Guest Post by Maz @ Style Treaty

A couple of weeks (possibly months at this stage) I did a post about my ongoing search for a new table lamp. Well I finally found one in Homebase last week. It’s as simple as I wanted and yet there are a few details that I like on it. You’ll find the picture on the website here, but it’s not a great picture.

Here is a picture that shows the details I spoke about above.

Please ignore the mess that is the CD/DVD stand - we have so many it's impossible to keep them tidy!!

I was wondering what to do with the old lamp and since I didn’t know anyone who needed a new one I dropped it into Oxfam on William St. I found out that they are more than happy to take home ware so if you’re doing a cleanout or redecorating, please keep them in mind.

I almost forgot to mention - it was about €30

A Splash of Life

A nice rug is a great way to introduce colour and pattern into a room. With the minimalist and monochrome look so fashionable at the moment there seems to be a lot of quite plain looking living rooms around and I really think you can't beat a good splash of colour or pattern to bring a room to life.

If you have a blank canvas of a room to start with then I would recommend choosing a rug you love first and use that as your starting point for co-ordinating everything else in the room. If you already have your room furnished, there are so many beautiful rugs available at the moment that you shouldn't have too much trouble finding the perfect one to compliment your room.

Here are some nice ones I've found. The first three are from Hal Lou in Tralee. There are no prices on the website but you can check out the website here to find contact details etc.







The next three are from Habitat. I love these, I was in Habitat in Galway on Friday and I decided that I want to live there, yes right there in the store, it's my new favourite place!


Mosaic Rug €295.


Glasgow Rug €250 (small) €450 (large)


Decotrail Rug €450.

A Rug is also a great way to cut down on echo and noise in a room, especially if you have a solid wood floor.

Summer is on the Way!

With this lovely weather we've been having I'm really starting to feel like summer is on the way! I know we have a while to wait yet but there's no harm in planning ahead, I've been looking at garden / patio furniture lately and here are a couple of nice ones that I've found at Cunningham's, Tipperary Road, Limerick.

This Sienna Sofa Set costs €999. for the sofa and armchair with cushions, along with the granite/marble coffee table.



This Hamptons Set is €1,999. for the sofa and armchair with cushions and the rectangular coffee table.



This Provence Set costs €359. for 2 chairs with cushions and the round granite coffee table.



I'm dreaming of long summer evenings in the garden already! The pictures don't do them justice so either visit Cunninghams at the Crossagalla Business Park or online by clicking here.

Pretty Files

I hate all the paperwork that builds up in a house and i go through phases of good intentions about filing. I think if I had a set of box paper files like these that it would make the job much easier!



These cost £36. from www.cabbagesandroses.com

Tableware for Rural Living

If any of you have an older home, or if you are trying to achieve an old country-kitchen look then I can't recommend Nicholas Mosse pottery highly enough. I used to work in a store that sold pottery and I could happily while away a few hours doing displays of his pottery. The colours are so vibrant but the designs are down-to-earth so that its not overpowering.

I learned on his website that Nicholas Mosse trained in England and Japan and made it his mission to produce beautiful, functional pottery in the style of Irish Spongeware. Irish spongeware was the traditional pottery of Ireland used in the 18th Century. It was mainly made in simple honest shapes with a decoration applied with a cut sponge.

The modest company was set up in an old flour mill in 1976, it has since gone from strength to strength but has not lost the personal touch and attention to detail, with all of the pottery still made and decorated by hand.

There are a number of patterns to choose from, here are just a few:

Wildflower

Clematis

Landscape

Strawberry

For me, Nicholas Mosse pottery evokes thoughts of rural living and natural inspirations. To find out more have a look at the website at www.nicholasmosse.com

Beautiful Scandinavian Simplicity

Words that you would associate with Scandinavian design include minimalist, uncomplicated, functional simplicity. Tonfisk Design, a design company from Finland are no different.

Tony Alfström from Finland and Brian Keaney from Ireland met while studying for their Master's Degrees at the University of Art & Design in Helsinki, they believed there was a gap in the market for innovative tableware and so on December 17th 1999 they founded Tonfisk Design.

