The Interior DIYer

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My kind of style

Let me start by saying that anyone who appreciates hydrangeas half as much as I do is getting their own blog post. Queue a seamless introduction to the insanely talented Abigail Ahern. 
I picked up Abigail’s new book, Decorating with Style, a couple of weeks ago and might need to invest in a second copy as the pages are already wilted from the excessive amount of saliva having been secreted from my face. Sharing my love of all things dark design, skulls, quirky decor, faux flowers {um, hello}, and not to mention some tore up from the floor up DIY’s thrown in the mix, Abigail’s design is drool inducing.

Flipping through the pages of her book really makes me wish I owned our apartment. I would faux-panel the hell out of the walls and lather them in moody grey hues. Her book perfectly embodies one of my favourite saying these days – go big or go home. Don’t be afraid. Colour outside of the lines. Break some of the rules. Have fun with how you design your home. Unbutton your top a little and enjoy it; that’s what a home is for. And importantly, you don’t got to break the bank – design doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Lord knows half my stuff is the cheapest of the cheap. 
Abigail and her book are also featured in the current May / June issue of House and Home which is on the shelves until the end of this month, so snatch it up while you can. 

And to finish, Abigail’s shop Atelier has been on my list to see for a long time. To quote Liz Lemon –
  
I want to go to there. 

  
Fingers crossed I can sneak over to London sometime soon so I can go touch everything in her shop. Major design / girl crush. 

Image cred 2 and 5. 
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Lately …

… We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather. Waking up to blue skies and sun and not have to go to work makes for a very productive weekend. I headed into the city centre and visited the amazing Talking Tables in Daintree for the first time. I couldn’t resist their adorably detailed table accessories, especially all the black and white goodies, and I had to pick up a little something for our new … wait for it …

BAR. CART. Literally 30 minutes after I blogged about wanting a bar cart for our living room, I spotted this baby in Debra charity shop on Camden Street. There it was. Three tiers of lovely. Lonely, covered in trinkets and without a price tag. The manager was surprised to hear of someone inquiring to buy it, but she was more than happy to sell it to me for €10. What a steal. Two bus journeys and countless chats with strangers about how awesome charity shops are, the cart is home, scrubbed, styled and dripping in decanters. I’m literally bursting to blog about it guys. Yeah, I’m going to do that annoying blogger thing and tease you with a nondescript picture for now.

Suck on that, Daft Punk. I didn’t have to stay up all night to get lucky.



We took advantage of every minute of this ridiculous weather we’ve had and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner al fresco {sorry Janine}. I snapped some pics of my runner-up favourite flowers over in Farmleigh; wisteria and lupines – which always remind me of one of my favourite books growing up, Miss Rumphius {the lupine lady}.

I still can’t believe what amazing weather we’ve had. Us pasty Irish will be ODing on vitamin D before we know it. xx A

p.s. Thanks guys for your support and lovely comments on my post last Wednesday. I’m so hesitant when it comes to writing about real life stuff – especially if it makes me cringe, but you guys are the sweetest. And it was nice to know I’m not alone when it comes to lack of job opportunities! As a lovely lady I met recently said “maybe the universe is trying to tell you to stop working in offices, and start working in design“.
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I want it now – bar cart

Recently I’ve wanted nothing more than to add a panache of bar cart to our living room, and the fab weather we’ve had here in Dublin is only just intensifying it. Hot weather and cool drinks has pushed me over the edge and it’s now my mission to own one of these sweet, sweet honeys. That, and my long time love of decanters.  

Napkins, stirrers, straws, decanters, tumblers, trays, coasters, and cork collections. Hold me back, bro.

And equally easy on the eyes, the gentleman’s bar cart …

I would adore, adore, adore if I could find a bar cart in a second hand shop. I’m the type of person that doesn’t like having too many new things as there’s a lot to be said for pre-loved pieces. I’ll be hitting the city centre today, and I’ll scour a couple of charity shops with the hopes of finding a haggard cart in need of some TLC. 
It’s Saturday – stop being on the internet and get outside. xx A
Image cred 1, 2, 3 and 4.