:27):
moms, you know, it's a trade that they inherit basically from their parents orgrandparents.
not in my case.
after school I did furniture design and making in a college called Letterfrack.
It's called ATU Connemara now.
But there I learned furniture design and making.
So that's how I really started off in the business.
(03:47):
After college I went to New York and worked in
an antique restoration workshop in Manhattan.
Cool.
that kind of exposed me to, in Ireland, we wouldn't have a huge history of mid-centurydesign and, know, internationally famous, more contemporary designers.
But when I went to New York, that kind of opened my eyes to a different world.
(04:09):
And I fell in love with,
mid-century design there.
It was my first real exposure to it apart from learning about it in college.
And we did kind of classes in the history of furniture and so on and so forth, which Iabsolutely loved.
But my first real exposure was when I went to work as an intern slash apprentice in aworkshop in Manhattan where I was working daily in a workshop on
(04:37):
antique pieces, but also I was going out to apartments and houses, absolutely stunningplaces and seeing furniture that I had only seen in books So yeah, that would have been my
first real exposure to mid-century modern design.
you know, it grew from there, basically, my love and passion for it.
And
When I came back to Ireland, I worked as a furniture maker.
(05:01):
I made furniture myself and I realized it's an extremely hard way to make a living as amaker.
So I branched and diversified a little bit into buying and selling art.
I also have a huge love for art.
I suppose they kind of go hand in hand with each other.
just from there that kind of developed into where I am today, little steps, step by stepby step by step and eventually wound up with where I am today basically, you know.
(05:30):
And was there like a gap in the market for people selling this one you set up?
when I set up acquired, it's almost 15 years ago now.
so yeah, was there a gap in the market?
There's very few, specialist dealers in Ireland.
So yeah, I suppose there was a gap in the market, but it was something that I just likedto do.
that didn't really play in my mind at all, whether it was.
(05:50):
whether there was a gap in the market or not, was something that I wanted to do andenjoyed doing, you know.
Yeah, it was passion driven.
Absolutely,
And tell me, for the average person listening who might not know the distinctions of thestyles of this furniture, How would you describe stylistically the shift between the more
classical items of brown furniture people might be used to seeing in old houses, antiques,versus this shift to modernism in the mid-century?
(06:16):
I think brown furniture is a term I don't really like because some of the antiques,they're absolutely amazing and brown furniture is, to me, it's almost a derogatory term.
yeah, okay.
I can see that.
If people just kind of just use it without really understanding it, antique furniture isabsolutely amazing in its own right.
(06:40):
But sometimes I see that term creeping into the mid-century modern furniture also andpeople using that, you know, like just a recent example I just sourced.
absolutely incredible Rosewood coffee table, which Rosewood is brown.
but this was like a really, rare find, really unique piece.
(07:03):
Absolutely stunning.
It's some of the most amazing grain pattern I've ever seen.
You know, just a real gem of a piece.
And maybe the first or second person said, yeah, it's nice, but I don't like brownfurniture anymore.
I can't get my head around that.
It's just one that kind of irks me a small little bit with that term.
Okay, it's a little reductive.
It's a little reductive.
(07:23):
I think, so Tanya, getting back to your original question, the differences betweentraditional antique furniture and more mid century modern design.
Basically, you just go through the ages.
You know, had you had Georgian furniture, which was made from really incredible hardwoods,a lot more simpler than
The next day where we moved on to Victorian furniture, it was a lot more decorative andhad more turnings and maybe a little bit more ornamental Edwardian.
(07:50):
So it just goes down through the ages.
I suppose mid-century modern furniture is a lot more sleek, minimal in design than moretraditional antiques from Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian periods.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Because a lot of people who might be more into contemporary design and are more minimalistand don't like brown furniture or have a certain view of vintage don't realize that a lot
(08:17):
of the shapes of furniture that they like have all come from mid-century modern icons anddesigners.
Yeah, absolutely, Tonya, you're 100 % right there.
it's often said it's like with mid-century modern furniture, with acquired, it's a designthat really transcends architecture.
(08:38):
It absolutely does.
works.
I've said it before, we do an awful lot of period homes and it works in a Georgian house.
as well as ultra contemporary new build, it just works.
that's what good design is all about.
It will work in such a huge variety of settings, right from that period, Tom, up to anultra contemporary new build.
(09:01):
Yeah, and I think with mid-century you get some of the best of, antiques in the sense thatlike they were the solid construction, you know, you don't have MDF and all of that stuff
yet.
But you also have, like you said, sleek lines that can work if you want a morecontemporary feel or a more minimalist feel, you're not so much into the ornament.
you get the best of it.
(09:22):
It's also a period of innovation and new materials.
know, you're chrome, they're using plastics, they're using plywood.
Plywood is a very important part of it.
You know, they're also using, as they would have in the past in antiques, they're usingreally high-end and rare veneers, you know.
