Lana Dullaghan designs for life.
Lana Dullaghan has always had artistic curiosities but growing up in Ukraine, the opportunity to study Interior Design was not an easy option for her. She was raised to find a safe, pensionable career as a teacher or doctor or nurse and she felt that if she was to pursue a career as an artist, she wasn’t going to be taken seriously. Fast forward to Lana’s adulthood and she found herself in Ireland working in the medical profession.
Sometimes all we need is that one person, that unexpected guardian angel to give us the courage to make that leap, and Lana found it in an Irish woman. Her friend and ‘Irish Mammy’ was the woman who told her to go for it, and after years of flirting with the idea of doing an Interior Design course, Lana found the Interior Design Academy of Ireland (IDAI).
She may have needed that nudge from her Irish Mammy, but Lana is a truly inspirational person in her own right.
Image: Lana Dullaghan Designs.
True Artist
Today, Lana has earned a Higher National Certificate from the Interior Design Academy of Ireland (IDAI) and runs her own Interior Design company! She is also a professional artist and runs a gallery where she hangs her own paintings along with the work of local artists.
When Lana first embarked on the IDAI course, she was balancing work and study. It wasn’t clear at first whether she would go-it-alone as an Interior Designer or if she would work for another designer, but her insatiable appetite to learn led her to take on a side course in business. Although the IDAI course covers the business of Interior Design, Lana is an over achiever and once her mind is made up, she cannot be stopped.
One of the many things the IDAI course taught her was to truly appreciate the value of research. Her mature approach coupled with the high expectations from the course, put her on the path of the pursuit of knowledge. She spoke to industry professionals and absorbed their insights and secrets like a sponge. As she dug deeper, she began to consider for the first time that Interior Design could be a valid career option.
Image: Lana Dullaghan Designs.
Soon Lana’s design juices were flowing and with the business end of things in hand, she looked towards the clients. Lana believes that in order to truly understand a client’s needs, she must think of it psychologically. So, Lana did what Lana does, and took on a psychology course. The course was ‘just for herself’ but Lana understands the range of skills it takes to run a design business. An insight into human psychology not only helps her to empathise with the clients and people she works with, but it offers Lana an ability to read her clients needs from a deeper perspective.
Renaissance Woman
With a HNC from IDAI, Lana had a solid and well-rounded understanding of the terrain she was embarking on but now, on her second course in colour psychology, it is clear that Lana will never stop learning.
She describes the day she signed up for the IDAI course as ‘the best day of my life’.
Lana was tired of being unhappy and actually thought ‘there was something wrong’ with her until she realised she was just a frustrated artist. Her tireless spirit was restless and like the renaissance woman that she is, she grabbed the bull by the horns and changed everything.
Since 2017 Lana has progressed from a woman who feared she wasn’t good enough to be a designer and wouldn’t dare call herself an artist; to an Interior Design business owner who also paints and sells her artwork. The IDAI course taught her to take her Interior design interest from hobby level to professional, but it also taught her about herself.
Lana has learned how to take criticism for her work and still has the confidence to grow as an artist. Her maturity has helped her see the importance of making a connection with the client and working together for a final vision. If there’s no connection, the design will not succeed.
Image: Lana Dullaghan Designs.
Lana may have many strings to her bow, but she is decisive and clear on the specific areas that interest her. Colour has always been her passion and colour psychology has deepened her insights into the spectrum. Interior Design can be broad, but she knew colour was for her. More recently Lana has moved into curtains and upholstery, but these things take time. It’s an evolving process and Lana truly believes that her greatest lessons with fabrics will come from experience.
Lana operates with boundless curiosity and oversees every aspect of the running of her Interior Design business proclaiming she ‘would hate to have herself as a client’. Which is exactly what makes her so good at what she does. Lana is fuelled by a determination to do everything to the absolute best of her ability. And her abilities are stellar!
Inspired by Lana Dulaghan's story? Want to pursue a career in interior design? Let's start your learning journey together!