I really like this coat stand from Instore (€199.). I'm not usually one for having things like coats on display in a hallway but I'm strangely drawn to this quaint little one.
It's available in black or white and has a compartment at the bottom to hide away shoes.
I would put this in a utility as opposed to a front hall, depending of the style of your house of course.
My little nephew's bedroom is in the process of being decorated by his parents. While I was looking for inspiration for them I stumbled across some wonderful kid's furniture by German company HABA.
Waking up in one of these beds every morning would feed any child's imagination!
Summer House Bed
Sleeping Beauty Bed
This cloud couch is designed deep enough for kids to lie down, while parents sit comfortably to read them stories.
Rugs create the ideal play area, here are a few nice ones from HABA
Ok I've just gone through putting up this entire post, only to discover that HABA is not available in Ireland... Lets just call the items above "ideas" or "inspirations"! The beds would be easy enough to replicate if you know a good carpenter, or if you live in one of the countries listed here you're sorted!
As promised, here are a couple of more items from Monsoon Home. Maz has been in search of the perfect apron for some time now. Click here to read about it. Well, especially for you Maz, here are a couple more that I've found. I love these country-kitchen style ones that look very Laura Ashley-influenced. Just looking at them makes me feel like baking!
Both GB £22. (approx. €32.)
There are also matching peg bags and oven mits for each item...
... will take place this weekend - Fri. June 29th, Sat. June 30th and Sun. Jul 1st at the Cork Racecourse, Mallow Co. Cork
There will be:
Unfortunately I can't make it as I'll be relaxing in the Aran Islands for the weekend :) but it should be a good one so do pay it a visit if you're in the area during the weekend. Admission costs €10. children are free
Some beautiful bedclothes from Monsoon Home...
I love the rich fabrics of Monsoon's bedclothes, they obviously use the same inspirations when designing their handbags. More from Monsoon tomorrow!
I noticed looking at MTeriors that I have only one entry in the bathroom tab! Luckily this co-incided nicely with some great bathroom items that I recently came across.
The Victorian Salvage and Joinery Company reclaim beautiful pieces where they can see potential and painstakingly prepare them for re-use. They also specialise in handcrafted furniture from seventeenth century to contemporary designs.
Have a look on the website to see the full range of products. Here are a few of the bathroom items that caught my eye...
This Old Original French Toilet brings a whole new meaning to the word throne!
They have lots of great items, not just for the bathroom but kitchen items, flooring or these fitted wardrobes which I love!
The Victorian Salvage Company are located on South Gloucester St. Dublin 2, or you can visit the website here.
One of my favourite restaurants when I lived in Brussels was a place called Hemisphere which served world cuisine, mostly Moroccan, Indian, Tunisian, Asian. As a vegetarian it's not always easy to find somewhere to eat that has a lot of choice for us herbivores (... do I have to eat dried-up pasta again??) so over time the food has taken a back seat when it comes to my enjoyment of a night out. Having a meal out is still my favourite thing to do, but the ambience of a restaurant has become more important to me when choosing a restaurant.
The reason that I liked Hemisphere is because not only did it have a very extensive veggie menu, but the decoration is fantastic. I've actually gone there on my own a couple of times, had a nice meal with a glass of wine and just looked around me at the proprietor's collection of this that and the other thing from all over the world.
One of the great things about this restaurant though, is that they serve most of their food in tagines.
A tagine (or tajine) is a cooking or serving pot that has found its origins in Morocco. There are two types - the cooking one is (understandably) made of tougher material and works in a similar way to a pressure cooker or slow cooker. The serving one is more decorative but can't withstand high temperatures.
You can really serve anything you like in a tagine but the usual recipe of a tagine (the meal has the same name as the dish) is like a stew of meat, fish or poultry simmered with a mix of veg and spices - usually served with bread or cous cous.
I'm on a recent quest to acquire a couple of these serving tagines, I then plan to round up a couple of people, serve them dinner in the tagine and force them to ooh and ahh over my new gadget!
Here are a few nice ones I've seen on tagines.com
The ones I've shown cost in or around $40. post and packing is extra. I've a vague memory of seeing these in TK Maxx lately, where I'm sure you'd get them cheaper. I'll let you know if I track one down...
Here's a selection of a few things I stumbled across during the weekend:
These cushions from Zara Turner Gifts & Interiors would be a great way to dress up a dull dark couch.
€40.00
This Millie Vase is €21.95 from Yesterdays
These picture frames from Carraig Donn range from €29.95 - €59.95. I love the aged silver look of them (at least they look silver from the website...) these would look good if you have a room with an Indian or Eastern theme (lots of colourful silk, old lanterns and silver trinket boxes).
These can pants (!) are such a clever idea! As a cold-blooded person I love these! $6. from Etsy.
This dynamite door stopper is £26.95 from Not on the High Street.
Just in case you didn't notice I've added a new feature to the left bar on the blog, as soon as each month ends, I'm going to pick my favourite post and put a link to it on the left, unfortunately the thing that allows me to put pictures on the left bar isn't working, but bear with me! Check out May's top post - Interiors in the City!
Would you be surprised if I told you that the artists who created the paintings above didn't paint them with their hands? In fact, would you be surprised if I told you that the artists didn't even have hands!
The pictures above are the result of an initiative in Asia who's goal is the protection and preservation of elephants. The paintings above were in fact created by elephants who have been taught how to paint!
Elephants are my favourite animal, I think I fell in love with them years ago when I found out that they are the only animal (apart from humans) that will cry from sadness or pain! That's why I was so excited about this project The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project.
30% of the profits from the paintings goes directly to the elephant's manhout (owner) or the camp where the elephant resides, with the condition that the money is used to provide the elephants with additional food, proper veterinary care, and improved shelter. The remainder of the profits goes towards other initiatives set out in the Mission Statement.
Here is some info. on a few of the artists and an sample of their work!
Lucky was found orphaned, wandering the bush near Mornambrae, Cambodia. She was brought to the Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center near Phnom Penh in 1999.
Lucky began painting in 2003. From the beginning Lucky demonstrated great artistic talent. Lucky's strokes are loose and gestural. She often creates circular patterns combined with striking beats of the brush on the canvas. Once she starts on a painting it is hard to stop her. If she ever happens to drop the brush while she is working, she immediately picks it back up and finishes the work with a smile and a twinkle in her eye. She would also hand over a brush after finishing with a colour and immediately grab the next brush so as to begin painting again with a different colour. Lucky is extremely enthusiastic about painting and always has a smile on her face.
It was one fateful day a few years ago now that a traditional Chinese artise by the name of Chaowalit began teaching Wanpen and another elephant, Gongkam, how to paint in a realistic Chinese style. In the six months since their introduction, Chaowalit has been working closely with Wanpen and her Manhout, Khun Chien. With much patience and perseverance, Wanpen was soon painting beautiful landscapes, trees and flowers. The works are truly astounding. Wanpen has amazing control of the brush and will carefully create a variety of brushstrokes upon the canvas and keeps her eyes fixed in front of her the entire time, whether she is making the downward stroke of a tree trunk or the single dot of a flower bud. The expression in her face reveals a deep wisdom despite her young age. We are looking forward to the unimaginable possibilities that the future may hold for Wanpen.