(09:43):
But it is, it's a period of real innovation in design.
in furniture design, they're carving timber, they're laminating, bending, it's new ideasand new ways of doing things.
It's, a period of constant innovation.
Yeah, absolutely.
And a lot of what you source tends to come from Italy, it seems like.
(10:03):
And also, I think you do a lot of French sourcing, and then of course, Danish.
A lot of people I think are used to the Scandinavian mid-century and maybe English andeven some American.
What are the differences between the different regions?
for me, Italy is my main area for sourcing.
I have a little warehouse in Italy and I suppose it's a personal thing really, it's yourown taste, but I appreciate pieces like we do a lot of Scandinavian, Danish and Swedish
(10:32):
pieces also remarkable quality, some of the best designers.
in the world, But if you were to compare Scandinavian design and Italian design,Scandinavian design is much more simplistic, It's much more clean lined and minimal.
Whereas in Italy, there's maybe.
describe it as more flair.
(10:52):
they sometimes put the actual look above the use, you know.
uh There is a glamour, it's the aesthetic, it's the look of the pieces from Italy, justcertain things about it.
For me, it's what really excites me and, finding real fine quality Italian design isjust...
Absolutely gorgeous.
(11:13):
you know, 99.9 % of the pieces are, really functional, everyday use, but then you get theodd piece that's just solely done for the way it looks.
And it's amazing too.
Yeah, it's a lot.
There's a lot of fun.
think Scandinavian mid-century furniture can be quite serious.
But the Italian has, like you said, there's a bit of gloss or there's a glass.
(11:33):
A little bit of flair, don't know.
You just know it when you see it, you know?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I think that that's part of what sets you apart from, I don't know, kind of Etsydealers that might be selling, you know, a G plan coffee table, which are also beautiful.
And I think work great with contemporary interiors, with classical, with your pieces.
So tell us a bit more about the process of sourcing.
(11:56):
The way I've worked at TAN is over the years, I have built up a network of people rightthroughout Europe and even further afield.
Now, lately, we're also sourcing in Brazil, they have some absolutely incrediblemid-century modern design there.
But that's my latest venture.
(12:18):
Now also gone to Brazil and set up a network of people there.
over the years, from private dealers, it's the way the business works for me is one thingleads to another.
I may have started out dealing with other dealers, going to international fairs, going toauctions are really good.
source and from what from basically one thing leads to another.
(12:40):
So for example, I go to a dealer in Italy and I may have gotten contact with him online orwhatever the case may be, and go there and buy something and speak to him and he'll tell
me, do you know such and such a person or have you visited Paulo?
He lives just down the road.
that's how it works.
(13:00):
It's basically, I it's networking in a way.
And yeah, that's one thing leads to another.
now I'm in a situation.
But it does take years of work to get to that stage.
also, you have to do things correctly.
You have to do what you say.
have to pay people.
(13:21):
when you say that you pay them, you have to be there, you have to do everything.
And with that, you gain respect within that community and that leads to recommendations,et cetera.
So yeah, that's how I've started over the years, built and built and a network of dealers,working in...
different auction houses all throughout Europe and people get to know you and you knowsometimes they'll ring you up and say listen I'm just after finding such and such a piece
(13:49):
would be of interest to you and you know that's how it works basically.
And do you go to estate sales as well or is that not so much a thing anymore?
Not really, to be honest with you.
I'd say it's probably more in America, estates, I haven't really come across them inEurope much, to be honest with you.
But if you know of any, let me know.
(14:09):
Yeah, and I think if there were, maybe it'd be more the UK and maybe it'd be moreclassical furniture.
I often hear pieces in estate sales and finding like, you know, this is like one in amillion piece, but that has never happened to me before.
Actually, no, no, have to retract that because recently I did find an absolutelyincredible piece in, it wasn't in an estate sale, but it was basically like,
(14:37):
it was like a second hand shop.
Okay.
Middle of absolutely nowhere.
was, delivering some pieces to one of my couriers in Italy that was transporting goods forme.
So I, drove to him dropping off the pieces and, he just said to me, there's a shop downthe road.
Would you like me to take you down?
I said, why not?
And.
(14:57):
just went in and my face dropped.
was just like full of clothes and all.
It had nothing of interest to me.
And then I just walked into the back room, and my jaw just dropped.
It was the most incredible.
It was actually a Danish desk in Rosewood.
And that is that is a purchase that I have recently.
So it's similar to this HL I suppose.
(15:18):
But yeah, that is one that that that's turned up recently.
All right.
just out of the absolute blue, you know?
And tell me, is there a specific designer that you can attribute that desk to when you sawit, or it just had attributes that you liked?
No, just had attributes.
I knew the moment I saw it.
I knew it was Danish, just from what we spoke about a moment ago, but it was justabsolutely sensational.
(15:40):
It was the last thing I was expecting to find or see at that moment in time.
