My Happy Home: Interior designer, maximalist tastemaker and former Interior Design Masters winner, Roisin Quinn, talks to House Beautiful UK about her decorating triumphs, renovating disasters and why ‘life’s too short for boring interiors’.
‘Oh my god, there’s a skeleton in the back of your room,’ I say to Roisin Quinn as she switches on her camera, revealing the home office behind her. The model skeleton, which is placed against a vibrant wall of floral wallpaper, belongs to her husband, Ollie, who’s a physio. ‘There’s chaos going on in here,’ Roisin says. ‘I need to redo it, but I’m not going to because I’ve got a big renovation to sort out.’
‘Big renovation’ feels like something of an understatement.
Roisin has been living in the Wirral near Liverpool for the last seven years. Now, she’s doing up her dream home in Chester – and it’s quite the fixer-upper. In fact, with crumbling doors and walls that are – quite literally – moving, it’s the sort of project where people walk in and tell her, ‘This house is about to fall down.’
For most of us, we first met Roisin on series five of Interior Design Masters. She applied for the show after decorating her parents’ house, soon after her application to study interior design at university was rejected. ‘My manager and friend sent me the application and I was like, “I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. Why not?”‘
Two years later, Roisin Quinn is a household name. Known for her maximalist style and personality-packed interiors, she’s a go-to authority on all things bold and beautiful. In her new house, she tells us, she’s finally able to create a space that fully reflects her personal style.
‘I’m in between the home that started everything for me and then the home that is going to be my full-on design style,’ Roisin says.
Roisin tells us about her renovation journey, what makes her happiest at home and why she’s ditched her bedside tables…
You’re in the midst of a renovation, what kind of state is the new house in at the moment?
It’s awful. That’s why we can’t move in. The dust is just so bad. Since putting it on my Insta, people keep messaging, saying, ‘We’ve had health issues, we’ve had this, we’ve had that – because of damp, or the dust.’ I think, oh my god. It’s not worth our health. Once all the dusty stuff has stopped, then we’ll move in and replaster.
It’s like a safe place for me – I don’t know why. You look at it and it’s like a bomb’s hit it, but it’s just very peaceful. People walk in and say, ‘This house is about to fall down,’ but I can see it’s got to get a lot worse before it can get better.
Are you going to be doing any DIY?
Yes, we’re going to try and do it all ourselves. There will be elements that we can’t do, like the full rewire, but Ollie will do the plumbing, and we’ll try and do the replastering. We also need to repoint the whole house ourselves and fit all the new drains.
Have you had any renovating disasters yet?
Renovating disaster? It’s all a disaster. I was walking into the garage, and the door came off completely. It crumbled in my hand.
We didn’t expect it to be this bad, I’m not going to lie. Earlier on I was at the house and my mum came over. We started cleaning, and the next minute she says, ‘Roisin, all the walls are moving.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ She says, ‘Yeah, I don’t know whether to clean this anymore because the walls are actually moving.’
You’re known for your maximalist style, but it can be a tricky look to get right. What is a mistake people often make when it comes to maximalism?
The biggest thing is thinking that you need to buy expensive things. Go charity shopping, look at what you’ve already got in your house. If you’re lucky enough to have your parents or grandparents around, go to their houses and see what they’ve got floating about. Take inspiration from that.
Have you made any decorating mistakes over the years?
So many. When we moved in, every room in this house was grey – grey sofa, grey carpets, grey walls. I was wanting a change and so I decided to paint my office. I thought, let’s just go straight to B&Q and get the paint immediately. I didn’t know what paint colours I was going for, but I had a feeling about something. I ended up getting this limey green and purple.
I went back straight away that night and started painting the woodwork – everything. I was putting the second colour on, going to town with it, when I stood back and said, ‘Oh my God, it’s the Joker.’ The Joker has got sick in this room.
I was absolutely mortified, and then to top it off, well, I stood back and tipped the green paint all over the carpet.
You’re in between homes at the moment. If they could speak, what do you think they would say?
The current one would be saying, ‘Don’t leave us!’ And the new one would be laughing in our faces, going, ‘Ha, ha, ha. Good luck.’
What makes you happiest at home?
Overall, it’s just walking into each room and going, ‘Wow.’ That’s what I want people to do when they walk into this house, or in any house that I design. I want people to feel special – like they’re going on a journey and there’s hidden treasures everywhere. Life’s too short for boring interiors and for not making something feel special.
What was your childhood home like?
I grew up in Ireland. My dad and mum are big dreamers and they’re big vision people, but they’re insane grafters. They didn’t come from money at all. My dad wanted to make sure we all had a lovely place to hang out and have fun in, where we could play in the garden and stuff. And that house was incredible, but it was all wood. That’s one thing I’ll never forget.
The kitchen was a full wooden kitchen. They had a big AGA and some funky tiles behind that space. They were never into modern homes – ever. They always liked older homes. There wasn’t much colour in the house at all, but I think it was the size of things and their vision that was a massive inspiration – to never settle until you’re completely happy with something.
What would we find on your bedside table?
We actually got rid of our bedside tables and built them into our wardrobes because I didn’t use them. I just was like, this is such a waste of space. I need the wardrobe space more – that takes priority – and so I built cubbies into the wardrobes. It’s really cool.
I have my extra cream, a coaster, my earplugs, and usually loads of earrings for some reason – and a book depending on if I’m in the mood for reading. Oh, and an old cup, no doubt from the day before.
Speaking of rituals, what’s the first thing you do when you get home at the end of the day?
I usually go put my PJs or my comfies on. I can’t shut that door faster. I get into my position on my big sofa, I get my blanket that matches all the rest of the interiors and I put it over me. I look up at the gorgeous unit we’ve just done and I’m just so content. I am like a pig in sh*t – sorry, I shouldn’t really say that, but I am!
• You can follow Roisin’s renovation journey on her Instagram @roisinquinn
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