Possibly because of it's great size - and therefore the length of time it took to build - fashion designer Jen Kelly's 18th century house on North Great Georges Street features many decorative styles, from rococo to neoclassical.

This may in part explain why finding suitable lighting for its high plasterwork ceilings takes time. "Chandeliers for these rooms are not something you can just go out and buy," says Kelly. "When I moved here four years ago someone advised me to live in the space for awhile to see what's right for it."

So while a chandelier has been found for the salon on the hall floor, Kelly says "I was reluctant to hang something in the other rooms just for the sake of it." Instead he came up with a clever and very beautiful alternative, at least until the perfect chandelier presents itself.

On a landing and in one of the rooms to the front of the house he has gathered bunches of dried "Silver Penny" twigs (those slender branches with silvery disc leaves) and simply tied them at the bottom of the bunch, letting them hang upside down in the space where a chandelier would sit.

They work as a real light with the bulb falling through the centre of the bunch. When lit, the effect through the silvery leaves is magical.

"We don't leave it on too long but I've taken it apart and they don't burn," he says. Even so, a low watt bulb and a fire retardant spray might be a good idea. "Silver Pennies" aren't the easiest thing to come by but can be ordered from The Egg Depot on Wexford Street (01 4756506).

'