Now it's back in Ireland.
think I see it on your website.
it the Rosewood one?
Yeah.
I have, I think I have about five or six different ones.
but anyway, it is a Rosewood desk.
Well, and that's kind of nice to hear that even you, what you're dealing with is quitehigh end.
(16:03):
You would still sometimes venture into a secondhand store and find something that isn'tparticularly, okay, it's not by Eileen Gray, but you see it and it has elements and you
can choose it.
Cause one of the questions I have for you is, it have to be designer or how can you tellthat it's still premium quality?
Yeah, it doesn't have to be by a specific designer.
(16:25):
It's great if you can attribute it to a designer and you have provenance and stuff with apiece, Many of the pieces by aren't attributable to a specific designer, but you just know
by...
the sheer quality of the piece, that it's a really good, well-made piece.
Yeah, I guess that's why people buy from you because they they don't have that instinctivereaction that you might or they don't see the potential in something.
(16:50):
And if you saw something you liked, but it was not in great condition, how do you approachrestoration?
Well, from my background in making, that's it.
That has stood me very well over the years.
it allows me to do stuff maybe that other dealers aren't able to do in that.
You know, I have a background in furniture making.
So if there is and it happens with a lot of different pieces that I have that that can bein terrible condition.
(17:15):
But I know.
by looking at what needs to be done, what can be done, if it's possible to do.
So I would buy also a lot of pieces that need work and need to be restored.
I have two guys that work with me basically full time restoring furniture and also notjust wooden furniture, I also have, in terms of upholstery,
(17:41):
can completely change a piece.
It's difficult for some people to visualize.
I know exactly what it is because basically when you're doing it every day, you know whata piece is going to turn out like once fully restored or also when you're putting new
upholstery on a piece.
It's a tricky one when you're trying to sell a piece, but just last week,
(18:03):
I had a customer who I'm always nervous showing someone a piece in its original conditionor in its original upholstery because frankly, sometimes the upholstery is horrific and it
takes certain people to be able to see the bigger picture.
So it's probably not a sales method to show someone.
(18:24):
what it is, but if they can visualize and get over that it's a great way because they thencan decide on what color, what fabric, rather than me choosing for them, they can have
that input into the piece as well.
just going back to what I was saying there, I an absolutely amazing pair of Hans Wegenerarmchairs in oak and had a
(18:49):
and her husband were down in my showroom maybe last week or the week before and you knowthey bought some really unusual different pieces and they said if you come across a nice
pair of chairs we have a new place being built it's on the coast and for some reason I hadthis pair of Hans Wegener chairs in my store and I don't know why but I just thought that
(19:10):
it really suit a coastal home.
So I said, I'll take the plunge and show them to this lady in their original state.
I'm not sure, was she an artist or what?
But she really got it.
She really understood what they were gonna look like and the potential that they had.
So the form and everything of the chairs is absolutely beautiful.
(19:30):
But the upholstery was just, it was naff, it was horrible.
It was brown, war.
You know, it just didn't look right.
But I showed her a video, we talked through it and I showed her another pair of Danisharmchairs that I'd recently sourced for another client had done in a beautiful kind of a
sky blue velvet.
And I asked her to imagine this pair of chairs in that sky blue and she just absolutelygot it.
(19:57):
And it was brilliant to have someone like that that can, you know,
you're the same yourself being an interior design work, you know, but not everyone workslike that.
If the customer can visualize what it will be as opposed to what it is, it's a huge helpbecause they can have more input themselves.
Yeah, and that actually leads me to my next question, which is, can people come to you ifthey're looking for something specific and you can find it for them?
(20:26):
Absolutely, yeah.
we obviously we have online and with our website and people love to browse there and havea look and see what did see what kind of different pieces we have.
We also have an archive section of pieces that we've had in the past.
And, that gives people a great idea for if they're looking for something specific, what wedo and what we have.
(20:48):
But yes, absolutely, they can come to our
showroom in Stradbally we operate by appointment.
It works for me that way because I'm on road a lot sourcing or delivering whatever thecase may be.
But yeah, they can come and spend it's an hour or two hours.
It doesn't matter.
it's a much more kind of personal experience for them to go and browse our wholecollection then.
(21:10):
if they see something they like there, they can buy it.
Or if not, if they want something
more specific, you know, it just gives them a good idea of what we can do and what we cansource.
Yeah, I still have to make it down.
I'm a little nervous.
I don't think my husband will be supportive.
I think he'll make me leave my wallet.
Yeah, maybe so.
You can just tell him that there is also a very good vintage car collector living in thesame complex as me.
(21:38):
that might be
I'll distract him that way.
That sounds very good.
on the kind of sourcing thing, would you be able to also work with people if they're notsure of what they want, but they love the things you have, they're lacking that
creativity, they don't have an interior designer, could they send you a photo of a roomand be like, I think I need like a sideboard or maybe a feature armchair like.
