Collaborative creations for the home

DESCRIBING HIS LATESTcollection, enfant terrible of French fashion Jean Paul Gaultier says it reflects his three favourite trademarks: corsetry, sailor stripes and tattoos. But you won't be wearing this lot – they form part of his furniture collection for Roche Bobois, which has a shop in Sandyford, Co Dublin.

He created the range for the company’s 50th anniversary and follows a long list of creatives who have made pieces for Roche Bobois since it began in 1960, in Paris.

The trend for fashion designers bringing couture to couches really took off in the new millennium when, as company historian Philippe Tretiack wrote: “The world plunged into the era of signature brands. Super models, fashion designers and architects joined the world of celebrity and became stars in their own right.”

Fashion and interiors have now become interlinked, with the likes of Dulux issuing colour trend forecasts each year, with the help of Orla Kiely, and fashion houses from Armani to Zara creating homewares.

Those who have fashioned fabrics for Roche Bobois include Missoni, Kenzo and Ungaro. Later this month Sonia Rykiel’s range will be unveiled. They all “dressed” the company’s low-slung Mah Jong sofa, designed in the 1970s by Hans Hopfer, and Gaultier’s offering includes digital prints from a fantasy version of Casablanca, a bank note, tattoos, lace and flowers.

But, for him, fabrics were not enough and he went on to design a new collection of furniture, including mirrors on wheels – resembling tall porters’ trolleys – and suitcase-like cupboards, which resonate with those of us who are slow to unpack after arriving home from trips. “The suitcase concept came to life during the late 1980s as I was travelling a lot for fitting campaigns in Italy,” says Gaultier. “I barely unpacked my bags and then realised that a suitcase could be a furniture piece.”

The ability to be constantly innovative, while maintaining a link with comfort and tradition, has been a part of Roche Bobois’ ethos since it began when two rival furniture companies sat down together. The Roche family, from southern France, and the Chouchan family, who came to France from Belarus (then part of Russia) in 1895, would meet at furniture fairs, where they were seeking to import pieces from Denmark. “We were competitors and our sales teams fought with each other,” recalls Philippe Roche. “One day I got into my Citroen ID19 and went to Boulevard Sebastopol . I suggested that we bury the hatchet. One plus one equals three.”

Whatever the magic ingredients, the company has lasted for 50 years. Perhaps even more commendable is that the Irish store (one of 240 worldwide), started four years ago in Sandyford by John and Dorothy Power, is still there, among a hub of interiors shops in Sandyford. The couple believe passionately in the brand and hope to open another shop in Ireland. Roche Bobois is still a firm of two families, and things that each side have said seem to hint at their origins and different attributes. Patrick Chouchan, whose family came from Eastern Europe, said the brand was about “pragmatism, commercial flair and club spirit”, while Francois Roche described the company’s furniture as, “art applied to everyday life, with sensuality, movement and femininity.”

Roche Bobois, Unit 1D, Beacon South Quarter, Sandyford, Dublin 18. roche-bobois.com

Architects to the rescue  

Everybody has a horror story about a home improvement gone wrong. Whether the “victim” is themselves, a family member or a friend, the end result is the same: someone is out of pocket and somewhere, there is still a leak or a damp spot or worse. If you are in need of some calm counsel, Help My House, now in its second year, is a good place to find sound professional advice. Set up by Anthony Brabazon of ABA Architects in Sandymount, Dublin, it has 19 registered RIAI achitects who will visit your house or site within days and provide a written report and recommend solutions. You don’t have to be building an extension: they will advise you on anything from cracks in the wall to planning permission.

“We offer low cost, fixed-price advice before any major repair or renovation work begins,” says Brabazon. “We also, as practicing architects, have developed good relationships with reputable contractors and tradesmen, so we can give you a referral service as well as a diagnostic service.

“I recently had a client who was complaining about a roof leak. I discovered that the kitchen extractor wasn’t connected properly to the outside of the house. If the problem had not been properly identified, there is a good chance he would have taken the drastic step of replacing the entire roof. Worse still, the problem would not have been resolved.”

Few of us are tackling ambitious building projects these days, but after a harsh winter, there are plenty of structural problems that need to be addressed. “We are very used to dealing with people on tight budgets,” Brabazon assures us.

See helpmyhouse.ie or call 01-6683519. Visits cost between €150 and €200, depending on location, and the service is nationwide.

Spring Clean

St Patrick’s Day used to inspire a wild bout of spring cleaning in my mother’s house, inside and out, and we would be despatched to fork over the flower beds and pull down the curtains for a dusty shakeout and a wash. She even changed the slipcovers on some of the furniture, replacing sombre winter upholstery with softer colours in linen union stripes and checks. It’s a likeable idea – changing a room from season to season with soft furnishings. More to the point, it’s an affordable idea. A few new lampshades, cushions, throws and a basket of flowers can do what your Laser card may not otherwise be able to do.

Thus we’ve always liked the Swedish range of fabrics and accessories for home and garden at The Blue Door in Naas, Co Kildare, which Peter and Aileen Kelly import and distribute to discerning furnishing shops all over the country, North and South. They’re crisp and modern and they come in a subtle, compatible range of colours and patterns that work well together. You’ve got more than 1,500 items to choose from so you can get started in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or garden. Think positively of sunny days. Needs must.

Linum fabrics and soft furnishings can be admired and your nearest stockist is listed on linumireland.ie. The look is certainly cheering, and suits our island light. Patsey Murphy