Mar
30
Kitchen Progress and Appliances Update
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Kitchen, My Home | 2 Comments
The kitchen is slowly making progress but I won’t show any photos until I have the before and after shots because I’m not a huge fan of seeing the “work in progress” shots unless they are being used to explain a particular process in a step by step manner. Hopefully, most of the work will be completed by the end of this week but we still need to paint the walls, which means I need to decide on a colour…fast! Unsurprisingly, I am leaning towards grey but I might just go for plain white walls. We have just bought a pastel blue Smeg retro 1950’s fridge so I want to see how that looks in the kitchen before deciding on the wall colour. We hadn’t planned to spend so much money on a fridge, the original plan was a built-in under the counter one but the reason we plucked for the funky new fridge was threefold:
1. the built-in under the counter fridge was out of stock
2. our chosen counter (Pragel walnut effect from IKEA) wasn’t long enough to run the length of the wall
3. I found this beautiful pastel blue Smeg fridge for a bargain €850, reduced from €1300 in Dominic Smith Electrical in my hometown of Gorey! Yes I realise that €850 is a lot to spend on a fridge but…in for a penny, in for a pound as they say! It’s such a statement piece and a design classic in the making methinks so we can pass it on to our grandkids!
To be perfectly honest I would have loved the green one too but the decision was made easy for me based on the fact that the blue one was the only one available at this bargain price but I did come across a second hand pastel green one on Gumtree, which was also in the running for a while.
While on the subject of appliances, we both have a real hankerin’ for a stainless steel range cooker, not that we fancy ourselves as professional chefs or anything but I love the aesthetic of them and like the practicality of having the cooking facilities in one area – ok scratch that who am I trying to kid, they just look divine don’t they?! The downside is that they are extremely expensive, especially here in Ireland but we found one in IKEA for a very reasonable £665.53. It’s called Praktfull Pro and is manufactured by Whirlpool but when we went to buy our kitchen it was out of stock. I did a bit more research and found an even cheaper range cooker from Indesit with a “B” energy rating (IKEA’s cooker had only a “C” energy rating) for £420 from Sams Yer Man in Belfast and they were willing to deliver it to Dublin for £50, thankfully saving us another trip to Belfast in a big white van! As it turns out though, our builder has a good contact in Indesit and managed to get us the same cooker here in Ireland at the bargain price of €500 and we can feel a bit better about giving the business to an Irish retailer instead. You’re welcome Mr. Cowen, oh and any chance of a VAT reduction in this week’s budget please?
- Indesit Range Cooker (and she’s all ours!)
- IKEA range cooker (not bad for the price)
As you might have gathered I am a bit of a bargain hunter and a massive online shopping fan and I have been known to scour the internet for the best deal that I can find, much to the frustration of “him indoors”. So when it came to looking for a great deal on wooden flooring for the kitchen and living room I thought I would easily find the best deal online but as it happens, I could not find a better deal than this – solid walnut flooring at €25 per square yard – yes I mean SOLID, not semi-solid and definitely not laminate muck! I have obtained a sample and I am ordering it today, it truly is solid and it’s available from Furlong’s Hardware in the wilds of Wexford – Bunclody to be precise (tel: 053 9375400 and tell them Paula sent you!).
Mar
25
And another vintage inspired birdcage veil…
Filed Under Fashion, Vintage, Weddings | Leave a Comment
I was just browsing on Etsy…yet again…when I came across this gorgeous birdcage veil. I just wrote a post about the birdcage veil that I wore for my wedding but I just had to add this one too because it is beeeautiful. In fact, if I had seen this one sooner I might just have bought it myself. It’s from Satanica’s shop and her other veils and headpieces are stunning too.
Mar
25
Having just recently walked down the aisle, I am still on the post wedding high that goes with being a newlywed. Despite the air of calm and nonchalance that I feigned while organising our wedding, the reality was that I thoroughly enjoyed planning the whole thing and spent many many hours searching the interwobble for everything that I needed (except the man – nope he was definitely an offline find!) to make the day just perfect. I just love all things vintage so it was no surprise at all that my wedding ensemble was vintage inspired from head to toe. I bought all of my accessories online – the jewel encrusted shoes came from ebay, my Art Deco inspired earrings from Ben Amun (thank you Vintage Glam for finding them first) and the birdcage veil was custom made to my own design by Unveiled Bridal Designs in the States. Thank you Dorene! I elected to have peacock feathers in the veil, despite the protestations for fear of bad luck, because they really picked up the colours in my unconventional green shoes. Why the green shoes? Just look at the photo and I think you’ll understand why I just had to have them and of course I can wear them again and again you see! At least that’s how I justified the expense to myself anyway but if I am to be really honest they are still sitting in their box unworn since my wedding day because they are just way too pretty!