(22:01):
What do you think could work in this space?
Do you get involved at that level?
Yes, absolutely.
I suppose from working with interior designers on a daily basis, I'm not an interiordesigner, but I'm working with interior designers on a daily basis and it's part of what
we do.
I know what will work in certain areas.
So yeah, people will send me a photo of their hall or something and say, can you justimagine this sideboard or this console table there?
(22:28):
I just know it.
if something will look right or look really great and I'm more than happy to suggestitems.
Yeah, that's really good to know.
And also when you're talking about the upholstery, if you haven't chosen an upholstery foran item yet, and you're sourcing, somebody could have something specific in mind.
They're like, I want some armchairs here, but I actually want like, I want to upholsterthis in a zebra or I want to upholster this in a fabric I have that I have excess of from
(22:54):
something else.
So people can even customize some of their vintage pieces.
Absolutely, it all depends on what stage they get in at.
I much prefer in terms of upholstery to give the end user or the customer the option ofchoosing their own fabric or their own colors.
Then there's other times where I may have picked, for example, I tend to veer towards alot of greens for some reason.
(23:18):
don't know, I just love green.
Wow, I just love that green.
It works different ways for different people, I suppose.
Yeah, in my mind I just have like there's a lime green velvet something.
That's very you.
Yeah, I don't know.
That's just me.
just tend to be a lot of greens and maybe blues and stuff like that.
you know, some people absolutely love it.
(23:39):
Maybe some people don't, but it's just to have that choice.
it's really helpful for people to know that you're doing a lot of this restoration andreupholstery.
They might just assume, oh, you know, he just finds things in really good condition, butthere's a lot of work in the background there.
And I think that's represented in what you're paying because you can get things that are alittle banged up from other types of dealers.
(24:01):
but then that means the burden of fixing it up is on you or you just live with it in thatcondition.
That's a really key point, Tonya.
You know, for me, it's not just about that end product.
When you talk about an antique dealer or in my case, a design dealer, you know, there's somany different aspects of the job and what you have to do to get that one piece.
(24:26):
We like to present all our pieces in showroom condition, in...
pristine condition as they would have been 50, 60 years ago when they were just made.
Occasionally there's cases for a piece to be left in its original patina, but for the mostpart, we like to have them restored and presented as they would have come out of the
showroom or workshop, whatever the case may be.
(24:48):
But yeah, getting back to that point, there is so many different aspects of being
an antique dealer or a design dealer in terms of that end product, how you get it from,first of all, you have to source it.
Then you have to purchase it, transport it, and transport is not just, you know, down theroad, something you're transporting it across continents in some cases.
(25:12):
And then,
once you get it home, have to get it completely restored.
You have to get it refinished.
Then you have to photograph it.
Then you have to market it, get it online, advertise this, and eventually sell it.
After you sell it, you have to deliver it.
(25:32):
So there is so many different aspects that go into one piece.
And sometimes people don't.
realised that the amount of time, effort and finances that go into, a piece back to itsoriginal state and back to everyday use.
And I think it has a huge impact on the look of an interiors when a piece like the onesyou source has that pristine condition, because I think some people who maybe are just
(26:00):
getting into interiors or decorating their spaces, they might be like, no, I'm not so muchinto vintage.
That's a bit, you know, eclectic for me.
It's a bit dusty, brown furniture.
they have a certain idea in their mind of what that is.
And
It's the cluttered secondhand shop and it's the things at the charity stores.
(26:21):
But I think there's a giant spectrum within all of this and you are at a certain end ofthe spectrum and it can have a completely different look in a space if that sideboard is
sourced from acquired and the lacquer is brand new on it and pieces have been filled.
You can tell it's a mid-century piece, but it's not.
(26:43):
Dusty.
Yeah, no, it really is a timeless aesthetic, Tanya.
In terms of a sideboard, it's one of my favorite things to source and one of my favoritepieces of furniture.
But you can build your whole room around that sideboard and it'll look absolutely amazing.
And it's also something that...
friend of mine in Italy, an artist that I work with, he uses the phrase of conformed tononconformity.
(27:06):
I think it's really good that, you know, if you get a really good sideboard and you'rebuilding your room around it, it's not something you can buy off the shelf that is in
every second house.
And maybe it's worthwhile saving for or having,
that one standout piece in your home and you can literally build a whole room around it.
tell me in terms of that, let's say that somebody is just dipping their toe into vintage.
(27:29):
it kind of random if you only have one mid-century sideboard in one room?
Do you have to start sprinkling things of that style throughout to make, to anchor it?
What do you think?
I don't think so.
I think you can have one piece or multiple pieces.
Literally, can mix with contemporary furniture, you can mix with antique furniture, and ifyou do it right, it'll look absolutely amazing.
(27:53):
Yeah.
