Pure Fitout is responsible for some of team GAFF’s absolute favourite restaurants and bars in Dublin – The Dean, Roberta’s, Angelina’s, Tomahawk and of course, one of the most beautiful additions to the city in years, The Stella cinema in Rathmines.
We caught up with the Belfast-based workshop who make a designer’s dream a reality.
The Stella theatre really is a work of art. We can’t imagine the kind of labour that went into refurbishing the cinema – what was it like as a project for you guys?
There were headaches, for sure! When we first visited the cinema everything was covered with concrete blocks. Once we started to chip away at those facades we couldn’t believe how much of the original theatre was intact. After that, we replicated as many of the features as we could. It was 9 months of painstaking restoration, fit out, getting the audiovisual right, combined with all of the difficulties an old building comes with. It was so worth the pain, though. I popped in this morning actually, and I turned on all of the lights and stood in the space. I just started smiling ear to ear – I’m very proud of the result.
You guys deal with massive renovation projects all the time. What advice do you give to people who are renovating or updating their homes on a smaller scale?
Big job or small, the secret to success is planning. That’s not what people want to hear – everyone wants the work done yesterday – but believe me, planning is key. Write a detailed checklist of every single thing that needs to be done. Give yourself plenty of leeway because things change, samples go missing, orders get delayed. Contracts are so important too – make sure whoever is doing the work for you knows exactly what you want so there can be no miscommunication. Write it all down so you have proof of the agreement. That detailed plan will save you a fortune in time and sanity, believe me.
For readers who love some of the pieces you’ve designed, do you guys offer a bespoke service?
Absolutely. We can make tables, chairs and everything else you can imagine in our workshop in Belfast. Readers, get in touch! We need a lead time of 3 months though, so you’ll need patience.
We’ve spotted a few gorgeous neon signs in your venues. Who makes them?
We love the guys at Academy Signs for all of our neon light needs.
What’s the most exciting project on your plate at the moment?
We’ve been looking at the plans for The Devlin, Press Up‘s new hotel in Ranelagh. My lips are sealed – but it’s already looking amazing.
Thanks so much to Ronan for chatting to us. For more info and orders, visit Pure Fitout.