My mid-century tendencies

My eyes are slowly opening to the fact that I actually do have specific tastes that veer in a very specific direction - you may be reading this thinking 'duh!!!', but to be perfectly honest until I had to knuckle down and make choices and think seriously about buying things (as opposed to my renting days, when I trundled along compiling fantasy buys in my head) I just thought that I liked, well, lovely things regardless of what style or era they are from, just all lovely things. But no, my leanings, subconscious as they may be, are firmly mid-century, with a smattering of Scandi. The biggest purchase of my life was a late 1930s/early 1940s house for goodness sake. And yet I only really twigged just how intrinsic and natural these tendencies are when my newly purchased Ilum Wikkelso sofa (above), that I had my heart set on and had drooled over for months on the Wild Child website, had arrived and made it safely through the front door and into the living room. My (clearly far sharper than I!) sister in law turned around and said "it really suits the house, doesn't it?" It had never occured to me that I would buy furniture that is roughly of the same era as the house - after all, it seems quite a luxury, doesn't it? But it just happened that two things I fell in love with were created around the same point in time and they marry beautifully, if I do say so myself. I was just buying things that I loved willy nilly, but I guess it really is true that when you really love things you should just buy them (finance permitting, of course, ahem) and they really will just naturally work together - the only way to achieve a genuinely natural and uncontrived look. My mum was dubious about the sofa before she saw it in the house itself, she thought that it would swamp the room, but it fits in hand in glove. I approve of the whole large-pieces-in-small-spaces theory, it somehow makes the place seem uncluttered, I think it's the strong shape of the sofa. And then, as if I don't have enough to be spending my money on, I got this Normann Copenhagen Norm 69 pendant light in the sale on Finnish Design Shop (I don't think this is on sale any more, but I swear there was money off it when I bought it!!!). How beautiful is it going to look hanging above my Wikkleso sofa?

The latest on the renovation front is that I have escaped to my big bro's house while he and his family are on holidays, as it is all a bit bananas in my little mid-terrace palace at the mo. The builder came over and put doors between the front room and living room and it's amazing the difference that they make, the front room looks like a whole new room now. Yes, I know, 'duh!!!' again, but honestly if you had been living in it for two months as I had you would know how that one simple change made the main living area feel brighter and more spacious - and, most crucially, more and more like my very own space. My dad, who is something of a superstar in the garden, very kindly paid a visit and got to work with a strimmer and a saw to tackle the forest in the front and the jungle out the back, so now there is also more natural light coming through the front and back windows. So - now there is also the sofa in the living room - and then the plumber came in to start working his magic on Tuesday and the place is now hilarious, there is rubble and old sanitaryware and stuff out the front and there are pipes and other plumber-y yokes hanging out of walls and floors. I didn't realise that the bathroom could actually look smaller without anything in it, but amazingly enough it does, whoulda thunk it. It's a pity that I didn't think of it before I started going bonkers buying sofas and lightshades and curtain fabric, but I have to go and get the tiles for the wetroom now. Looks like there'll be a whole lot of beans on toast in store for me for the forseeable future! I'll nip in today or tomorrow to take pics of the ginormous work in progress that is my home, so that you can see for yourselves just how very, eh, in progress it really is.

Mayday, hurrahday, yayday!

Happy Friday, and, indeed, happy long weekend to all of you! Rather hard to believe that it's actually May, given the weather, but there are other ways to celebrate the first day of summer. Like maybe availing of Inreda's tenth birthday special offer, this Morris sofa, on sale from today for €1,999. it's 210cm long with a removable cotton cover and is available in eight colours.

Constant inspiration

It goes without saying that most of my tastes and preferences, when it comes to what I have/covet in my home, are inspired by what I do. Our location shoots, in particular, are always full of lovely items that I want in my home, and at the end of a shoot day there is usually one item, at the very least, that has to be pulled out of my hands as I reluctantly part ways with the goodies that we have borrowed. The Taika tea cup in the top shot, as I mentioned in a previous post, eventually made its way into my home. I've been sighing over these fab tree silhouette-style coat stands (in the second shot) for equally as long, so hopefully that's another item that I'll come home to some time soon. And our stylist Eleanor's clever use of coat hangers to hang these prints in a shoot that appeared in our Jan/Feb 2009 issue (bottom pic) is sparking my imagination in relation to my frames dilemma. 

More lovely things

Danish lovely things, of course. I was so taken by Copenhagen that I have decided Danes are utterly perfect, particularly when it comes to design-related matters. This extremely posh shop called Illums Bolighus was the scene of much sighing and touching of lovely objects that I couldn't afford (not the breakable ones, I was very careful, as an extremely clumsy individual, not to touch anything breakable. Imagine breaking something that cost a fortune and having to pay for it and then not even being able to enjoy it? If you broke something in this place you wouldn't even be able to afford the glue to put it back together after you'd paid for it. Sickening). Anyhow, my admiration can be indulged from the comfort of my computer screen thanks to their great website. Check out these visions of loveliness, from the top: hello, nobody told me that Sonia Rykiel was doing bed linen!!!; the Kubus candle holder, designed in  1960, is atmospheric and reassuringly secure; the work of Anne Black always  brings me joy; the awfully cool Zettel'z ceiling light, which I heretofore not had any particularly strong feelings towards, is now occupying a very particular place in my imagination that has it pictured as the perfect light for my living room. Which is quite curious as an extravagant light is not quite at the top of my priorities list right now, and the living room is in such a state that it would actually just look completely nuts.

Happy world book day!