I love how they take contemporary designs and create a uniquely functional item. I love this style of design. Here are my favourites...

The sugar bowl in this milk and sugar set rests on top of the jug as you pour the milk.




There is something so inviting about this tea set from Tonfisk's Warm range. I can just picture curling up on the couch with a good book while warming my hands around this tea set!





Tonfisk Designs can be found in Ireland at Nordic Living Ltd. Blackrock, Dublin and Siena Design, 29 Patrick St. Kilkenny. To find out more you can visit their website by clicking here.

Louis' Lights

You might know from previous posts that I'm a huge Louis Mulcahy fan! Well I was having a look on his website last night and I found these gorgeous lights.

Louis Mulcahy often uses strong colours, which I love, but these have a beautiful simplicity about them.













Prices for the conical lights shown above start at €114. (inc. VAT) for a small one or €170. (inc. VAT) for the large one. Prices are usually a little cheaper in the stores than online, as post & packing is quite high with the items being so fragile.

The pendant lamps shown below cost €102.80 for the small, €109.80 for the medium and €159.50 for the large, all including VAT.














I think the best way to hang any of these lights would be two or three (depending on your space and budget) in a straight line, low-hanging over a dining table. If you have a round dining table they would look equally great as a cluster hanging at different heights.

Visit the Louis Mulcahy site by clicking here.

Madrid & New York

I'm just after spending the weekend in Madrid with my better half. It's a gorgeous city with a great feel and its full of some very stylish people! I came back with this item that I've been waiting months for!



This handbag caddy is one of the most ingenious ever! I did a guest post about these on Style Treaty in early February. Click here to read the article.

To top off a great holiday, I came back to find by New York deli cups waiting for me - now thats what I call a good weekend!

Little Sweetie & Little Tinker

What child would not love these little pieces of furniture in their room! I would have probably sold all of my toys in exchange for one of those rocking chairs when I was a child!

All of these items are from the Little Sweetie & Little Tinker ranges from Carraig Donn. I love the amount of detail in the chairs, whoever designed them obvioulsy saw them through a child's eyes!


Little Sweetie Chair €74.95


Little Tinker Chair €74.95 (Sorry about the picture quality in this one...)


Little Sweetie Box €24.95


Little Tinker Box €99.95

Carraig Donn can be found at the Crescent Shopping Centre of nationwide.

Reader's Question

Have just bought a new and small apartment and was wondering if you had
any ideas on hallway furniture (little tables etc)……what exactly to put in
one…as mine is completely empty!
It’s a cream/beige hall with wooden floors …a bit boring and lifeless!
Lauren

Here's a summary of a few of my favourites!

A Console table is always a good bet in a hallway, you can get some nice ones in Instore or even Argos, but this one is my favourite. It's from Habitat and costs €325. If you're going for a contemporary look then this would work really well. I love the dark wood and the glass on top.



In Ireland you'll find Habitat in Galway, Dublin and Belfast. I needed to find something a few months back to store shoes, books etc. but had a very narrow space to work with (between a bed and a wall). I found this understair unit from Argos, I loved the shape of it so I put two back to back to create this kind of open-storage look.



If you're feeling a bit more creative then why not make something like this. I shamelessly stole this idea from Absolutely Beautiful Things. I love these boxes which have been covered in wallpaper and glass placed on top. You could easily get these boxes made by a local carpenter and if they were made with a removable lid then they could also be used as storage. The wallpaper would be a great way to introduce colour into what you've described as a lifeless hallway!





I'd get three boxes made, of descending sizes, keep your phone on one, a plant on another etc. then if you've room, place a tub chair next to it with a co-ordinated cushion. If you like this idea but don't fancy the work of the wallpaper, the same look could be achieved with a nice nest of tables.

There's something drawing me to this Console Table from Woodies. I love its simplicity, I know its quite plain but it could be brightened up with some colourful vases or lamps on top. It costs €379.

And finally, if its storage you're after then you can't go wrong with some seagrass baskets, here's a nice piece from Argos.