May
29
Happy Bank Holiday Weekend Folks
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I’m off home to see my folks for the weekend and if the weather stays like this I’ll be hitting the beach. Here’s an image from a little imromptu photo shoot during the week. Deliveries from the shop will resume on Tuesday as normal, have a great weekend!
May
29
Anyone Want to Buy a Solid Wood Floor?
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Oh dear I have been neglecting my blogging duties again of late but with good reason. There is so much happening here at Mabel & Violet headquarters where we are busy planning world domination! We have lots of exciting things going on but for now I just have to keep schtum about those I’m afraid – you will be the first to hear about them though when the time comes.
We also have the small matter of the renovation to deal with and while progress is being made it is extreheheheeeemely slow. The first of the latest disasters to strike is that we have been told by the residents committee that wooden floors are not permitted under the terms of the lease (I kid you not), so if anyone would like 53 sq. yds of solid walnut flooring I’ll do you a good deal! The other problem that we have encountered is a leak coming from a pipe on the roof and as we are on the top floor all the water is dripping into our apartment making a nice water feature. These things don’t happen in threes, do they?
Anyway the good news is that we have replaced all of the windows and sure we don’t know ourselves with the heat in the place! While my first choice for windows would have been timber frames, again we were limited by the constraints of apartment block living and had to go for the white PVC look but we sourced fabulous white aluminium ones from a German company called Oliva and the quality is fantastic. Best of all though, we went for a fully openable (is that a word?) bi-fold door so we can take full advantage of our small balcony now – just in time for this spate of sunshine too!
Before
After - Doors Closed
After - Doors Open
May
21
I am very much in need of some new clothes at the moment but I can’t stand trawling the shops in search of things. I usually have a fair idea of what I’m looking for so I tend to search online rather than head into town or to Dundrum Shopping Centre. It’s funny actually, I could happily while away many hours in interior shops and markets but I’m useless when it comes to clothes shopping. So as usual I resorted to the trusty interweb and popped over to Asos last week to resolve my style fix and as always I thoroughly enjoyed the giddy Christmas feeling when my goodies arrived today.
Himself was less than impressed when I modelled my purchases and actually gave out to me for not spending more money – what a doll! He said that he would rather see me buying a really good quality item rather than a couple of cheap (no offense Asos) items of clothing and I suppose he does have a point but, like everyone at the moment, we’re watching the pennies and I’ll get much more wear out of three tops than one!
I just love this blouse – the doggy pattern, the pussy bow, the capped sleeves, it has it all. I’m thinking that this Tibetan Turquoise necklace from Juvi Designs will really set it off.
May
14
Tell me I’m not alone here but I have a huge teen like crush on Chesterfields at the moment. I say a teen like crush but I’m pretty sure it’s not just a passing phase. It’s been fairly steadfast for a couple of years now so it’s getting to the point that I’m thinking a Chesterfield is probably husband material. Hey even the real thing, aka himself, approves of these beauties, well, as long as it’s not upholstered in shocking pink fabric anyway. So it seems that I’m ready to make a life long commitment to Chester Field (get it?), so Chester you are the one, now can you come and find me please because you seem to be pretty elusive. Does anyone know where I can find Chester at an affordable price ie. preferrably about a grand (or better still less) and definitely not more than two? I’ve looked and looked and it seems that if I lived in the UK, continental Europe or the U.S. he would be mine but alas I live in Ireland and if I want him I’ve got to pay through the nose. Maybe I should try some of the dating sites?
May
7
News Just In…
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Apartment Therapy are producing a book, which is due out next Spring…bit of a wait but better than nothing I suppose, it gives me time to save!
May
7
Parting is such sweet sorrow…
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Banter | 1 Comment
I’m really sad to see that the Domino website, like the magazine, has been finally decommissioned, sniff. I loved perusing their site for inspiration and style ideas and their My Deco File application was such a great resource for thousands of people. I’m still loving my Domino book (as pictured left) but it would be great to see a second volume being produced, if anyone from Domino is reading this, I’m ready and waiting to buy!
For now I’ll just have to make do with Apartment Therapy, which has become my Domino replacement by default although it’s also a very worthy website in its own right. For old times sake though, here are just a couple of fabulous Domino images that I managed to download before they closed their virtual doors…
May
6
Ta Daaaah….Some Kitchen Snaps As Promised
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Kitchen, My Home | 12 Comments
Here’s a quick sneak peek at our new IKEA kitchen although please bear in mind that it is still not completely finished. We still have to lay the floor and install the light fittings but, most importantly, I have yet to curate the objets d’art that will be lucky enough to make it on to the wall to wall shelving!
May
6
How to DIY a Tufted Headboard
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, DIY, My Home | 9 Comments
I’ve been meaning to write this post for ages but due to some technical difficulties with my (borrowed) camera I haven’t been able to upload the images. So now, thanks to Google and some wonderful freeware, I bring you the fruits of my labour…How To Make Your Own Velvet Tufted Headboard and Avoid Spending an Absolute Fortune Buying One in the Shops. Catchy title don’t ya think?!
I made this headboard from an old peach floral one that has been in this apartment for years but I refurbished it with new foam filling and transformed it with my fabric du moment – grey velvet! Regular readers may already be familiar with my grey velvet obsession but, for those of you who are not so familiar, see here!
I scoured the internet and found that Apartment Therapy had the best and clearest instructions in Charissa’s February Jumpstart Project 2009. I bought most of the items that I needed online as follows:
Fabric: Dove Grey Cotton Velvet bought on eBay. Cost: €26.35
Polyester Wadding: eBay. Cost: €7.12
Upholstery Thread & Needle: eBay. Cost: €30.85
Button Kit and Button Casings: eBay. Cost: €15.82
Staple Gun: eBay (although mine broke so I wouldn’t recommend the cheap plastic one that I bought – try a more expensive one on eBay or go to your local hardware store). Cost: €11.46
All of the above costs include delivery related charges too.
Offline Purchases:
Foam: Extremely difficult to find online and too expensive to ship to Ireland from UK on ebay but my friend JJ from Tara Stores in Gorey came up with the goods! Cost: €40.00
Plywood & Lumber: Used from existing headboard. Cost: €0!
Drill: Borrowed. Cost €0!
Spray Adhesive. Had some left over from making the wedding invitations but you can get it in Easons for about €3.00 – €4.00 per can I think.
Total cost: €131.60
Total time: about 7 hours (including time taken to dismantle the old headboard, which involved removing about 300 staples, one by one!).
May
1
I am commonly asked about accessories and decorations for weddings for both the church and reception venue so I thought that it was time to dedicate a section to “Wedding Accessories” on our website. Last year I helped some friends to source tealight holders, flower pots and cake stands for their amazing and slightly alternative marquee wedding and they were delighted with the results of their DIY wedding. Being foodies and great dinner hosts, the emphasis for their wedding was about both the food and the party and they came up trumps with their wedding being hailed as one of the best weddings ever! This daring couple baked their own cupcakes in the days before their wedding, not many brides can admit to taking on such a feat, but it really paid off and the cupcakes were absolutely delicious. They also used these tealight holders and flower pots to add the finishing touches to their guest tables, which proved to be really atmospheric in the dimly lit marquee.
