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The Art of Interiors

Art, design and interiors merge in a new opportunity to purchase original Irish art that’s right for you and your home 

International art auction house Sotheby’s is famous for its maxim about choosing art: Buy it because you love it, they say. 

While there is some initial attraction when we catch the first glimpse of a vibrant art work on a gallery wall, it can take further inspection to lure us in and make us long to take it home.  

Assessing if it’s likely to settle in, though, can be tricky in the impersonal and often stark surroundings of your typical gallery where the art is hung in isolation on white or grey walls. 

Will it look good hanging at home amid the fray of furniture, wall paint, accessories and the general detritus of personal belongings? 

For art and home interiors enthusiasts, an initiative developed by EZ Living Interiors brings art and interiors together, providing customers with access to the work of Irish artists making original works for musing on and purchase in-store. 

Launching the Artist in Residence programme on 6 October, and previewing beforehand, works by six artists are hanging at two locations in Dublin; Gulliver’s Retail Park, Santry and the Sandyford flagship store, taking the best parts of the art gallery experience, home interiors showroom and the concept of art residencies, and merging them into a unique retail experience supporting the Irish art scene. It's curated by marketing communications manager, Laura O’ Keeffe, and area visual merchandiser Sarah Dunne, who together have crafted an immersive art and home interiors experience for customers, building on EZ Living Interiors’ singular approach to presenting products so customers can visualise them in their own home.

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Laura O'Keeffe, Marketing Communications Manager and Sarah Dunne, Area Visual Manager

At the Sandyford flagship store Artist in Residence is settling in nicely in the Parlour Room, a space of creativity with a shape-shifting identity constructed within the showroom, and which regularly plays host to the Style Stories home interiors podcast and its celebrity guests from the worlds of design and television. 

Now as home to Artist in Residence Sarah Dunne has deployed her eye for aesthetics to give the room a mise-en-scène quality. 

“We pride ourselves on making immersive spaces that feel like home,” she says. “The Parlour Room is a space where customers come in with their coffee and stop and look. They take a moment to pause. There’s genuine engagement and curiosity.” 

With art ranging from contemporary abstract canvases to figurative prints, the choice of furniture and accessories she has curated complements the works and tells a story, something which EZ Living Interiors is renowned for, backed by its philosophy of offering full design of the home and not only selling furniture. 

“I chose the Scott sofa to make it calm against the vibrancy of the art,” Sarah says, referencing a timeless piece that remains a firm favourite with customers. “And I accessorised with neutral-toned bouclé textiles; cushions, throws and rugs so it would be relaxing like the Irish landscape. When the art is so bold, the room is calm.” 

The result also brings additional aesthetic value to the Parlour Room, designed and constructed three years ago with reclaimed windows salvaged from a Georgian house in Cork that draw the eye upwards, as do period plaster corbels contrasting with the modern furniture and art. The overall effect is cohesive with aesthetic layers that are easy on the eye and also eye-catching, showing the value of mixing historic with modern to create timeless style while ‘talking-up’ the value of Irish creativity. 

“Art is essential and gives depth to a room,” says Sarah. “It brings personality and soul into a space and it lets people show who they are. There’s so much conversation the art has sparked among the customers and they’re lingering longer.”

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Artist in Residence wall, EZ Living Interiors Sandyford Flagship Store

Creating connections between customers and the artists has been a guiding principle for marketing communications manager Laura O’Keeffe, although Artist in Residence isn’t her first venture into the arts with EZ Living Interiors.  

In recent years there’s been a collaboration with Cork Opera House, followed by an art initiative with a student of the National College of Art & Design being commissioned to create an original artwork with home interiors as the theme. 

Such outreach is refreshing when we’re living in a technology dominated world. At the same time it takes the notion of arts patronage into the broader arena of formal education and raises awareness of the importance of art in our environment among the general public in an accessible and practical way. 

“We really value art in the age of AI,” says Laura. “We had been thinking about doing Artist in Residence for a while as we’ve always had a passion for design and the arts. People in the creative field need support to bring their talent into our homes and stores. Some of the artworks we have are one-off created by hand. Some are prints that offer an affordable avenue into art. It’s something authentic for customers to have in their homes.” 

This support not only provides space within a retail environment, but it’s being done to give maximum financial benefit to the participating artists. The full sale price of each artwork goes directly to the artist commission-free, with the opportunity to replenish the art as each piece is sold. For returning customers to the two stores, it ensures a stream of new pieces to engage the eye and even entice a spend starting at a wallet-friendly €45 for prints, up to €1,900 for a large fine art canvas.

