Originally from Tours in France, Claire now lives in Dunboyne Co. Meath with her husband and two children.

She runs her own interior design practice under the company name Avenir Designs (www.avenirdesigns.com), and also lectures, on behalf of Limperts Academy of Design, the professional Diploma course in Interior Design.

Already qualified with the Rhodec Institute, she is now preparing her final project in Interior Design under London Metropolitan University Higher Diploma Programme.

She worked in the family architectural and interior design practice in the Loire Valley, France before going into management accounting for almost ten years.

When travel and hotel life lost its appeal, Claire decided to rekindle her interest for interior remodelling and went back to college to qualify as an interior designer.

Recent projects include the revamp of a large period house and the re-design of a modern semi –detached property both in the city. Last Christmas she completed the design of an oratory and a meditation space inside a secondary school in the metropolitan area. Her current large projects include the complete fitting out of a large family home in the new exclusive Farmleigh Woods estate, adjacent to the Phoenix Park as well as the development of her commercial portfolio with the design of modern offices for a rapidly expanding accounting practice.

She provides one off consultancies to people who do not wish to hire designers but who admit they need some professional help to bring their plans to reality. She also organises workshops where she demystifies design rules and encourages people to express their personality through the decorating of their homes.

After all, long gone are the days when Louis XIV was sending people to jail for design plagiarism or so called “bad taste”. Claire thinks that in a showhouse property, it is important to make a design statement by connecting the interior design to the best architectural features.

It is also essential to suggest how to use space without limiting it. The imagination of the viewers must be stimulated not restrained. The design must be creative but not alienating.

Claire likes to work with all the colours of the colour wheel, especially the strong ones as they show character and presence. Every colour can enhance a space if matched appropriately and if used in the right proportion. She is certainly not afraid to play with less commonly used colours, as we saw from her property designed for showhouse where walls ranged from uplifting orange in the guest bedroom to a refreshing peppermint green tone in the study.

A typical mistake, according to Claire, is to design without consideration for the available space. As a result furniture can look ill-fitted and the room congested. She also feels that in this country it is still not widely acknowledged that architecture and interior design could be improved upon if considered in unison, especially in the domestic market.

Similarly, it is often forgotten that interior design does not relate only to accessorising with pretty things but starts with defining space and choosing suitable materials.

She would sum up her design style as, uncompromised and functional. Her ideal dream project to work on would be designing and building her new home from scratch.

She would also love to design film sets in order to experiment with different temporal influences both historical and futuristic. If you would like to contact Claire then please do so on Email: claireaumont@avenirdesigns.com, W: www.avenirdesigns.com T: 01-8251765