INTERIORS: Eoin Lyonsreviews his latest interior finds
Duck the question of lighting
Interior Image is a great source for affordable contemporary furniture and has just introduced a new table and floor lamp range that's kind of chic in an American sort of way. Most are nickel with cream or black shades.
Aiden Cavey Interiors is another shop with a new lighting collection, albeit at a different price level. A humorous "Duck Feet" lamp (above), by Porta Romana (¤900), is quite special and different to anything else around. Cavey also has some unusual wall-lamps.
Interior Image, Unit 2B Hume Centre, Park West Business Park, Dublin 12, Tel: 01-6205558, www.interiorimage.ie ; Aiden Cavey, 4 Shaw's Lane, off Bath Avenue, Dublin 4. Tel: 01 6600600.
Prints charming
Caxton's is a most unusual (and very tiny) shop on Patrick Street, Dublin 8. It's located in the Iveagh Trust Buildings and specialises in 17th- and 18th-century prints. Owner Ronan Teevan has a wonderful collection, based on Italian masterworks, that vary in price from a couple of hundred to several thousand euro, depending on quality and rarity.
Do bear in mind that each one is actually different - prints such as these come in various "states". Because a print is a reverse copy, on copper, of a picture, more detail was often added as the artist continued to engrave the plate. So, each might have extra elements added as the artist went along. Almost all are black and white but some were hand-coloured afterwards. They look well grouped together and lend a distinctive atmosphere to a room, making a particularly lovely contrast in a contemporary setting.
Caxton Prints, 63 Patrick Street, Dublin 8. Tel: 01-4530060.
Colour adds to the mood
O'Sullivan Antiques on Dublin's Francis Street has a new look. Owner Chantal O'Sullivan has repainted the shop's trademark red walls with a lovely grey colour, Chemise by Farrow & Ball. Almost everything looks wonderful against this shade: brown furniture, gilt mirrors, blue and white porcelain and so on. This particular grey is a great neutral and modernises antiques, making them look sharp and current. It's a look that could be re-created in most period homes.
O'Sullivan Antiques, 43-44 Francis St, Dublin 8. Tel: 01-4541143