Open House: What Makes A Remarkable Home?

On the 18th of September, Aucoot and Concrete Communities held a panel discussion on ‘What Makes a Remarkable Home?’ for the Open House Festival 2025. Moderated by Leanne Cloudsdale in Atelier Ellis’ showroom, renowned industry experts unravelled the dream and the realities of renovations through paint, furniture and decoration. 

Hosted by Leanne Cloudsdale, the conversation veered into the pitfalls of renovating a home while building costs and materials have increased over the years, with Aucoot’s Owner and Director Daniel O’Brien highlighting that “There is now so much more value in buying somebody else’s hard work from the past few years if it’s been done to a very high standard.” He continued, “If we see a home which has been fully renovated three years ago, it is impossible to recreate it today for the same amount. So, you’re getting an opportunity to buy a finished home for much less than buying an un-modernised house.”

Irenie Cossey of interior design company Irenie Studio, cautioned that before taking on a large-scale renovation project, owners should take their time to get to know the space inside and out, “don’t touch anything, move in and get to know the building. Spaces behave differently across each day and across each season. Though, you may not have the luxury of being there for every season, before you start renovating, you need to sit, lie, spend time and just to get to know the house”

Cassandra Ellis also offered sage advice when it came to timing paint choices, “Never choose in January or June.” However, the age-old question of what to paint a wall depending on its orientation didn’t concern her, “As much as I know about colour, I don’t walk around and go, “Hmm, I’m northeast facing here. I must lean into a pale blue green.” Who cares, if you want a black bedroom, roll with it.”

Bespoke furniture maker Soroush Pourhashemi returned to the idea of home as a “safe space”, and mused on the joy of hiding away clutter in a beautifully designed cupboard. “Everyone has a ‘room of shame’,” he noted, but when he begins to work on a project, “people see it as an opportunity to declutter” and in return the furniture he makes with his company Lozi Designs provides some form of relief, “that’s the feeling I like to create at home.”

When pushed by Leanne on what advice Dan would give on making a home more sellable, he echoed the sentiment of the panel, by foregrounding the importance of establishing the character of the person and by extension the home first; “the trick is to just lean into you as a person and character. We are really lucky that we get to work with lots of interesting people who are confident enough to express themselves and have an obvious emotional attachment to the space.”

With thanks to our panel and our brand partners on the event

Leanne Cloudsdale – Concrete Communities Moderator

Dan O’Brien – Aucoot

Soroush Pourhashemi – Lozi Designs

Cassandra Ellis – Atelier Ellis

Irenie Cossey – Irenie Studio 

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