Grania Murray became a designer by accident, took California by storm and now is back in Ireland for business, writes Eoin Lyons
INTERIOR DESIGNER Grania Murray recently returned to Ireland after living in California since 2000. Before leaving Ireland, she had developed a successful business with projects that included the Cellar Bar at the Merrion Hotel, the living quarters at the French embassy in Ballsbridge and the Derrynane Hotel in Co Kerry. "When I left Ireland it was still unusual to buy a cup of good take-away coffee. Lunch in a restaurant was something you really only did with your family on a Sunday. But the funny thing was that when I went to California, the design scene there was really very dated."
Times have changed ever more since Murray started out as a designer in 1996. "I was a mother of two children and hadn't thought about becoming a designer. A photographer saw my house and said, why don't you do some pictures? We sent them to Image magazine and they ran a story about the house. I was told it was the first time they had included a phone number at the end of a house feature. I remember buying a mobile phone the size of a brick to take the calls. I hadn't really considered becoming a designer so it just sort of happened." The house was so striking that offers of work came flooding in and her business was born.
Cut to a few years later when Grania had settled in San Diego. Her first step was to become a member of Asid, the American Society of Interior Designers. "To be considered for any job in the US you've got to be a member. You qualify through exams and have to do the college thing to pass. In Ireland, there's still nothing like that, but the Interiors Association is an organisation that's doing well to set standards."
Grania is a designer in the true sense, more than just a decorator, . She will design furniture for a space or reconfigure the layout. In San Diego, she found work at a large fabric and furniture company, climbing the ranks to head their staff of 13 designers. As her projects started to multiply, she opened her own office in 2002. Many of her clients were California's super rich, including Andre Agassi. "I could never understand why he would buy a house without a tennis court but that's what he did and ended up selling it pretty quickly."
According to Murray, there are big differences between working in the US and in Ireland. "Property is a very different concept in America. Houses there devalue as they age, whereas the opposite is usually true here. It's particularly the case in California, where most houses are built from wood so they can sway with earthquakes. Wooden houses don't age that gracefully and you have to be more creative. It's a warm climate, so there are always fewer internal doors at ground level. The way you move through a house is different, much more open. People re-do their interior every couple of years - here we want things to last forever. They will change details as subtle as the mounting in picture frames. Home theatres were starting to be a big trend when I first moved out there but now they are de rigueur, while kitchens are always top class but barely ever used."
Her approach to her work is the same, however. "A huge amount of what I do is about listening - taking in what clients want and then giving it to them. Part of the reason people hire an interior designer is to protect them from blunders. My brief is usually to turn a house into a home." This one of her greatest strengths, something that's often taken for granted. "I also ask clients how long they're planning to stay in this home - is it going to be long-term or something that will be sold in a few years? That has an impact on quality, budget and leaving room for things to change in the future. It's something I learnt in the States. People move constantly there."
Since returning to Ireland she has completed a number of houses and office projects. As far as working on domestic settings, she sees two main potential outlets. "Many Irish are buying in America now - given the property downturn, there's a lot of investment abroad. On the other hand, people in Ireland are choosing to renovate rather than relocate. They're improving the home they have rather than moving. I am a project manager as much as a designer and it's not intimidating for me to work abroad."
The US is obviously familiar territory but she is also working on a listed apartment in the heart of Cannes, a beachfront villa in the Algarve and a house in Provence. She has her own second home in the south of France.
"I can pack a container and send it over and deal with local builders or trades people. If you're dealing with an Irish person who speaks a few languages it makes the job easier."
Her work is adaptable and not fixed to any one style. "There's huge financial investment involved in a home, even buying a sofa can cost an awful lot of money these days. People are entitled to a great service.
"It's important to take your ego out of it. I'm very hands on about showing clients what I'm doing and why." So much so that these clients come back for the next phase of the house or ask her to work on the next place they move to. Perhaps it's because, as well as a great deal of style, she has what can't be taught: age and experience, qualities that should appeal equally to commercial and residential clients.