In the late 19th century, tin ceilings were all the rage here in America, but in Ireland, they still are.
Just venture in to one of our legendary Irish pubs like The Long Hall in Dublin or The Crown in Belfast and look up - you'll quickly see why the fad got started and why it has endured to this day.
Simply put, they're gorgeous, simultaneously making a statement and offering a warm but usually understated welcome, exactly the kind of twofer that designers love.
Given the enduring connection with Ireland, and the Irish understanding of the beauty of the form, it's no surprise why the American Tin Ceiling company recently approached the acclaimed Irish born New York based designer Clodagh with a simple request: to bring her uniquely holistic approach to a specially commissioned new tin ceiling collection, emphasizing her signature preoccupations like wellness, sustainability and sensory design.
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The results are extraordinary. Clodagh's new Tara Collection references Irish stone circles, cairns (earthen mounds), sacred groves, and ritual landscapes, elements that are are as ancient and contemporary - and aesthetically robust - as when they were first created, millennia ago.
Even the grooves made on Irish sand by the retreating Atlantic tide are an inspiration, as is the tilled soil of the Irish farming landscape that once arrested poets like Patrick Kavanagh and Seamus Heaney.
It turns out that our Irish heritage sites like Tara, the seat of the High Kings and Newgrange, with its striking passage tomb addressing personal transformation and awakening, can still speak directly to a modern home or to a public space with a near magical clarity you might not have anticipated.
Clodagh knows, though – and she has made it the center of her gorgeous new collection.
“We talked a little bit about the history of tin ceilings in the lead up to this collection,” Clodagh tells IrishCentral, “and we discovered that in fact, they began in Europe and then very quickly made their way over here."
"They were a very cost-effective way to decorate, which is why, especially here in New York but also in Chicago, you often see them in bars.
"But there are tin ceilings everywhere. And they're such an intrinsic part of good design that people almost expect to see them and when they do they almost don't notice it.”
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Thinking about the ceiling above your head is a thing that people really should spend more time on, she says. Many times – most times nowadays – it's a bland white roof, with simple recessed or hanging lights. There's not much - or anything - to see. Why? How did that get started?
To this day, the value of tin ceilings is known to international designers who seek exciting to elevate a space with the minimum of fuss. In bars, gentlemen's clubs, restaurants and barber shops of the late 19tth century tin ceilings once provided a notably warm and insulating effect, instantly transforming a good space into a great one (they can even be made with acoustical backing to absorb sound and echo).
Clodagh drew on her decades of design experience, her historic design principles and her own world travels to create the the tin tile patterns of her new signature collection: Japanese Zen gardens, Irish heritage sites, organic biophilia and a love of color all influenced the development of the designs.
Unlike with traditional tin ceilings which usually feature repetitive patterns, Clodagh's new designs also allow for multiple configurations giving homeowners, designers and architects the freedom to customize their installations in the way that best suits their spaces.
Both eye-catching and light catching, her work with American Tin Ceilings is a triumph that speaks to her decades of her discernment as a designer. Simply put, this cohesively deigned collection will bring durability and beauty to bear wherever they're used.
But it also unmistakably speaks to Clodgah's own heritage as an Irishwoman – that deep conversation between her public and private history and her world travels, resulting in this strikingly Irish and modern collection.
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