July 19, 2018
2 in Twelve with Catherine Heraghty from The Stables
Catherine Heraghty is the Owner and Creative Director behind the sought after boutique interior styling business, The Stables Co.
Catherine is a fellow mumma bear to a handsome little man and two fur babies who she adores . She has created a lifestyle most of us dream of, being able to satisfy her creative side whilst enjoying lots of time with her family. She is known for her muted colour palette and focuses on clean lines and natural light. Proving neutrals to be anything but boring, she makes the most of natural materials by layering texture and patterns to add depth and warmth to each and every room.
Over the last few months she has been working super hard on an upcoming project with Realestate.com.au & builder Future Flip and we cant wait to hear more about it.
We would love to know more about your super exciting project 2 in Twelve, and how it all came about?
2 in Twelve is truly a once in a life time opportunity that I could not say no to! Essentially I teamed up with my builder Future Flip to build our duplex on our existing block of land, so that meant two homes on one block. The beauty of working with Future Flip though is that he builds homes in twelve weeks! Hence the name 2 in Twelve. My husband are I are looking to expand our family and we were living in our current house torn with knowing what our next move was, sell, knock down and rebuild or renovate? We talked it over with Neil and he quickly convinced us that a duplex was the way to go!
About two years ago I was lucky enough to do a small feature with realestate.com.au, an interview in my home. I started a great relationship with them and just kept in touch with them, they are a super lovely and passionate team of people. I mentioned our new house build to them and they soon approached me with the 2 in Twelve concept and the rest is history! It has been a huge project to tackle. My husband along with Neil, built two completely different homes and furnished them completely in different styles in twelve weeks – it was complete madness but I am so hooked and can’t wait to do something else!
If you tune into 2 in Twelve via my social media channels, you will be able to watch the process and the best part – there is so much content as each week we are able to reveal two of everything! Two kitchens, two living areas etc!
Wow, what an incredible adventure! What was your favourite part of building and styling two new homes in twelve weeks?
The thrill I would get every time I went onsite and saw progress, which was pretty much every day in a twelve week build! It was so exciting having all of my thoughts that had been in my mind come to life – the relief that it worked and I made the right decisions! I also loved the team spirit behind the build, I adored all of the trades men who worked on our job site, they are all equally as passionate about their profession as what I am about mine which is really inspiring! Also the sheer amount I learnt being onsite every day, I was like a sponge and always want to learn more so I tried to pay attention to as much as I could in what was a SUPER fast build!
Which upcoming homewares trends can our followers look forward to seeing in your two new homes and what are your styling essentials that you couldn't live without?
I think there is a real shift in colour palettes from the blush and grey combo from the Scandi years to more earthy nudes and sand colours combined with greys. I was once known for my blushes and don’t get me wrong, I still love it but I am loving the use of a more paired back pink and I have definitely used the more muted tones in this home. I think it is me wanting to not be so “pretty” in my interiors – possibly a little more minimalistic as well!
I couldn’t live without all of the key styling elements – accessories, linen and cushions and artwork. Literally my rooms would feel naked with out these items. I couldn’t narrow it down to one of these as they all work together so well and if you don’t have all of them in a space I don’t think it will be as successful as it could be!
What do you attribute the success of your interior styling business to? We know that creative time and family time are both important to you, do you have any tips on work/life balance?
I think my business has become so successful for the following reasons:
+ there is a personality behind the brand and its real. My followers love that they can message me or comment and I will reply. My interiors are accessible for most people and I think that so many people can relate to them. I am a genuine person and I think that my followers connect with that.
+ I put my head down and do my own style. I am aware of what is going on around me but I never copy. I do what I do because I love it, if you stay true to your own style and you are passionate about it people will gravitate to you – your authenticity. You can’t be for everyone, its just impossible – just be you and your followers will love you for that.
The struggle to balance your own business and family life is real. I won’t say I do it perfectly, having your own business means lots of late nights of slaving away over the lap top and sometimes working on the weekends but it also means that I am in charge of my own ship and I am in it for me (and my clients!). There are times when I have to sacrifice time with my son Hudson, I definitely miss out sometimes on them but I am lucky I do what I love so it’s not all bad!
In the first year of my son’s life I found it so difficult to do it all, I felt I was being a bad mum and I was not doing any well at my business because I was trying to do it all at the same time! I soon learnt that the key to doing something right, is just to do that one thing and do it well. So when I pick up Hudson from daycare I switch off work until he goes to bed, no checking emails or taking client calls during this time! So I am a really good mum during that time and on weekends. Then I turn work mode back on and give my clients my full attention. My husband and I also have a dinner together every night so we can talk things through and connect every day. I have put the days of being a half-baked mum, wife and business owner behind me!
In todays fast paced lifestyle, winding down and getting a good nights sleep is much harder. Do you have a bedtime routine you swear by to get the rest you need?
Having a beautifully styled bed helps ha ha! I love getting in my bed every night, I adore how my bedroom looks every time I walk into my room so I would say having somewhere you look forward to going to every night would definitely help! A few things that are a must for me are having good block out blinds so that when the sun starts to creep in the morning it does not wake me until my alarm insists that I get up, I get every second of sleep I can! I am a stickler for clean linen – so Saturdays I strip my bed and put fresh linen on my bed, nothing better than clean linen! To wind down at night, I am also known to play a little music until I nod off – I love my music so this is the perfect way to just have a little me time and chill out.
Ultimate date night with hubby?
We love to stay in the city and indulge. Its perfect for us as its not too far away from our little guy and we know that we can head back to him in the morning after a really good sleep in and a long lazy breakfast! We love staying in a hotel, living like kings, getting dressed up and heading out to one of our fave restuarants in the city – having a bit too much wine and being completely decadent. We don’t need much to make us happy, just a simple night like that is pure heaven for us as we get to re focus on us, have fun like we used to before the world of kids and enjoy food and wine which we love! We have one of these nights booked in next weekend and we are so excited to go and spoil ourselves!
Whats coming up for you?
Lots more work! The number of clients we have taken on has increased significantly in the last few months as I have taken on Lucy who works for me full time now. I am looking forward to doing bigger and more challenging projects, bigger renos and lots more new builds! I love exploring new ways to use joinery in spaces and working with new finishes so this is the direction I really want to take the business. My husband and I are already talking about our next big project beyond 2 in Twelve – we are addicted!
Thank you for taking the time to read our interview.
Please leave us a comment and let us know how much you loved it.
All the best,
The Team at The Cover Collective x