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 Irene Mc Cabe, Lisa Woods, Paula Mc Gurdy, Rachel Clarke, Carolyn Walsh and Karen Lee

There’s also an opportunity for customers to find out more about individual artists’ work and even explore the option of having something specially commissioned with QR codes available for each.” 

Meet the artists

It’s said the great things in life happen by chance and for Dublin-based artist Karen Lee participating in Artists in Residence happened by sheer serendipity and a thoughtful gesture. 

“A friend popped into the Santry store and saw a couple of pieces on the wall,” she says. “She thought of me and got the visual merchandiser’s card. I actually bought my first bed and couch in EZ Living Interiors 16 years ago. It’s really great to be involved in Artist in Residence in a home environment.” 

Her works are figurative, ranging from depictions of Dublin’s Poolbeg chimneys to Cork’s Shandon steeple, and Irish landscapes.  

For anyone thinking of making a purchase, she says, “I think you have to feel the art. It really needs to resonate with you. People get caught up by who has made it but I even buy from students. Art also brings a personal touch and warmth. It can bring a pop of colour to a bland room. Sometimes I’ll even paint the walls to complement a piece.”

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Karen Lee

In fact, interior designers will often suggest starting with art can create a cohesive and dynamic scheme, drawing colours out of artworks whether they’re traditional portraits or abstract contemporary pieces.  

Meath-based Rachel Clarke appreciates the opportunity to have a fresh audience for her work which has a more abstract quality.  

As an established artist who has exhibited in spaces like Rua Red and Solstice Arts Centre, her work can now be seen at both EZ Living Interiors locations.   

 “I thought it was a really nice idea to promote Irish art to a new fresh audience,” she says. “Your home is so important to how you feel. It’s your space, your own personal stamp to inject colour, feeling and ideas.” 

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Rachel Clarke

Cork-born Lisa Woods started making art out of necessity and it soon developed into a job.  

“When we moved into our home everything was outside my budget so I started to make my own art,” she says. “I remember buying the biggest canvas in the shop, bigger than me, and I started painting. Friends saw it and asked me to make pieces for them. I now have a studio in the garden.” 

Thanks to another artist’s recommendation, she’s now an Artist in Residence participant. 

“I met Laura and the whole thing sang to me,” she says. “Local artists and the interiors aspect together is a no-brainer. My work is quite contemporary and abstract and it works with the emerald and marmalade couches on this massive wall in Sandyford. It’s fantastic that EZ Living Interiors now has original art as well. Art finishes it all off. 

“It’s all about energy for me. Art can bring a lovely aura to a room. Mine is abstract and open to interpretation. Colour brings vibrancy and calmness to a room but not overpowering to a room with simple furnishings. When I’m making something for customers I always ask about their soft furnishings and colours before I start. I can tailor my painting to bring different things to different rooms whether it’s energetic or calming.”

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Lisa Woods

Irene Mc Cabe is another self-taught contemporary artist and works from her home studio in County Dublin where she explores various subjects through the use of acrylics, watercolours and cyanotypes. Her work includes Irish landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and figurative work, some of which have an ethereal quality.

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Irene Mc Cabe

Carolyn Walsh, originally from Kerry and now a Dublin resident makes art inspired by sunset colours and a love of buildings, the latter often the focus of commissions from newly-weds looking for depictions of their wedding venue. 

As with the other artists involved in the programme, she sees it as having value for both artists and home interiors customers while helping to keep the culture of art alive. 

“It’s great to have the art in a shop because people can visualise it in their own home and relate to it,” she says. “I often notice that if I post on my Instagram something hanging on my own wall people are more drawn to it than if I just posted the art on its own. Art gives your home personality, adds mood, atmosphere, meaning, colour, fun, and texture. It makes you feel your home belongs to you.”

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Carolyn Walsh

Dubliner Paula McGurdy comes from a creative family on both sides which led her to art college in London before moving back to Ireland. She now makes abstract landscapes based on memories of space and time. 

On close inspection there’s considerable detail in Paula’s works, including subtle references to creating needlework as a child with her mother in colour palettes ranging from soft and subtle to more dramatic brushstrokes and tones. 

“I think it’s a fantastic idea to have this as original art will appeal to some of EZ Living’s customers,” she says. “I have a great love of interiors myself. I think having a space that you can call home is lovely and a privilege.”

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Paula McGurdy

This instalment of Artist in Residence will run until spring 2026 during regular store opening hours at EZ Living Interiors, Gulliver’s Retail Park, Santry, Dublin, and at Sandyford, Dublin. 

Visit the Artist in Residence Walls