And what about mixing woods?
Cause I think that's, that's always a tricky one.
Yeah, I suppose in terms of different woods, I would tend to more or less stick to thesame color, same palette, you know, when it comes to timbers.
My own personal favorite is Rosewood.
I'm a sucker for Rosewood.
I just think it's absolutely incredible.
(28:13):
More people love teak.
I also like teak, but for me, Rosewood is just so, special and it's not that.
It's not available anymore.
can't, there's no furniture now being made in Rosewood South.
I suppose that makes it that little bit more special and, you know, sought after as well.
And that seems to be a bit of a distinguishing element between some of the like moretypical, let's say mass production mid-century, where teak seemed to be kind of the norm
(28:39):
and the rosewood kind of comes out and it's like another, it's another tangent of thatstyle, which is usually a little glossier in finish, it seems like.
Yeah, I suppose it's the grain pattern also, Tonya.
know, Rosewood just has a real kind of...
a real charismatic kind of feel and look to it.
It's you know, it's absolutely beautiful timber.
(29:02):
where it was teak is also really nice, really durable, really, really great for furnitureconstruction.
again, it's just down to taste really and personal choice.
And would you mix, could you put Rosewood in the same room as teak items is that, or youwould just really try to be quite strict with it and like only Rosewood with Rosewood.
There's no real, there's no laws or no one force me to do anything, but it's, that's alldown to the person's own choice.
(29:29):
know, for instance, oak flooring is extremely popular in Ireland at the moment,archiflooring.
we put a lot of rosewood pieces into homes with oak flooring and it looks absolutelybeautiful.
So there's no rules or regulations of what you can and can't do when it comes to mixingfurniture.
(29:49):
Maybe if you had, just for example, if you had a rosewood sideboard, I think it would benice to have a pair of rosewood armchairs just to tie in with it.
But there is no rules or regulations.
If it works, it will work.
Yeah, and I think it's about looking at the undertones too.
So like Rosewood has quite like a strong red undertone.
making sure that I think it looks worse if the floors are a variant of that rather than acomplete contrast.
(30:14):
Like if it's like a really pale oak, the contrast against that Rosewood is really lovelybecause then it highlights the Rosewood.
You're not trying to match it.
Whereas like if you had a pine that hasn't been stained,
and it has that orange undertone too, might be a little much, a bit jarring.
Yeah, I'd agree with you 100 % there.
That contrast can be very nice.
(30:35):
Yeah, and on the flip side, like I think dark floors are coming back now.
If you had really dark floors that are almost like a chocolatey wall.
You can then go for you didn't go for an oak cyborg, you know, as well, you know, so it'sthat that that tends to work,
Yeah.
Okay.
So the sideboard, can you talk to me a little bit about the different terms that peoplehave?
So there's like sideboard credenzas, consoles, buffets.
(30:58):
what,
I think all those words apart from consult say credenza, a sideboard and a buffet.
I think all those words are basically interchangeable.
Okay.
probably America uses credenza, the word credenza as opposed to sideboard, buffet.
it's much rarer, like very rare, but I kind of associate with food, I would say it's morecredenza and sideboard.
(31:24):
And it's just, basically interchangeable.
You know, whatever, whatever you like.
I just say cyber.
Yeah.
And where are good places to put them?
good places to put a sideboard, I would say in an entrance hallway or in a living room orsitting room.
That would be where we would put them most, you know, because they offer, Tanya, theyoffer just not like a really great look, they're really functional pieces of furniture as
(31:52):
well in terms of storage.
You know, a sideboard will normally have
cabinet storage and drawer storage.
And you just get a lot of bang for your buck there when it comes to what that piece offurniture does in terms of storage, but also in terms of display.
You know, the surface, can decorate it beautifully with, you know, maybe two oversizedlamp side or sides, some little sculptures, books, hang your artwork above it, have a
(32:18):
mirror above it.
Sideboards are, pound for pound, they're the best piece of furniture you can have in ahouse in terms of look, in terms of their functionality and form.
And I think they're a great alternative to break up this trend towards a lot of built-injoinery, which, you know, people need storage more than ever.
We seem to have a lot of crap and people are living in smaller homes because it's just soexpensive.
(32:42):
And while joinery is amazing and I personally love built-in furniture and design it.
think it's nice to have that mix.
Otherwise things can get a bit blocky and suffocated, especially if you've got beautifularchitecture or ceilings or
you want to show off a piece of loose furniture that still provides storage is somethinggood to add into the mix.
(33:03):
Yeah, I've recently had had some clients that came down to the showroom and we had thisabsolutely stunning, rosewood sideboard, really, really beautiful.
