Design Solutions: Liz O'Kane is in the business of moving house. Not her own, mind - she's very happy in her Rathmines home. What she does is help househunters find a home here or abroad that fits their criteria by checking out properties for them and narrowing the number down to a few must-sees. Eoin Lyons reports.
The business also includes an unpacking service and both come under the name Get Sorted. This is appropriate because when it comes to her own home, there's no better phrase to sum up the many clever ideas therein: for example, a table has drawers underneath to hold cutlery and placemats, bathroom furniture hides away every toiletry and the living area has floor-to-ceiling walls of glass that open up the house to daylight.
As you might guess from what she does for a living - and because she also has young children - Liz is also a master organiser. All of which leads us to her kitchen.
Here she has positioned two regular fridge freezers side by side. Panelled doors match the rest of the units and open away from each other. "I really wanted an American fridge," says Liz. "I don't know why. So many kitchens pay homage to the enormous American-style fridge. You go in and there it is - a big lump of stainless steel in the corner. And it's really quite ugly."
The American-style fridge may have become clichéd, on a par with the Aga and the Belfast sink, but Liz still needed plenty of fridge space. Her husband had a clever idea. "I was still Miss American Fridge but Roy came up with the idea of putting two ordinary fridges together. American fridges can cost €3,000 but we got these standard Whirlpools for €500 each and ended up with double the freezer capacity of an American fridge."
While it has to be said that supersize fridges offer extras that these don't have, most of us could live without a constant source of crushed ice and do something more useful with the cash saved.
But it's not just a question of money. "I love the colour of my kitchen units and didn't want to break the line of presses across the wall with a fridge. This way I get the big fridge but the streamlined look as well."
Sorted.
Get-Sorted 01 4972985 www.get-sorted.com
