Last week we paid a visit to Leitrim Design House in the pretty little town of Carrick-on-Shannon. It is a showcase for Irish designers and sells gorgeous products from local and national artists. I went in to buy a present for a friend and ended up with a wishlist the length of my arm. That,… Continue reading My Irish Design Wishlist
I can spend whole days in my kitchen and not even notice I have been confined to one room for hours on end. It is by no means of vast proportions, measuring roughly 3.5m x 4.5m, but to me it is the perfect room. It is where I am now, actually. By perfect I don’t… Continue reading My Kitchen a. k. a. Atelier, Centre of Education, Surgery, Refuge
I often wonder about the history of my salvaged pieces and whether anything significant has happened around them in their lifetime – who sat on those chairs before I adopted them, what child rocked on that rocking horse I’m renovating, for whom was the play shop I picked up at a flea market made? It is all so… Continue reading What Might Have Been Seen?
For years I longed for an outdoor kitchen. I would see them featured sometimes in the French interiors magazines I’d buy when I’d nip across the border on a Saturday morning for the grocery shopping and a coffee. When we finally bought a house, I had grand plans. But with a toddler, a newborn, a mortgage… Continue reading Creating an Outdoor Kitchen
I *may* have mentioned before that I have a thing for salvaging furniture. A few weeks ago I think I reached a new low. It was pouring rain and I should have been driving directly to Kindergarten so as not to be late. But it was Sperrmuell day on part of your route. Sperrmuell is… Continue reading How to Make a Window Mirror – An Upcycling Tutorial
When we first moved into our house, we hadn’t the time to renovate or decorate anything that didn’t need immediate attention. That meant that the dark and gloomy but otherwise fully functional hall, stairs and landing was not a priority. The ugly peach coloured woodchip wallpaper was given a very hasty coat of white emulsion… Continue reading Our Hall, Stairs and Landing Transformation
I never asked my Nana about the picture that always hung in her hall. I always liked it and I presume she did too since it hung in her hall for as long as I can remember. It was on the right before the door to the little sitting room. Now it hangs in my… Continue reading That Picture In The Hall
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the old rocking horse I found and was planning on renovating for Number Three’s first birthday. Well, the horse has been through quite an ordeal since then. The poor old fella has been stripped of his seat, had his head removed, his legs glued back in… Continue reading The Pony’s Progress
When we bought our house back in 2010, I really wanted to change both bathrooms. They were very dated and ugly. Unfortunately everything worked perfectly, so there was no urgent need to do anything with them. Over the years we got used to them. Finally, in 2013, the some tiles literally fell off the wall… Continue reading The (badly needed) Bathroom Makeover
I’m not quite sure what came over me in the garden on Saturday, but I ended up making a little video tour of the fruit, veg and herbs in our garden for you. It was a lovely blustery day, the kind of weather I love but that we rarely get here unfortunately. As I say,… Continue reading A Vlog Tour of Our Garden