And when they saw it, they fell in love with it and they actually changed their entireplans of their house after seeing it, where they were going to do a built in shelving and
they had kind of, it was like,
(33:23):
the gorgeous extension of their home and they had polished concrete floors where they weregoing to do a kind of a step out, if that makes sense, like a little mini wall that you
could sit on and some built in shelving over need of.
when they when they saw the sidebar, they absolutely completely changed their mind andsaid, you know, when they saw what this one piece of furniture could do in terms of
(33:46):
storage and look.
So yes, what you just said, it does happen.
it looks absolutely amazing in their house too, and they're thrilled to bits.
And I think that's why people should consider furniture layouts earlier.
Like we actually designed our extension, calling it an extension is hilarious because it'shalf a meter on either side.
We extended half a meter on either side just so a table that I fell in love with andbought would fit.
(34:10):
And my architect is just like, would you not just get another table?
And I was like, I don't think you understand.
Yeah, no, but it's like that that just kind of leads us to another point as well Tony,that table, the way you fell in love with us and the way it makes you feel, that's a very
important part of, you know, what we do also in that the furniture has to, it's so muchmore than just a piece of furniture, you know, it tells a story, you know.
(34:43):
I don't know if you want to speak about the piece you've purchased recently for me, thatwas an amazing series of events really in that someone got in touch with me about that
tapestry and I bought it because I thought it was an absolutely beautiful, decorativepiece that I thought, this is going to look amazing on someone's home.
It wasn't something that I'd...
(35:03):
Not a piece that I'd buy regularly or anything like that.
It was kind of out of the blue, but I bought it for one reason, I thought it wasabsolutely a stunning decorative piece that I think somebody is going to fall in love with
it and like something really different in their home.
But when you saw it, meant so much more to you than that.
(35:23):
It a whole different meaning.
I don't know if you want to share.
Yeah, it was so serendipitous.
So this person reaches out, you buy it and you did a, an Instagram story.
was a video of, of some of the pieces you had and the tapestry was kind of in thebackground.
And I was on holiday in Mexico, just scrolling through my phone, I think on the way todinner or something.
(35:45):
And I see the tapestry, which is a rug, I think originally.
And it was a rug that my parents had in the house that they built that I grew up in.
And it was lost.
My father passed away.
He lived in Argentina.
It was impossible to ship things over.
The cost was just prohibitive.
So a lot of things, it still breaks my heart to even think about, the things he built overthe years that was probably bought in New York in the sixties or in the seventies.
(36:11):
Yeah.
That's where he, lived during that era and he loved.
modern furniture.
And it made its way to Switzerland and then to Argentina.
its journey ended there.
And it was so sad.
And I always told my husband about this rug.
in my mind, I thought it was a Kandinsky design because we actually had a print byKandinsky, which I think you actually now have as well, or a version of it.
(36:34):
You have a black Kandinsky print.
And in my mind, I had conflated both.
And I thought this abstract wool rug, which is an abstract nude of a woman.
And I remember being a kid and being like, is that pubic hair?
Yeah, and I it's a beautiful rug and I had been looking for it and I would search nudekandinsky Rug and I could never find it.
So, you know in my head it was lost and then when I saw it on your Instagram story I waslike, my god, that's it and I reached out to you I was like, it's a kandinsky, right?
(37:02):
And you're like, no, no, no, it's McGreet and then it was like, there we go.
That's why I was
explains it.
But I just thought that whole series of events was just absolutely amazing.
And from your point of view, it was a piece that your dad absolutely loved and then it hadgot lost throughout the years, whatever.
You know, then for me to find it and you to connect with me over it, I got a great senseof satisfaction that, you know, the right person had ended up with this piece.
(37:32):
Yeah.
It's funny how things work like that.
I don't know what it is in my job, but there's certain things happen for a reason.
I can't explain it.
I could give you another example similar to that, to our story, Tanya, about thattapestry.
But one time I was in Torino a couple of years back and
I met a dealer friend of mine and he had this, it was a piece of Murano glass.
(37:58):
To describe it to you and your listeners, it's a bit of a strange description, if you goto a carnival maybe not anymore, or maybe it's a pet shop, you could buy a fish in a bag
or you'd win a fish, right, a little goldfish.
So the piece of Murano glass looked like
a little goldfish was floating around in water within a plastic bag.
(38:18):
It was really cool, it was incredibly heavy too.
And I suppose it was life size because I could fit it into my backpack, it was extremelyheavy.
So when I saw it, fell in love with it.
my dealer friend was asking a lot of money for it.
I thought, you know,
it's going to be very hard for me to sell this and make any profit.
(38:41):
So I left it be.
I said, look, I'm sorry, I can't take it.
It's just not going to work out financially.
So I drove off and for the entire day it was playing around in my head.
Why did I leave that after me?
So I was in Turin and I was supposed to be going to Milan that night and at six o'clock inevening, I turned the car around and I went back.
(39:01):
And I said, ragged him, said, stay where you are, I'm coming back.
I'd give him the whole day.
came back and I bought the piece of glass from him.
