Shop Fit Out in Ireland: Retail Interiors Designed, Made and Installed by One Team
Counters, display joinery, shelving and lighting for shops across Ireland, drawn in our design studio and built in our own Dublin workshop. Six retail projects, how the process runs, what drives the cost, and what to have ready before you brief a shop fitter.
A shop fit out is the design, manufacture and installation of everything inside a retail unit that shapes how it sells: the layout, counters and pay points, display joinery, shelving and lighting. ONOVO delivers shop fit outs across Ireland from its workshop in Rathcoole, Dublin, with design, manufacture and installation handled by one in-house team.
Retail is one side of ONOVO's commercial fit out services, and the work runs from a single jewellery boutique to branded display units that sit inside larger stores. The six shops in the project tabs below each have their own page in the retail fit out portfolio.
What a shop fit out includes
A shop fit out covers the joinery, fixtures and finishes that turn an empty or tired unit into a place that trades. On ONOVO's retail projects the scope has run from concept and design management through bespoke display joinery, manufacture, installation and project management, with building works and mechanical and electrical services added where the unit needs them.
The joinery is where a shop earns its identity. Standard shelving can hold stock. Bespoke fixtures decide what a customer sees first, where they pause, how staff reach the till, and how the brand reads from the door.
- Layout and customer flow, from the entrance to the pay point
- Counters, pay stations and service desks built for busy periods
- Display joinery, feature walls and glass-topped cases
- Shelving, dispensers and merchandising systems sized to the stock
- Integrated lighting and finishes chosen for daily commercial use
- Building works and mechanical and electrical services where required
Retail shop fit outs across Ireland: six projects
Select a shop to see what it sells, what the fit out had to do, and what ONOVO delivered. Each project has its own page with more photographs.
Gears Jewellers, Dublin
A full turnkey retail fit out for a Dublin jewellery boutique, managed from the first concept to installation. The display counters were made in ONOVO's workshop, with glass-topped cases that keep every piece in view, and a feature wall runs from floor to ceiling. The layout supports browsing and private consultations in the same room.
James Fox, Grafton Street, Dublin
A complete transformation of the James Fox cigar and whiskey shop on Grafton Street, a shop dating to 1881. ONOVO managed every part of the fit out, including building works and mechanical and electrical services, with cabinetry designed to show the products and carry the shop's heritage into the new interior. Delivered in collaboration with Twenty One Spaces Interior Design.
53 Degrees North
An end-to-end retail fit out for the outdoor adventure retailer, delivered as a turnkey project from concept to completion. Bespoke cabinetry and fixtures were designed around the range, from hiking equipment to technical apparel, in natural materials including wood and stone-effect finishes that suit the brand.
Viking Marine, Dun Laoghaire
A complete retail fit out for a seafront store selling marine and sailing equipment. Tailored joinery and fixtures display sailing gear, apparel and accessories from leading brands, with defined product zones and clear layouts so customers can find their way. Natural materials and careful lighting give the shop a coastal feel.
Proper Shopper, Leopardstown
A full retail fit out for a zero-waste store in Leopardstown Gardens, from design concept to final installation, including building works and mechanical and electrical installation. Custom shelving, dispensers and fill stations hold over 200 dry-food options and refillable household products, so customers can shop without packaging.
Fleetwood Paints, Newbridge
A full retail transformation of the Fleetwood Paints decorating centre in Newbridge, overseen from concept to completion. Tailored joinery and custom fixtures show the paint collections and decorating accessories, with designated zones for key brands such as QTech spray equipment, and clean, intuitive layouts that keep products visible.
53 Degrees North, Viking Marine and Proper Shopper
How a shop fit out works, from brief to handover
An ONOVO shop fit out runs in four stages: consultation, design, manufacturing and installation. The same team carries the project through all four, which keeps the drawing, the joinery and the finished shop in line with each other.
For a retailer, the practical benefit is one point of accountability. When a site measurement differs from the drawing, the people who drew the counter are the people who make it, so the change is resolved in the workshop rather than improvised on the shop floor. The project management team keeps you informed from sourcing and costing materials through to manufacture, installation and handover.
The stages of an ONOVO shop fit out
- Consultation and briefing: your products, customers, brand and opening date
- Concept and design development: the layout, customer flow and joinery package
- Prototyping and technical detailing: every element refined before manufacture
- Precision manufacturing: made in-house in the Rathcoole workshop
- Installation and handover: fitted on site and handed over ready to trade
The team did a superb job start to finish. True professionals and an absolute pleasure to work with.
Jamie Foers, IKEA
What drives shop fit out costs
The cost of a shop fit out is set mainly by the size of the unit, how much of the joinery is bespoke, the materials and finishes, and whether building works or electrical changes are needed. A price per square metre is a poor guide for bespoke retail joinery, because two shops of the same size can need very different amounts of it.
The main shop fit out cost drivers
- The length of the display runs, and how many counters, desks and feature walls the shop needs
- How much is bespoke joinery rather than standard shelving or bought-in fixtures
- Materials and finishes: timber veneers, lacquers, stone-effect surfaces and glass
- Lit and glazed display, such as glass-topped cases and illuminated cabinets
- Building works and mechanical and electrical services, if the unit needs them
- Site access and working hours, which can be restricted in a shopping centre or station
- The number of stores, where one design is repeated across several units
ONOVO prices each shop fit out after a consultation. Because design, manufacture and installation sit under one roof, the design can be value-engineered to the budget, with the team showing where a change of material or detail saves money without changing how the shop reads from the door.
