Tricia Harris Designs

As we continue our series looking at the amazing makers we have had the privilege to work with at Breac.House, this week we head back to Dublin to furniture designer and maker Tricia Harris .

A recent winner of Image Interiors Irish Furniture Designer of the year, Tricia is a designer and maker who we had worked with us our previous lives. As very proud owners of one of her Swirl Drinks Cabinets, we always knew that we would work with her again and Breac.House presented us with that opportunity. Tricia is a graduate of Letterfrack College in Galway, which is now the National Centre of Excellence for Furniture Design and has been an important catalyst in the revival of independent furniture making in Ireland in recent years.

Tricia has a passion for designing pieces that people will connect with and love forever. We were thrilled to work with her on a solid oak servery unit for the lounge area in Breac.House – located in a part of the house which we knew would become the key space where people would circulate, sit, read, rest, chat, sleep, listen to music or just look out the window. We selected the oak material as it complemented the timber being used throughout the house and is restful in tone and appearance. More importantly, however, it is really solid and will last forever if properly cared for. It is also one of the few trees native to Ireland which our ancestors would have constructed houses and furniture from - which we wanted to remind people about in the modern age of cheap, disposable furniture. This was in fact , the very first piece of furniture to arrive at Breac.House and has become the cornerstone of the house, as we expected.

The observant amongst you, will also notice one of Tricia's other creations, The Jack in the Box lamp on the sideboard. A playful little table lamp that never fails to get a smile.

In our second year, we worked agin with Tricia on the beautiful reading chairs in the guest bedrooms. Inspired by the slate colour and sloping profile of Muckish mountain, Tricia has created unique pieces which are at home in this location only. Cleverly designed to act as a sofa or as two separate chairs, they are primarily functional but also add to the beauty and authenticity of the space. We also used Ulster linen as the covering, reflecting the famous heritage of linen-making in this part of Ireland. It is a material used regularly for bedlinen, given its warmth, durability and softness – using it in the bedrooms at Breac.House was a natural fit.

Having worked in her studio at The Chocolate Factory in Dublin for the past number of years, Tricia has recently moved her studio back home to her native Kerry. We look forward to working with her again in the future. To read more about Tricia, her approach to design and to see her portfolio visit Tricia Harris Designs