And, you know, my other plans went out the window, but anyway, I bought that piece ofglass and I thought, you know what, can, I'll bring it home with me and maybe someone will
love it just the same way I did.
(39:22):
So I travel light when I'm traveling.
because I frequently put it in my backpack and I put it through the scanner in theairport.
And as you can imagine, that is all kind of alarm bells start going off.
This guy got a live fish in his bag.
So came out the other side and I was explaining to him what it was and can we take it out.
(39:43):
And next thing I had 10 people around me in the airport and I had to open up and show themand they're all saying, oh, this is amazing.
This is absolutely beautiful.
This is in Italy.
I can see the scene in my head calling over their pals.
All the security guards around and showed them everything.
So anyway, I got the piece home after all that.
And the next week, someone came to me and they saw it and they bought it.
(40:10):
But that little piece turned out to be like, first of all, the guy that bought it washuge.
furniture enthusiast and we have since gone on to source multiple pieces basically for hisentire home.
We've furnished, lots of lots of unique pieces from that one piece led to that entirerelationship.
(40:32):
We're now great friends and also
it led on to all those other pieces that we sourced for him for his home.
So it's just funny the way, when I think about that, I think it's so strange, know,whatever made me turn around in the road that day and go back and buy that one little
piece of glass.
Everything seems to happen for a reason, you know.
(40:53):
Yeah, yeah, and I think it's the the relationships you build then are really interesting.
And that actually brings me to a question I have about a new showroom, so to speak, theRoisin Lafferty Gallery, which is displaying a lot of your pieces.
Tell me about that collaboration.
Yeah, it's an amazing new gallery in Dublin in Roisin's new HQ in Fitzwilliam Square.
(41:20):
So I've been friends with Roisin for many years and worked on sourcing and she has come tome to purchase pieces for lots of different projects the first 12 years.
So basically,
she had all spoken about this, her new gallery space and wanted me to collaborate with heron the pieces that she wanted in source.
(41:48):
it's a new role for me outside of my own business with Acquired, working for and withRoisin with her new gallery space.
And we have some really, really incredible pieces in there.
You know, lots of the items that have never been offered for sale before in Ireland.
spoke to you earlier in our chat about Brazilian design.
(42:09):
We have some absolutely incredible pieces of Brazilian design in Roisin Lafferty's newgallery.
Yeah, what is it's there's a unique wood I saw it and I
It's again, it's called a Jacaranda.
It's from the Rosewood family.
again, that's again no longer available.
pieces are no longer made in that timber.
(42:30):
So yeah, that's where we are with that.
So it's a new venture for Roisin and I'm just delighted to be part of it in a small littleway and to
source and help her in any way I can.
It's a really amazing space and I think it's going to be a very important space for designin Ireland going forward, even for other interior designers who want to come there and
(42:57):
show their clients what's available and just give them different options that they're notgoing to see elsewhere.
Yeah, absolutely.
So the idea is you will have select pieces, some of your rarest pieces, it seems like, ondisplay at the gallery, which is also by appointment only.
Yeah, it's separate from my business, The Acquired.
yeah, those pieces are on view and for sale through Roisin Lafferty Gallery.
(43:20):
you can make an appointment to view and purchase there directly with Roisin LaffertyGallery.
Yeah, the pieces are stunning.
And I think it's a really good way to see how in a period property with her touch and themid-century pieces, how it all works together and really adds a warmth and history without
(43:41):
being stuffy.
And it feels like a museum, but at the same time, you could sit down in the armchair andreally get comfortable.
Absolutely, yeah, Listen, Roshan is an absolutely phenomenal talent.
She's leading the way and paving the way for design in Ireland and internationally.
So, you know, to have a space like that and to work with Roshan is, it's a huge honour forme and I'm absolutely delighted and very excited about it, to be honest with you.
(44:09):
Amazing.
And before we kind of wrap up, can you tell us some of the other kinds of pieces that youlike to sell?
So we talked about sideboards.
We talked a little bit about desks.
What are some of the other pieces that people could look at if, you know, let's say theyhave most of their furniture or they don't want to spend thousands, but they want a bit of
character.
They want a bit of history.
(44:30):
What other pieces could they look at?
We do all sorts really, Tenya, but I suppose if I just give you some of the key piecesthat we sell a lot, a pair of statement armchairs is something that we're very well known
for.
sometimes we go for Danish pieces by design icons like Finn Yule or Arnie Wadder.
(44:51):
Oftentimes, unknown designers, Italian armchairs can be absolutely gorgeous, reallybeautiful shapes and very comfortable.
We do a lot of those.
So a pair of statement armchairs is always something that anyone can have in their home.
know, just put them in a bay window with a little table beside them or a reading lamp.
It'll look absolutely amazing.
(45:13):
Console tables as opposed to sideboards.
A console table is different to a sideboard in that it doesn't have presses and stuff.