I derive joy from many things in life, most of them very simple pleasures like food and sleep. The joy of a wonderful book is something that never fails to amaze me, how someone can create such an original work that can captivate and leave a lasting impression in the way that it does. I'm currently reading Two Lives by Vikram Seth, as a precursor to the intimidating A Suitable Boy, and it's an extremely absorbing read, a stunningly told tale. I have amassed many, many books over the years. I love how creased and crinkled and loved they become. My books, at this stage, deserve a decent home. They are currently in the loving care of my parents (I just couldn't deal with providing the space they required when I made my last house move), but when I move to my new house they'll have a more permanent home, so it's a chance for me to knuckle down to the task of displaying them proudly - and, of course, tidily. I love love love this pic of Chotda's colourful but oh-so-organised bookshelves, proving that books can give aesthetic, as well as intellectual, pleasure.

Photographer Paul Massey

I was admiring a fab bathroom last week and trying to figure out where I had gotten the pic from (it was in the sizeable 'inspiration' folder on my desktop, saved under 'PERFECT BATHROOM LAYOUT'), when someone reminded me that it was that of photographer Paul Massey. I love his work, his interiors shots are always of homes that look as though they are lived in by people who love comfort, as well as having great taste, and who really live in their homes. I went on to his website and found a whole host of other inviting images, some of which are above. Enjoy.

Hanging out in the hall

Now, I know that I need to curb spending, with all that is there to pay for it's all about the fundamental stuff these days and the pretty things need to be left on the back burner. It's comforting to know that some things aren't going anywhere and that they'll be there to buy whenever I've saved and can justify buying them. Like this lovely Swedese coat stand, from Duff Tisdall - it's perfect for my hallway, as it's not bulky, it's wall-mounted and it has a lovely strong silhouette. It's not an immediate concern though, and at €410 I'm content to visualise how lovely it will eventually look when I can afford it.

NCAD graduate show picks pics

I finally got a chance to call up to the NCAD 2009 graduate show. It's just a short trot up the road from work, so it was a thoroughly pleasant way to spend a sunny afternoon. I really recommend paying a visit, you could easily spend a couple of hours there and there's plenty of food for thought. Anyhow, you must pardon my photography 'skills', but I took some pics of some of the work that I really liked. Take a look and don't forget to call up this week - you have until Sunday, it ends on the 14th. Above is a ceramic piece by Kim Murray from her collection called Keepsakes.




Brioni Connolly



Blaine O'Donnell



Tim Harden



Carol O'Connor





Margaret McKeever



Installation by Fionnuala Hanahoe

Sunnier times in sunnier climes

Looking at the extreme greyness outside the window, I can't help but yearn for a bit of brightness, and I'm quite sure that I'm not the only one. That led me to thinking about holidays, which reminded me of our stunningly sunny holiday in Sicily last year. For the most part we stayed in cheap n cheerful hotels and guest houses, but when we went to Syracuse we treated ourselves to the very lovely Hotel Gutkowski, a fresh, idyllic seaside spot. It was a combination of the pics on the website and the glowing reviews of the breakfast on tripadvisor that sold it to me. And, from an interiors point of view it's chockkers with inspiration. A very simple, fresh type of inspiration, just the kind I need to counter the dull as ditchwater weather and clear my head a little. 

Very exciting...if you're a bit of a nerd...

...like me! I'm excited about Kirstie Allsopp's new makey-do programme Kirstie's Homemade Home, which starts at 8pm on Channel 4 tonight. I love KA - she's absolutely hilarious when she gets narky with the househunters on Relocation Relocation (they often deserve it, it has to be said). Anyhow - this show is about Kirstie doing up a dilapidated cottage in Devon using traditional methods and crafts, apparently, so there's lots to learn about crafty-type DIYish stuff. That's a night in on the sofa for me so!

Jealousy

Just look at it! Look at the fabulous parquet floor in this bathroom! Well, to say I'm green with envy. I ab-so-lute-ly LOVE parquet floors. Everywhere, in every and any room in the house. I intend to trawl salvage yards high and low to find some for my new house. My dad shakes his head every time I mention it though. And then takes the opportunity to remind me how I've ruined the beautiful parquet floor in their hallway with high heels. Anyhow, these shots are courtesy of Little Greene Paints, this is their Ultimatt emulsion, a seriously hardcore paint that is built to take the pace in high traffic areas in the home. For Irish stockists contact 01 450 7154. Notice how black painted walls are a recurring theme these days? Maybe it's a recession thing, like that time at the Oscars after 9/11 when everyone wore black.

It's bloomin gorgeous out there

Having stepped off the plane from New York mere hours ago, I am now sitting at my desk a little dazed and confused. The beautiful day is making it all a little easier though. It's also making me feel all outdoorsy and finally ready for a little spring action. I have a tendency to get ahead of myself, however, and forget that it's not as warm as it looks. So for the time being I'll settle for more indoorsy ways of getting down with nature, like this oh-so-clever Kiikku indoor garden by Tonfisk, a walnut ladder with four removable flower pots that can also be brought outside when the appropriate weather eventually rears its head. Tonfisk also have a smart new extendable vase, Kasvu, made of porcelain and laminated walnut or oak, that can be adjusted from 17.5cm to 27.5cm to suit the height of your flowers. One of the founding designers of this successful ceramic design company is Irish man Brian Keaney, who is currently based in Finland. Tonfisk designs are available from Inreda on Camden Street, D2. Tel: 01 476 0362.

Just stay in

Oh yuckky yuck yuck, how could the weather be so hideous?! For those of you who need to get a design fix but can't bear to brave the outdoors, log on to the Finnish Design Shop where you can buy Mikko Karkkainen's Red Dot Design Award winning Tunto LED lamp - which will help brighten up that gross grey day outside.