Meath market: Over the past 20 years Catherine Treacy has created an impressive shop at Versatile Bathrooms, Navan, Co Meath. It appeals to a cross-section of customers, but what marks it out is service. It has quality brands and offers most styles, including some very minimalist fittings.
Extra-deep baths, costing from €600 to €1,000, are available. Compact 1930s sinks and toilets are perfect for small en-suites: see the Duravit range, from €1,200. They also have plenty of square, shallow glass sinks, which seem to have replaced the bowl sink as the wash-hand basin du jour.
While in Co Meath, try Patricia Tyrrell of Fabrique for custom-made blinds, curtains, footstools, bolsters, headboards and loose sofa covers. She supplies fabrics too, from €10 per metre. Finish and detailing are excellent.
Versatile Bathrooms, Beechmount Industrial Estate, Navan, Co Meath, 046-9029444, www.versatile.ie. Fabrique, The Cottage, Main Street, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, 01-8241716, www.fabrique.ie
THE NICETIES OF NAAS
Take a trip to Naas and check out four shops in particular. SKI Interiors is the place to go for fabrics by Farrow & Ball; Ralph Lauren; Cole & Son and Manuel Canovas. The shop also stocks reproductions from every period, and is good for dining chairs and Japanese-style bureaux.
Interiors Bis will make upholstered furniture to order. I like their 1950s-style armless slipper chairs.
Bygone Days specialises in Victorian low-armed button-backed armchairs, upholstered in a fabric of your choice.
As an alterative to a soft rug, Dwell has teak floor mats, made from small individual pieces, that cost about €200 for a large size.
SKI Interiors, Stephenstown, Brannockstown, Naas, Co Kildare, 045-442866, www.skiinteriors.com. Interiors Bis, The Barn, Yeomastown, Curragh, Naas, Co Kildare, 045-856385. Bygone Days, The Cottage, Killashee House Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare, 045-901251, www.bygonedays.ie. Dwell, M7 Business Park, Naas, Co Kildare, 045-898134
OLD AND NEW
Sean Eacrett, a one-time antiques dealer on Francis Street in Dublin, last year opened Ashgrove Interiors in Co Laois. It's a large, purpose-built complex that combines the sale of antiques with contemporary furniture, and also stocks up-to-the-minute bathroom fittings. In particular, look at those by Lineabeta.
Most of what they have is supplied by W39 (www.w39.ie) which means cool but timeless. But perhaps the most unusual are baths by Driftwood (www.driftwood.ie). They make box-shaped and oval solid wood baths. Prices start at about €2,000, depending on the wood chosen. For example, an American black walnut "ofuro" (Japanese-style) bath measures 1000 x 600 x 715mm and costs €2,900.
Ashgrove Interiors, Ballybrittas, Co Laois, 057-8626290
KILKENNY DESIGNERS
Tom Watts of Imagine Wallpaper has developed a system of producing digital wallpaper which can be printed in panels approximately a metre wide. He can accurately reproduce photographs, paintings or illustrations and create wallpaper using these images.
With an amazing texture, the wall covering is rich in colour and virtually indestructible in even the most testing environments. It can be wiped clean and is printed to a resolution suitable for close inspection. Clients include The Merrion and Mount Juliet hotels.
In Kilkenny town, the best shops include Kilkenny Interiors, which does the cute, country cottage look. Some big pieces of furniture, such as painted green dressers, are on show along with everything for the table.
Sienna Design sells contemporary furniture and lighting, mostly reliable classics such as Eero Saarinen's round table, designed in the 1960s, from about €1,400. Other features are furniture by Alivar and great lighting.
Imagine Wallpaper, Mall House, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, 056-7724760, www.imaginewallpaper.com. Kilkenny Interiors, 8 Dean Street, Kilkenny, 056-7762450. Siena Design,
DO WHAT THEY SAY
Several interior designers have mentioned Martsworth, a Co Wicklow furniture and carpet showroom which fits carpets when it says it will, doesn't waste time, and still does the job extremely well. Large quantities of carpets are in stock and can be laid within two weeks of ordering. They also sell brass or wrought-iron rods from €55. There are wooden rods, too, which tone well with natural weave and sisal runners. Chrome stair rods are €95 each . . . pricey for a whole stairs.
Martsworth, Ashford, Co Wicklow, 0404-40113
FINISHING TOUCHES
In Co Louth, The Rug Gallery is a good source for neutral rugs that don't cost the earth. Nearby is Bushfield Interiors, which specialises in a traditional look, but nothing too fusty or old-fashioned. It's a good place to buy a major piece of furniture, such as a sofa or dining table.
The Rug Gallery, Coe's Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, 042-9329851. Bushfield Interiors, Dunleer, Co Louth, 041-6851028
THE BIG SCREEN
Arroo, in Co Leitrim, is a small company that designs and makes very detailed hand-painted room screens. Each of the four designs is very pretty and can be ordered in different colours. My favourite is the chrysanthemum screen, pictured left, inspired by Chinese embroidery and painting. It's available in three or four panels - each panel costs €175 and measures 182x52cm.
Arroo, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, 071-9856997, www.arroo.ie. By appointment only. Her work is also available in Cat & the Moon, Sligo, and the Leitrim Design House, Carrick on Shannon