We do a lot of console tables.
You know, looks really great in an entrance hallway.
Lighting, lamps, you know, there's so many different things.
Also, dining tables, and chairs.
(45:33):
I think there are pieces that are really worth investing in and getting right.
We do dining chairs, probably Niels Otto Muller is one of the most renowned chairmakersand designers.
So we try to always have in stock maybe a set of six or eight Niels Otto Muller diningchairs.
(45:54):
extending tables, people like that
One of the biggest contributions of mid-century design to things we use every day is chairdesign, especially dining chairs.
I'm a chair addict.
In whatever form it may be, if it's a lounge chair, an armchair, a dining chair, Iabsolutely, I'm addicted to chairs.
(46:15):
love them.
They can add so much character to a room, know, like, get an impression, the upchair, it'sone that springs to mind just absolutely beautiful, huge, you know, big comfortable lounge
chair sit into.
I suppose when you look at furniture design history, it's always the chair that everyonegoes to.
(46:36):
It's one of the most important pieces we use every single day.
And yeah, as I said, I'm totally addicted.
Amazing.
Yeah.
So if people want to check out the acquired website or your Instagram, you're really goodat maintaining it and posting new things.
And got from a vintage Missoni rugs to mirrors, to lighting, to dining chairs.
I mean, there's seems to be nothing you don't do.
(46:58):
So people can reach out.
They can come see you in your, your showroom in Stradbully.
They can see some of your pieces if they reach out to the Roisin Lafferty Gallery toanything else you'd like to share with people.
just if there's anything at all that they're interested in, just don't be afraid to get intouch.
It doesn't matter.
We're more than happy to talk to everyone.
(47:19):
And yeah, if there is a specific piece you want us to source, just drop us a message.
suppose Instagram is the easiest platform.
It's really good for what we do because it's so visual.
You know, what we do, it's the perfect platform for.
antique dealers and design dealers.
Instagram or even on our website, which we're currently revamping.
(47:40):
So in a couple of weeks, that should be looking nice and sleek.
So if you want to reach out to us either on Instagram or acquired.ie, we'd absolutely loveto hear from you.
Amazing.
Well, thank you so much, Domhnall.
And yeah, I encourage people to get inspired.
Like I've been browsing through your current collection as we're talking, because it justreally helps give me a sense.
(48:01):
And I just can't stop smiling because there's so much fun there.
And I think people play it too safe sometimes.
So instead of painting a single wall red or doing something terrible like that, why don'tyou get like a great lamp?
You're correct.
Absolutely.
And I don't want people to be intimidated by it either.
(48:23):
think, you know, sourcing and dealers can feel very elitist, but the idea is like, youknow, a lot of people, know, depending what you're spending on your interiors, you can
afford a piece of fun decor and you can.
Yeah, it's not all the people.
Some people have that little bit of fear or whatever, but there's nothing to be afraidabout.
Just talk to us.
(48:43):
If we can help you out at all, we absolutely will.
And if there's specific set budgets, we can work within that too.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think the first piece I bought from you is a console we have in my entrance hall.
And God, you sent me a lot of different options before we settled on that.
And I was pretty clear on the budget and also the dimensions are super important.
(49:06):
So you might fall in love with something, but it doesn't quite fit.
Don't be in a rush to go for that one because something of the wrong size can totallyupset you.
It's worthwhile waiting to get the right piece done.
Absolutely.
when I was doing my own house, I, a furniture addict, I may have bought some pieces beforeactually building the house.
no, it's worthwhile waiting, I think, for a key piece for a room.
(49:31):
it's
a of statement chairs, if it's a sideboard, a console table, a mirror, whatever that pieceyou have in your head, it's worthwhile getting it right and making sure that you
absolutely love that piece and that it makes you smile every day.
That's the important thing.
I suppose that's the one piece of advice I'd give to people just to hold tough untilyou're totally 100 % happy.
(49:57):
with the piece that you got.
And that's something I say to my customers the whole time.
I want my customers to be absolutely, totally happy and delighted with what they have whenthey go home.
And to be honest with you, they always are.
Because they take the time and just make sure that it is, that's what makes it worthwhilein the end, having the piece that you put a lot of effort into.
(50:18):
and that it works for your home and makes you happy.
That's it.
That's what we're all looking for.
Thank you so much, Domhnall.
at the end of this conversation, I now want like three more things from your website,which is going to go down well with my husband.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Thanks so much for your time, Domhnall.
And I think we've covered a lot today and I hope people are maybe more inspired to thinkof vintage, think of mid-century and...
(50:45):
see how they can layer it into their own interior style and their home in exciting ways.
Absolutely.
Thank you very much, Tony.
It was an absolute pleasure and apologies I didn't get around to doing it soon.
Hey, we got you here in the end.
That's all that counts.
Thanks, Donuts.
Thanks so much, Tanya.
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