Thanks to James and Shawna, a husband and wife team of wedding photographers, collectively known as AAA Photos. They were great to work with and followed us around all day snapping away without making us feel uncomfortable or remotely like we were being papped!
Mar
24
Miniature kitchens, how cute…
Filed Under Kitchen | Leave a Comment
I wish I had one of these when I was a little girl, in fact I wish it came in a real life grown up version. They even come with a stainless steel sink! Cooking might be a little hazardous though. I found these on Etsy from imaginethatwoodshop, I don’t know how much they would cost to ship to Ireland though. Great for all those budding Gordon Ramsays and Rachel Allens out there!
Mar
20
More about “recessorizing your home!”
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Recessorize, Wall decor, Wallpaper | 2 Comments
“Recessorize” is our very own term for re-decorating and accessorizing your home during these recessionary times in which we find ourselves. We say enough with the doom and gloom, it’s time to make ourselves feel better and the best way to do that is to surround yourself with beautiful things that you love and that instantly lift your mood. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a fortune (even if you’re lucky enough to have one!) to achieve an updated look. The key is to use items that you already have and mix and match them with some new ones or to make some small changes like wallpapering a wall or re-upholstering an old chair. Eclecticism is the new minimilism, so it’s time to inject some personality into your home!
Wallpaper can add texture, depth and warmth to a space but you needn’t limit it to walls. Wallpaper can also make a great addition to the surface of a coffee table, the front of a chest of drawers or even on a set of stairs, thanks to Shawna from Design in Dublin
Wallstickers and wall decals are also a really inexpensive, super quick and easy way to change the feel of a room and they can usually be removed in case you change your mind or want to take them with you when you move.
Kitchen cupboards can be updated with a lick of paint and some new doorknobs. In fact, adding new doorknobs to any piece of furniture will instantly and inexpensively update it.
Mar
6
Two of my favourite things right now – grey and velvet
Filed Under Banter, Gifts, Textiles | Leave a Comment
My favourite colour for interiors at the moment is grey and my favourite fabric is velvet so whenever I come across grey velvet fabric I’m in heaven! A little bland some might think but grey velvet has such a luxurious aspect and the good quality stuff is hard to beat with its subtle silver hues. I am currently gathering all the bits that I need to make a grey velvet tufted headboard (I bought the fabric on ebay a few weeks ago and I love it) and I will dedicate a post to my handywork at a later date. In the meantime here are some grey velvet lovelies…
This love of grey velvet is spilling over into all areas of my life and I couldn’t resist stocking the grey velvet cosmetic bag above on mabel & violet. It has become an immensely popular gift idea and I even have one myself because I love giving gifts to me! It is in fact deceptively spacious, it’s just like Mary Poppins’ magic bag, seriously, so many people have commented on that fact!
Images courtesy of mydeco, Overstock.com, elizabethcourtney.com and urbanoutfitters.com
Mar
5
Gorgeous Spring Fashion at Quail
Filed Under Fashion | Leave a Comment
I have just come across this website and if we sold clothing at mabel & violet this would be it! I love the colours and style of each of Quail’s dresses, tops, skirts, shorts and pants! LA native Michelle Nguyen Williams, founder and designer of Quail, takes pride in creating affordable, wearable classics with modern, unexpected twists and is intimately engaged with every aspect of the designing process.
These dresses are super short but oh-so-pretty, team them with opaque tights for the Irish weather…
Images courtesy of Quail
Mar
5
Mabel & Violet are on the pig’s back!
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We’ve been so busy this week fulfilling orders that I haven’t had time to post anything…that’s a good complaint though isn’t it? One of the main reasons is due to the fantastic response we have been receiving to our competition on Pigsback.com. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it Pigsback.com is an Irish company that offers members discounts, coupons and access to competitions from major brands in Ireland and the UK. We have teamed up with them to offer the chance for one lucky member to win a €1000 gift voucher for Mabel & Violet. Why not take a look at the competition and enter yourself here.