The owners of the pretty garden at Rosemount Road in Phibsborough have installed an irrigation system under the decking, supplying the tubs and flower beds with regular doses of water.
The payback is that they can go off on holiday, knowing the summer bedding will fend for itself during a dry spell. The irrigation system came from B&Q, where new stock is surprisingly cheaper than last year's version.
B&Q's own brand watering kit, costing €30.98, includes 25m of hose in two sizes, with drippers and will water up to 20 tubs or hanging baskets.
The most popular branded kit by Hozelock provides 25m of hose, a timer and spray and bubbler fittings for €78.98.
The blue tubs also came from B&Q and cost from €9.98 to €100 depending on size. At the same store, you can pick up the blue and opaque balls which glow in the dark. The split willow fence hiding the neighbours' Leylandii hedge comes on a roll and can be got at most garden centres.
Pressure-treated decking used in the Drumcondra garden was sourced at Chadwicks, at €14.25 for a 16ft length. Mahogany will set you back €29 for the same size.
The musician who owns 25 Longwood Avenue (see page 6) in Dublin 8 knocked the kitchen and sittingroom into one to make space for the Steinway Boudoir Grand piano which has been in the family for years.
Boudoirs are mid-way in size between a baby grand and a grand piano, and are just over 6ft in size.
Flanagans in Mount Merrion has a few baby grands in stock and one boudoir Yamaha in black ebony for €9,950. The baby grands start at €6,750 for a mahogany Steinhoven that comes with a five-year warranty.
Drummond Reid, based in Lisburn, Co Antrim, specialises in restored pianos and currently has a good stock of boudoir and grand pianos.
The cheapest is a polished mahogany Broadwood piano dating from the 1950s, priced at £2,600 (€3,880.87).
It also has a Steinmayer and a Kingsburg for £5,500 (¤8,209.53) and a magnificent Bechstein grand piano suitable for a mansion for £18,000 (€26,869.89).
A brand new Kohler & Campbell baby grand in ebony can be bought at Waltons for €7,000, while Piano Plus stocks 5ft baby grands by several makers from €10,000.
The contemporary livingroom in the apartments at The Old Mill in Sligo (see page 10) has a number of features that need not cost a fortune.
Adrian Kenny, senior designer with Sligo firm OKM Architects, sourced the sleek fireplace from Homebase. It's of black metal with a floating glass panel and pebbles laid inside. Owners can use the fireplace as an electric convector heater or as mood lighting for summer evenings.
If you'd like to copy the subtle paint colours, they are part of the new range from Colortrend. Green Martini was used on the fireplace wall, while the ceilings and other walls are painted in natural canvas - a coffee shade that changes according to the light.
Not in view but a major plus is underfloor electric heating by Dublin-based Jerry Beades Concrete. He uses a liquid screed process which aids heat conduction and can be used with most floors and at all levels.
The glass-topped dining table in the Dunboyne Castle apartments (see page 10) gives a light airy look to an open-plan living space. Clane design company Spirit & Style supplied the table for the Menolly Homes scheme.
You can replicate this look at European Living on Kylemore Road, which stocks a good range of contemporary Italian furniture.
We liked the Palermo glass and chrome table for €435 and the Sam range for €209. Another unusual glass-topped table, which costs €899, has an oak veneer insert which rotates that will save having to pass the marmalade.
The fireplace comes from Fleming Expert Ltd, Church Square, Monaghan. It is called the Manhattan and costs €30. Tel: 047-81344.
