Design Solutions: Fashion designer Aideen Bodkin lives in a redbrick terraced house near The Phoenix Park in Dublin 7. Those familiar with her clothes might be able to guess something of the style in which it has been decorated, writes Eoin Lyons

Sparking unusual colours off one another is a big part of her work - take a look her new autumn collection at The Design Centre to see what we mean - and the same principle has been applied to her home.

In particular, the colours Aideen favours can be quite strong. But the problem with using rich colour in a house like this house is that it does not get a great deal of direct sunlight at certain times of the day, so dark colours alone would soak up too much of what's available.

In her bedroom, however, Aideen has come up with a way to use her favourite deep colours but not end up with an overly dark space. "It all started with the bedspread that I bought in Galeries Lafayette on a fabric buying trip to Paris," she says.

"That was to be the basis of the room but I knew if I used just one colour, it would be swapped." The bedspread is burgundy with many other colours in the beading that runs across it.

So instead of one colour, she used four. The wall at the head of the bed is painted in a wine damson paint by Colour Trend at MRCB and she used a gold paint by the same company on the opposite wall, where the fireplace sits.

The key thing is that the two other walls - one side has two windows - have been painted a white-pink colour to reflect light into the room and to balance the ceiling that is painted a darker shade of red-burgundy.

Without it, the room would be oppressive and while white might have been too stark a contrast, the pink tint provides a link to the other colours. The whole effect is kind of opulent, helped by Eastern-looking beaded and fringed cushions from Zara Home, bought in Spain, and a gilt mirror.

"Because the bedspread has an Indian style I painted lotus flower patterns in small dots above the bed wall. It's like henna painting - you know, the tiny dots painted on hands and face. Some are big and some small but to be honest, there was no method to that. I started with two large flowers and added small ones to draw the eye all over the wall."

Aideen is happy with the result and that her colour combinations worked: "White is fashionable but it doesn't work for me. I adore the amount of texture in the room."

For Aideen Bodkin stockists countrywide call 01 8748071