I was chuffed to be invited to take part in Hayche Furniture’s ‘In Conversation with…’ Q & A series for their blog. There are some quirky facts about me here that I have never had the opportunity to put in writing before!
I’m a huge fan of Hayche Furniture, the combinations of colours and materials are right up my street. You can visit them in Clerkenwell where they have a showroom.
You can read the full interview on the Hayche website here, or see the text below:
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In Conversation with Audrey Whelan Interior Design
Can you give us a brief description of your company?
We are a down-to-earth interior design company offering inspiring ideas and practical advice as part of a collaborative process with our clients. For us, a successful project is one where our clients feel inspired and well informed to make big decisions relating to the interiors of their home or business.
We also run workshops for homeowners who are planning or in the middle of a home improvement project but would welcome some professional advice.
What inspired you to be an interior designer?
I was actually going to be a Theatre Designer but they took the specialism off my degree course after I started! I then specialised in Furniture Design which has been so useful as I can do all the detailed drawings necessary for anything custom-made within a project. It's also given me a great understanding of materials as I used to make a lot of prototypes of my work. During my final summer at university, I came to London and worked in a really creative interior design company in Shoreditch. It was so exciting that I knew that was what I wanted to do!
If they were to make a toy action figure of you, what would your accessory be?
A portfolio case containing a sketchpad, a paint colour fan deck & a measuring tape!
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life within the design world has taken?
Quite a lot! I've been in the design world almost twenty years now, half of that working for other businesses, where I changed jobs every few years (and moved from Dublin to London!) as I was really keen to broaden my skills and experience across different areas of design. Then over the past ten years of running my own business, I have had a lot more control of the types of projects I would like to work on. More recently I have added a new area to my business which is Interior Design workshops for homeowners!
What would be your dream interior project?
A public swimming pool! I had an ambition a few years ago to work on a swimming pool project, and I wrote a blog post titled 'The Swimming Pool, a Forgotten Area of Interior Design'. A few months later I got a call from a client who was building one in the basement of their house. I am a keen swimmer and it was such a treat to be involved in the design and to make sure it didn't end up as yet another icy white or pale blue box!
What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
I love to empower my clients to learn about interior design, understand how to confidently make decisions and really encourage them to take ownership of the project and the end results. This is what my Interior Design workshops are all about, and so far people have been really enjoying it!
If you could go back in time and speak to your adolescent self, what advice would you give them about the design world?
Developing a career in the design world is a journey and it's hard to speed up that journey! I've come to realise that as I've got older, understanding clients' needs has got easier and more intuitive. I too have now been through buying and selling properties, moving house, having children the transitions that come with these life events. The home is a backdrop to all of this, one that needs to support us through the ups and downs and put a smile on our face. So as a designer, to be able to combine design experience & life experience is a bonus!