Easy home ideas that play with pattern and patina for every room in the house
A home that tells a story of the people who live there has so much more character than homes that copy the look of someone else.
We all need to be bolder in our thinking and be proud of what makes our place special.
It could be a collection of stones that your kids have gathered on days at the beach or pinecones that you picked up whilst on a forest walk.
It would also be ceramics and textiles, souvenirs brought back from holidays or pieces inherited from family or friends.
All remind you of the important people in your life, and the moments that mark it.
Commanding vases
Fresh or dried flowers will look extra interesting in Villa Bologna Pottery.
Pictured in lead shot, handmade and hand-painted in Malta the company has been in business since 1921.
One of its master painters, the late Aldo Cremona, decided that, after 65 years of painting only men on its classic Admiral vase, a nod to Malta’s seafaring military history, he would also include women on this classic style.
Everyone liked them so much that they became part of the range.
Made from earthenware clay, choose from Flora, Margherita, or Rosa in the tall 27cm high option, pictured, €271, or a smaller size, 15cm tall, €136, ex delivery.
Floor filling pattern
Pelican House offers a way to travel the world in search of beautiful things without leaving your home.
With a background in art history, Isabella Valenzia was living in India and had always been fascinated by the story behind an object.
Creative director, India Holmes, was design director at de Gournay for seven years.
For those looking for something special, the pair brings transcontinental textile expertise.
Inspired by the timeless flame stitch, used by the ancient Greeks to decorate their villas, this intrepid pattern travelled the Silk Road and onto fashion catwalks.
Now, in hand-knotted New Zealand wool, made in India, this fiery piece will add an exotic touch to your space. It costs €3,490, ex delivery, for a 2.35 metre by 1.65 metre size.
Winging it with a seasonal switch-up
Ikea’s Strandmon is a classic wingback chair that comes in two different shades of grey, a punchy yellow, and a houndstooth check option.
It costs €265, ex footstool.
If you want to give your room an affordable refresh, then re-cover your favourite chair with a slipcover.
The large-form print comes in an off-white option, which costs €60, while the black option has a folklore feel.
It is currently reduced to €25, online and in store, a saving of 58 per cent.
Smart homeowners might invest in both and use one for creating a dark, winter mood and the beige for the spring and summer months.
Dream weaving wallpaper
Bring dreamtime to life by papering your bedroom in this fairy-tale print, which features a cast of mysterious inhabitants illustrated on a beautiful Transylvanian landscape.
The design by Minnie Kemp for Mind The Gap comes in five different colourways and costs €249 per roll from Rathmines-based April and the Bear.
The two-tone print, The Enchanted Woodland, features a cast of mysterious inhabitants illustrated on a beautiful Transylvanian landscape and comes in five new colourways: dawn, dusk, twilight, pictured, solstice, and equinox.
Add feminine bathroom touches
Bathrooms can often look cold and sterile.
Caroline Donnolly’s Eclectic label features clever ways to layer up this space in a way that’s affordable and will make the space look and feel warmer.
All feature her love of pattern.
The collection includes a geo-patterned range of towels that look like you got them in Miami and could double as bathmats.
These cost from €5 for the guest-size to €20 for the bathmat at Dunnes Stores.
Staycation finds
You don’t have to travel the world to discover interesting finds.
The new Made Local campaign by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, fronted by Dr Panti Bliss, includes some forever pieces such as clockwise from bottom right of shot; orange glass bowl, €745, Atlantic Glass; wood vessel by EDP Creative, €400; cushions by Mourne Textiles, €155 and 180; small 130 cm sciob by Ciaran Hogan, €130; and bud vase by Jars of Clay, €250.
The walnut love birds at the centre of the shot are by Tommy Carew Design and cost €270 per pair to order.
