The awards keep rolling in for Roisin Lafferty and her interior architecture and design company, Kingston Lafferty Design (KLD). With the help of a team of talented designers, contractors and craftsmen, she has received a string of prestigious accolades, including the awards for Young Fit Out Designer of the Year and Residential Project of the Year at the 2015 Fit Out Awards, numerous IDI Awards for both residential and commercial projects, and the Emerging Talent Award at the 2017 Property Industry Awards, which she shared with Joe McGinley of Iconic Offices.
Roisin received her latest award at the 2017 KPMG Irish Independent Property Industry Excellence Awards, which were attended by over 800 of Ireland’s leading property professionals at Dublin’s Convention Centre last November. More than 120 shortlisted nominations were considered across 11 categories by a judging panel that included Professor Brian Norton, President of DIT, Carole Pollard, President of RIAI, Pat Davitt, CEO of IPVA and Tom Parlon, Director-General of the CIF.
The Emerging Talent Award was one of the most coveted Roisin has received to date. The young interior designer from Goatstown says it was a “happy coincidence” that Joe McGinley was also honoured with the same award given that they had worked together on three large office fit out projects over the last three years in Dublin, namely The Greenway, The Brickhouse and South Point Office.
The South Point Office design was Iconic Offices’ largest fit out yet. The brief for this project was to push the boundaries of what a co-working space could be. In order to do this, the design team drew influence from the hospitality industry, in particular the design of boutique hotels. The project was as such an opportunity for KLD to express strong creativity and create a multitude of environments within one building.
The KLD design team worked closely with Iconic Offices and contractors NSBS to achieve a design that was both inspiring and visually strong, as well as completely functionally and technically sound. One of the main challenges of this design was the push to create a space where nothing is compromised. This was especially important given that the project had a very tight time-frame for completion.
As an award-winning Irish interior architecture, interior design and graphic design company, KLD has worked on an exciting array of projects across Ireland, the UK and Europe. A firm believer in the power of creative collaboration, Roisin founded the company in 2009 along with Susanna Kingston – a year before they both graduated from Kingston University in London. Susanna left three years later to pursue other interests.
Given the difficult economic climate that prevailed back then, Roisin needed a clear vision, coupled with a lot of determination and hard work, to get to where she is today. From a young age, artistic flair has been her talent. All she ever wanted to do was work in design, and when the time came to study in her chosen field she excelled: achieving first class honours in Interior Architecture and Furniture Design from DIT. She went on to do a Masters in Product & Spatial Design in Kingston University where she was also awarded first class honours and presented her final project as part of renowned design exhibition, Tent, London.
Since setting up KLD, Roisin has earned enormous respect across the construction and interiors industry for her contribution to design. Her projects deliver exciting spaces that are based on both client brief and context. For Roisin, good design pays particular attention to space – the building itself and its surroundings. As such, her work is not represented through one distinct style, but places the space and the desires of her clients as central.
Roisin takes a holistic approach to her projects, putting human behaviour at the core of her designs. Her primary objective is to create spaces that enhance day-to-day life for the occupiers, in a manner combining the functional with the aesthetically pleasing. Above all else, Roisin believes that a space should be an experience. Beyond the mere visuals, a well-designed space should appeal to all senses and take its users on a journey. Roisin’s designs focus on the space – balancing layout, functionality and the wonderfully unexpected.
In addition, Roisin has become a public figure through her work in the media. A former Design Judge on RTÉ’s Super Garden, she is recognised as one of Ireland’s leading creative personalities with a monthly column in the Sunday Business Post and a regular slot on Newstalk Radio. Her work is of such a calibre that it has been featured in many Irish publications and international ones such as Living ETC, Italian Vogue and the Wall Street Journal. She has been a Brand Ambassador for INM’s House Event for the past three years and has worked closely as Brand Ambassador for DFS and Fleetwood.
Interior architecture, interior design, furniture design, pop-up and exhibition stand design and project management are the main services provided by KLD. Commercial projects account for 70 per cent of the company’s business, with residential projects accounting for the other 30 per cent.
“We’re working more and more on large commercial projects for clients who are embracing our creativity,” Roisin explains.
“We also work on a lot of show houses and add to their value by taking a unique and creative approach to their design. All of our designs are individual and everyone on our team is very creative. By collaborating with equally talented craftsmen, we push the design boundaries as much as possible.”
“We take inspiration from international designers. We can also add financial value and space to our clients’ living space by designing their furniture. It’s not all about aesthetics.”
Recently, KLD relocated from Mount Pleasant Square in Ranelagh to its new Design HQ at Eastmoreland Lane in Dublin 4. “It’s an old Georgian building that we have put our stamp on,” adds Roisin, who started her business in Killiney before moving to Kilmacanogue in Co. Wicklow and then to Ranelagh.
With a list of coveted awards and a growing team of talented designers, a bright future beckons for Roisin Lafferty and KLD.
Kingston Lafferty Design (KLD)
48 Eastmoreland Lane,
Dublin 4.
D04 W7R8
Telephone: +353 (0)1 5514836
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.kingstonlaffertydesign.com
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, April/May 2018, Vol 4 No 4
Kingston Lafferty Design (KLD)
