Tough times have arrived, so here are some money-saving tips, writres Eoin Lyons
WHEN YOU DON'T have a lot of money to spend on your home, decide what you can do within your means that will make the greatest impact. If you could change one thing about your home what would it be? Repainting is often most effective. MRCB Paints (www.mrcb.ie) offer good value on white paint: 17.5l of Fleetwood White Emulsion costs €45.99. This is a basic white but it works if you want to tackle a number of rooms that have been painted different colours and bring them back to a neutral starting point, so you can see the spaces clearly. Then pick out some details in different pale shades and create a neutral backdrop for your rooms. MRCB usually has good deals on end-of-line colours, so be sure to ask about these when you visit.
Recession decorating requires a bit of repainting, reupholstering and reframing. What is outdated can be updated . . . Need a new sofa? Why not have your existing one spruced up? Furniture Services (Mulcahy Keane Industrial Estate, Dublin 12; 01-4298742) are good upholsterers - they do a wonderful job and have decent fabric books from which to choose. You can supply your own fabric, but it makes more sense to do it all in-house.
Some of the best value in new, traditional-style sofas can be found at No 6, Helen McAlinden's shop at Castle Market, Dublin 2 (01-6708846). They offer a chubby button-back chesterfield, another that is loosely Chippendale in style with a curving back, and a third model that has a more modern look. Each has great flop factor ( they're very comfortable) and cost around €2,000. This is good value for a sofa that's handmade in Ireland using beautiful, hard-wearing fabrics by Foxford. For contemporary sofas at a good price, Interior Image (www.interiorimage.ie) is excellent, with prices from €1,700 for a large size L-shape. (Buying carefully doesn't necessarily mean buying cheaply - you want something that will last the test of time.)
Keep your ear to the ground for sales, particularly those in shops that are moving premises: the owners usually sell off stock at knock-down prices. For example, Renaissance (www.renaissanceantique.com) in Capel Street, Dublin 1, is moving premises in December, so almost everything is reduced. This shop has pieces with character, and could be compared to costume jewellery - don't examine them too carefully, it's the overall effect that's winning. They have quirky light fittings (many chandelier styles), copies of Oriental rugs, spindly bits of bedroom furniture, marble-topped vanity sinks and dozens of gilt, over-mantle mirrors in enormous sizes that are great value at about €250. You will also find large, dramatic mirrors at a little known gem of a shop called Gallery 23, in the Coolmine Business Centre, Blanchardstown, Dublin 13 (www.g23.ie).
Living Quarters (www.living-quarters.ie) is not moving, but does have good reductions at the moment in beds and mattresses. Their "Floating Bed" range is a beautifully simple line of bed frames with recessed legs. They can be ordered in oak, cherry, walnut or with a painted effect in Farrow & Ball shades. A kingsize has been reduced from €800 to €580. Pocket sprung mattresses with a lifetime guarantee have been reduced from €850 to €500. The beds and mattresses are made in Ireland and can be ordered in unusual sizes.
Living Quarters also makes free-standing pieces of cabinetry such as bookshelves or storage furniture at their production unit in Co Carlow. Go to them for straightforward designs at a good price.
For kitchen cabinetry, it's possible to change the look of your units without ripping them out entirely. Interior designer Angela O'Connor recently worked on a renovation in which she had the kitchen units, originally a very dark oak, sanded and repainted in a creamy shade. It was an easy and inexpensive way to change the kitchen. Add new door handles and suddenly it all seems very different. There is a place in Harold's Cross in Dublin called Designer Spray (01-4922559) that specialises in respraying kitchen units.
It's amazing how good existing features in your home can look when given a new lease of life. For example, Christopher O'Neill & Marble Works in Carrickmines, Dublin 18 (01-2955910) are real fireplace experts and will clean and renovate old stone fireplaces, leaving them looking restored rather than brand spanking new.
(More ideas and contacts next week)