Mar
11
Twig Hutchinson
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Inspiration | Leave a Comment
I keep coming across the work of stylist Twig Hutchinson lately and you know what? The girl’s got talent and exceptional good taste! I love her subtle use of yellow, which I find a little strange because yellow is a colour that is nowhere to be found in either my home or in my wardrobe. I think it’s a direct result of an irrational fear of Big Bird that I developed as a child, a fear that remains with me to this day! So I found myself nodding and smiling when I read what thisisloveforever had written about Twig’s use of yellow.
Image via Twig Hutchinson
Mar
2
Oh Chesterfield, oh my!
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Furniture, My Home | 17 Comments
Do you remember this post that I wrote a while back about my search for an elusive, inexpensive Chesterfield sofa in Ireland? Well, the search continued for some time after this post and further to many near sightings online, a few wild goose chases and the threat of a divorce, I decided it was time to give up the ghost on finding my own vintage Chesterfield. But, a short time later and armed with a renewed sense of zeal, I got in touch with a man called Tom from a small but perfectly formed and rather well known shop called AJs on Capel Street here in Dublin. (Thanks Fi for pointing me in his direction.) Tom understood my plight and assured me that, although he could not find me a vintage Chesterfield, he could custom build one for me from scratch. He even managed to do me a bit of a deal! The fabric is a Designers Guild Cotton Velvet in the most amazing shade of teal and the finished piece just makes my heart sing! When it was first delivered I refused to sit on it for about two weeks and just sat on the other sofa admiring it from afar.
So, thanks to a bit of matchmaking from Fi and Tom, Chester and I have been living happily together enjoying cosy nights by the fire, whiling away Sunday mornings with the papers and entertaining some rather envious friends. Chester has everything that I was looking for in a sofa, and more….beauty, comfort and quiet companionship. It turns out that Mr Field and I are indeed, as expected, a match made in heaven.
Images from my own home.
Jan
30
Interiors Induced Insomnia
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Inspiration, bedroom | 5 Comments
Having recently re-painted and re-carpeted our bedroom, instead of relaxing and enjoying the calm grey and white sleep inducing space that we have created, I find that I am now spending hours lying awake at night thinking and deliberating over the rest of the decor. I have a fair idea of how I want it to look and what I need to get that look and it basically involves acquiring some cash. Quelle surprise! So, sadly for me and more importantly, for those around me who have to tolerate my grumpy tired self, it looks like there will be a lot of sleepless nights ahead. What I am planning though is a wallet friendly trip to IKEA (yes I will be wearing a blindfold and obviously a trolley is out of the question) so that I can install some shelving above our bed and artfully display some stuff as artfully displayed in the images above.
Images via Skona Hem, emmas design blogg and My Scandinavian Retreat
Sep
30
I received a lovely email from another satisfied customer yesterday and to my delight she had even attached a couple of photos of her purchase in action! Thanks Jeni and thanks also for letting me share these images here. Jeni bought one of the World Map Wall Stickers €77.95 by Ferm LIVING and I think it looks great in her hallway. She says that this part of her home is still under construction but I think it looks great already.
I find that hallways are always difficult to decorate because, let’s face it, we don’t spend too much time hanging out in the hall do we? But on the other hand, the hallway sets the tone for the rest of the house and should create some sort of an impact for guests. That’s why I think Jeni has really hit a right note with this wall sticker because it adds drama to the relatively small hallway without being overpowering. She also says that it’s a real talking point for guests so tick and tick!
Aug
14
Fireplace Fashion
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Inspiration, My Home | 5 Comments
Right now I’m thinking about fires and fireplaces, a lot. Why? Because we need a fire for this lovely faux chimney breast that we built and then cut an electric fire with marble surround shaped hole out of! The problem is that the fire we wanted is a “Wall Hung” fire and not a “Hole in the Wall” fire so it’s going back to the shop. Who knew these things could be so complicated? I find that I’m quite partial to the hole in the wall now though, it’s not as huge as it looks in the photo but we might have to reduce it in size a little. I don’t think I’m going to win this one though and an electric fire it will be, ah well. Here is some drool-worthy hole in the wall and traditional fireplace inspiration for your viewing pleasure…
I love the simplicity of the traditional fireplaces in the last three images. All images are from Shoot Factory bar the first one, which is from our living room!
Aug
6
The Yvestown Blog
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Inspiration, Photography | 2 Comments
I just came across this gorgeous blog today via Decor8 and I am so in love with Yvonne’s beautiful home. She uses my favourite colour – white as the perfect backdrop for her amazing finds and pimps her furniture, particularly her IKEA pieces to give them her own unique style…
She also clearly has great taste because she chose the same colour Smeg as ours, go baby blue go!
Jul
15
An Interior Design Expert No Less
Filed Under Affordable Interior Design, Furniture, Gifts, Kitchen, Textiles | 2 Comments
I received an email yesterday from a lovely man enquiring as to whether I design and fit kitchens, having seen images of our recent kitchen overhaul here on my blog. Unfortunately, the answer is no – I am merely a novice playing around with Ikea’s wonderful design software not Autocad or any other such technical wizardry. So there you have it – I am not an Interior Designer, nor do I claim to be but I know someone who is…in fact I know quite a few.
One such person is one of my blogging buddies Lorna from Garrendenny Lane Interiors – yep the one who tagged me recently giving me the opportunity to shame myself into answering those questions so honestly thus revealing that I am far less erudite and cultured than I try to appear.
Lorna has dedicated three whole rooms of her house to display beautiful collections of fabric, wallpaper, bedlinen, furniture, lighting and accessories in a most unique way giving customers the opportunity to see how these items work in a real home as opposed to a brightly lit shop floor. She also has an online shop, where a lot of these items can be purchased and delivered direct to your door. As if this isn’t enough to keep her busy, Lorna also provides a curtain making and fitting service as well as Interior Design consultancy. And when her busy day is done, she has two young children, herds of cattle and sheep, not to mention a few goats and acres of land to look after. She recently appeared on RTE’s programme “Not Enough Hours” – surprised? No, neither was I.
I just love the Designers Guild bedlinen range available from Garrendenny Lane Interiors…
Designers Guild Bedlinen from Garrendenny Lane Interiors
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
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!