When decorating your home for Christmas, making your fireplace a focal point is the perfect way to add some traditional festive charm. One of Ireland's leading designers, manufacturers and restorers of antique and reproduction fireplaces, Belle Cheminée, has some good tips for dressing your mantelpiece for the festivities.
"Remember, the mantelpiece is situated at eye level," says managing director, Niall Woods. "It is the first place your eye will be drawn to when entering a room. It speaks volumes about you and the personality of your home, and needs to be dressed accordingly."
If you are using a real Christmas tree, Belle Cheminée suggests introducing greenery to your mantelpiece to add a touch of nature to your theme. Traditional holly, real mistletoe and cuttings from any shrubs from your garden arranged into garlands across the mantelpiece always create a gorgeous Christmas look. Add a beautiful glow by intertwining the garlands with tiny white fairy lights, or by introducing some pillar candles (being careful of where you place them, of course) or lanterns.
Stockings hung on the mantelpiece, even if there are no children in the house, provide a classic yuletide look - check out the adorable traditional-style stockings available from Marks Spencer and House of Fraser, or let the kids get creative with Dunnes Home's Decorate It Yourself Christmas Stocking kits (€8).
Belle Cheminée, 106 Capel Street, Dublin 1, tel: 01-8724122. www.bellecheminee.com.
As well as a host of keenly priced, stylish Christmas decorations and sparkly home accessories, Next is wowing us with some of their latest furniture, especially that of the mirrored variety . Mirrored furniture is a popular choice in elegant bedrooms, but the new line of sleek mirrored furniture from Next is not the sort of thing you should be hiding away. With clean, modern lines, this striking mirrored sideboard and side table (above) easily pass for high-end design, but come at appealing high-street prices (Valencia sideboard is €575; Valencia plinth is €83). For the best effect, offset the sharp, shiny angles of mirrored furniture with textural touches nearby, such as the wool blanket pictured (also from Next).
See www.nextdirectory.ie
Big dates
The iconic Stendig Calendar was designed by Massimo Vignelli (the same man who designed the New York subway map, amongst other things) in 1966, and entered the New York Museum of Modern Art's Design Collection the very same year, immediately securing its position as a design classic. The Stendig calendar's unusually large scale
(a whopping 3ft x 4ft) and bold black and white format ensure that it's a standout piece in any environment, be it home or office. A limited amount are produced and this year, for the first time ever; the Stendig Calendar is available in Ireland, exclusively from Design Heaven (www.designheaven.ie) for €60.
Design Heaven is offering readers of The Irish Times a 10 per cent discount plus free postage within Ireland on the Stendig 2009 calendar when they enter promo code IRISHTIMES at the checkout on the www.designheaven.ie website. This offer is valid until January 10th, 2009.