Get classic design at the right price, says ISABEL MORTON

ALL IS FORGIVEN in interiors these days as most homeowners are grateful to have roofs over their heads and it’s considered a bonus if they can afford to heat the place, never mind to decorate it too.

It’s a relief to many that they are no longer expected to be able to name a Farrow Ball paint colour from 20 paces or to know from which Italian quarry their bathroom tiles came.

The pretentious nonsense once associated with interiors has disappeared and the emphasis now is on practicality and price.

Recently I went in search of table lamps, which apart from providing light should be chosen carefully in keeping with the overall style of the room.

My first port of call was Kenneth Hodgins Interiors, Stillorgan Industrial Estate. It stocks a large range of furniture and also has a great selection of classical sophisticated lamps from the Genesis range, which are ideal for formal reception rooms.

As I was chatting with Miguel Faro about business in general, he said that the profile of the shop’s customers has changed somewhat of late. Apparently they are seeing more young people in their late 20s to late 30s who, due to the drop in property prices, are buying houses rather than apartments and investing in “grown-up” furniture and accessories.

“They’re able to buy the sort of houses their parents would have bought 30 years ago,” Faro says. His customers no longer wanted disposable flat-pack apartment furniture but were looking instead for enduring pieces that were more suited to a family home.

Curious to know how other interiors shops were finding business, I asked mother-and- son team Bronach and Cormac Rowell of Harriet’s House, Blackrock Shopping Centre, where I was calling to collect some well-priced French timber table lamps.

Harriet’s House is one of the few interior design companies kept busy these days renovating and redecorating homes for clients, many of whom are not moving but have decided to make the best of what they have got.

“We’ve always done private houses rather than show houses and we’re still doing that. Many of our existing customers come back to us again, when they extend or renovate their home. Our look is classical and doesn’t date and people now want that look as it survives the test of time,” Cormac Rowell says.

“We aim to achieve a high-end look without our customers incurring high-end cost. We’re very aware of the fact that, since the recession hit, there is a lot less money available for interiors, so we buy carefully, looking for good quality unique pieces, which you won’t see in other interior shops.”

Hicken Lighting, a family-run operation on Lower Bridge Street, Dublin 8, is also kept busy, having built up a loyal clientele when times were flush.

The attraction here is good design and well-informed service. It stocks chandeliers, hall lanterns and traditional lamps, as well as a range of contemporary styles. If they don’t have what you are looking for, they will source it for you. They will also make up any style of shade in any fabric.

If proof were needed that classic design at the right price is what appeals to most people these days, then auction rooms are it.

According to Joe Mullen of Mullen’s auctioneers, Laurel Park, Bray, people have returned to the auction rooms to furnish their homes.

“Buyers are very price conscious. They will have done their homework in advance and they will have put a price on something, knowing how much they will have to pay on [auctioneers] fees and carriage, and they won’t go over their limit – not even by €10 or €20,” Mullen says.

“Buyers are getting great value. First they come out to view and rummage around for a few hours. Then they come out to the auction and enjoy free entertainment for the day and maybe even pick up a bargain or two.”

Whether your bids are successful or not, you will enjoy the antics of an auction room. There’s bound to be at least one lot that rockets above its pre-auction estimate and will be the subject of much speculation and gossip afterwards and other items that sell for a pittance that you will wish you had considered.

Even if you have no intention of buying anything, Mullen’s next auction might be worth a visit as it has everything from wardrobes to dining tables and chairs, sofas, paintings, chandeliers and, of course, table lamps. The two-day affair takes place on Sunday and Monday next.

If nothing else, there’s something somewhat reassuring about being surrounded by furniture that has been used and enjoyed by generations before us. They serve as a reminder that life goes on regardless of recessions.

Isabel Morton is a property consultant