In March 2024, I visited the ruins of Millbrook House in Abbeyleix to begin work on natural dyed commissions for Ómós Guesthouse and Restaurant. Cúán walked me through the overgrown grounds, showing me where the restaurant would go, and spoke of his plans for the restaurant, including a kitchen garden. He talked about the design and vision for the place while showing me the property’s crumbling mill & outbuildings. All that stood were the remains of what was once a grand Victorian home.

Ómós has taken form as an elegant 16-bedroom guesthouse and restaurant in Abbeyleix, County Laois. Established around Millbrook House, a restored Victorian property on the edge of town. Led by chef Cúán Greene, Ómós means homage, duty, and respect in Irish. Rebecca Norberg at Relief Gallery headed the interior design alongside Copenhagen-based Asca Studio.

The initial site visit

My task was to explore, document & create a palette from the property’s natural dye sources. When you are discovering plants in a space for the first time, there’s always an element of uncertainty. What grows? Is it a good dye source? Is there enough to make a strong dye with? The time of year & season always has a part to play. I was relieved to find an old walnut tree close to the house. Followed by willow, cypress, larch, yew, and hawthorn. Working within the season at hand, I focused on what the land offered. In the lingering grasp of winter, where the early days of spring are but a promise of what’s to come, I returned to my studio, plants in hand, excited to develop the colour from the grounds of Millbrook House.

Developing the palette for Ómós

Back in the studio, I worked through each plant systematically, testing colour on linen and alpaca, from Ashford Alpacas in Wicklow. Natural dye has a real affinity for animal fibres; the alpaca took the colour beautifully, richer and more saturated than the linen with the same quantity of plant material. Anyone familiar with alpaca knows how luxurious a fibre it is, silky & soft; it is my preferred natural fibre of choice.

Walnut, willow, cypress, yew, and hawthorn all gave excellent, reliable colour. Larch was more difficult to work with. Cyprus was an absolute joy to discover for the first time! Walnut, a fantastic & historical source of natural colour, is always a treat. While walnut dye usually comes from the husks of the tree in the Autumn, similar lighter tones can be extracted from the branches later in the year. Willow & hawthorn are two of my favourite sources of natural colour, producing rich & varied shades of terracotta.

The tones were earthy, varied and so very complementary. No surprise there; that is one of the elements I love most about working with natural colour. How effortlessly & confidently natural colour complements itself. I learnt after the fact that yew is poisonous to work with; this is how I discover most things in life, after the fact 🙂

Once the palette was developed, I worked with Rebecca at Relief Gallery to bring the Ómós natural dye commission to life. She sent her ideas for the space; we talked through fabric, lighting, and texture. I created the final pieces based on her measurements and the tones she felt suited each room.

My recent visit to Ómós

In returning to photograph my work, I had the pleasure of being shown around Ómós by Fiona McCulloch, who took the time to walk me through the guesthouse, the private dining room, and what I think is the real crown of Ómós, the kitchen garden. Fiona was an absolute delight and was so gracious with her time. The grounds, and especially the garden, are what struck me most; the landscaping, the plant selection, the colours, all of it effortlessly beautiful, elegant, refined yet gracefully wild. Fiona introduced me to the head gardener, Maurycy Gasz, who generously sent me home with a box of bounty: flowers, herbs, and giant courgettes. It was incredible to see everything thriving: pumpkins the size of basketballs, squash as big as logs. He spoke about the importance of soil prep, probiotics, and the different manures he used, and mentioned a Japanese method he follows known as Bokashi (forgive me if I have this wrong).

The Finished Commissions

Two very different works came out of this project. The piece for the main hall is silk, dyed with oak. In contrast, the piece for the private dining room is heavily textured & dyed with hawthorn. The hand-loomed fibre, offering a softer, warmer feel, suited to a more intimate space. Alongside the two main pieces, a few framed collections of sample swatches are dotted throughout the interiors. I live in a world of naturally dyed swatches; throughout my studio you’ll find them in stacks, here and there. It’s really satisfying to see how Rebecca presented them in such a simple and contemporary way. A testament to how she wove so many elements together to create a beautiful whole.

This is one of my favourite kinds of projects. Discovering site-specific natural colours, and bringing that back into a space. If you’d like to speak about a piece for your interior, I’d love to hear from you.

Enquire about a commission →

• Photography: Kathryn Davey
• Architects: Ryan W. Kennihan Architects
• Interior architects: Asca Studio and Relief Gallery