I found ONOVO’s consultancy during the design stage of the project to be of the highest standard. A fit out, which not only looks fantastic but was also competitively priced. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.
Deirdre Leahy, Owner, Dun Laoghaire Pharmacy
Coffee shop fit outs, kiosks and brand displays
The same workshop builds for cafés and for brands that sell inside other retailers. For Insomnia Coffee, ONOVO has delivered a turnkey café interior at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, a standalone flagship kiosk at Connolly Station and the complete transformation of the Howth café, with the Liffey Valley and Howth projects delivered in collaboration with Twenty One Spaces Interior Design.
Café joinery has to cope with constant use. At Liffey Valley that meant custom service counters, wall panelling and banquette seating in light-toned timber. At Connolly Station the kiosk had to serve commuter peaks from a compact footprint, with integrated storage and a layout that keeps service moving.
Brand display sits at the other end of the scale: a single unit that has to hold its own inside a larger store. ONOVO designed and made a display unit for Smeg that sits within larger electrical retail environments and lets the appliances and branding lead, and has built retail joinery for IKEA and Decathlon, including Decathlon’s front desk and pay station.
Insomnia Liffey Valley, Insomnia Howth and Smeg
How to choose a shop fit out company in Ireland
The most useful test of a shop fit out company is to ask who designs the joinery, who makes it and who installs it, and to see completed shops in a sector like yours. Where those three jobs sit with different firms, every gap between them is a place where the design can drift, the programme can slip or responsibility can blur.
Ask to see finished retail work rather than renders, and notice how different the shops are from each other. A fitter working from a standard range will show similar interiors in different colours. One designing from the brief will show shops that look like the brands they belong to. The ONOVO retail portfolio runs from a Grafton Street whiskey shop to a zero-waste grocery, and its commercial fit outs in Dublin and nationwide also cover offices, hospitality and medical spaces.
Worth asking any shop fitter
- Who designs, manufactures and installs the joinery, and is it one team?
- Can I see completed shops in a sector like mine?
- Are samples or prototypes approved before production starts?
- Who is my single point of contact from briefing to handover?
- Can you manage building works and electrical services, or coordinate them?
- Can you provide certification for the work where the landlord or project requires it?
- Where is the timber sourced?
ONOVO answers each of these the same way: one in-house team, prototyping and technical detailing completed before anything is made, certification provided where a project needs it, and responsibly sourced, FSC-certified timber with low-VOC materials.
We have worked with ONOVO Design since 2005. Their work and customer service is always first class and whenever we have a project we think of ONOVO first.
Martin Blacker, Manager, 53 Degrees North
Before you brief a shop fitter: a checklist
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Send your brief to the commercial teamShop fit out questions
What is included in a shop fit out?
A shop fit out covers everything inside a retail unit that affects how it sells: the layout, counters and pay points, display joinery, shelving and merchandising fixtures, lighting and finishes. Depending on the unit it can also include building works and mechanical and electrical services. ONOVO manages design, manufacture and installation as one process.
What drives the cost of a shop fit out?
The main drivers are the size of the unit and the length of the display runs, how much of the joinery is bespoke, the materials and finishes, lit and glazed display, and whether building works or electrical changes are needed. Site access and the number of stores also matter. ONOVO prices each shop fit out after a consultation.
How long does a shop fit out take?
It depends on the size, condition and complexity of the unit. A single shop can move from design sign-off to handover in a number of weeks, while larger or multi-site projects need a longer programme. Because ONOVO designs, manufactures and installs in-house, one team sets and manages the programme from the start.
Does ONOVO fit out shops outside Dublin?
Yes. ONOVO works from its manufacturing facility at Greenogue Business Park in Rathcoole, Dublin, and delivers commercial fit outs across Ireland. Retail and café projects include Grafton Street, Dun Laoghaire, Leopardstown, Liffey Valley, Connolly Station and Howth in Dublin, and the Fleetwood Paints decorating centre in Newbridge, Co. Kildare.
Can ONOVO work with our architect or interior designer?
Yes. ONOVO works with retailers directly and alongside architects, interior designers and project managers. The James Fox shop on Grafton Street and the Insomnia cafés at Howth and Liffey Valley were delivered in collaboration with Twenty One Spaces Interior Design, with ONOVO making and installing the joinery.
Can one shop fit out design be rolled out across several stores?
Yes. Because counters, display systems and branded joinery are made in ONOVO's own workshop, the same specification can be produced again and installed across several locations to a consistent standard. That is how multi-site retail and café rollouts keep each unit matching the last.
Planning a shop fit out in Ireland?
Start with a consultation. Bring a floor plan or measurements, a few photographs of the unit and your opening date, and the commercial team will talk through layout, joinery and programme before anything is drawn in detail.
ONOVO designs, makes and installs from its workshop at Unit J9-J12, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Dublin, D24 R2WF. Email info@onovo.ie or send an enquiry through the contact page.
Explore the full retail fit out portfolio.