Autumn Interior Essentials…

Anyone who knows me will know that, while I absolutely love Summer and all that this season brings, Autumn is my season. I love everything about it and if I’m honest, the types of Interiors that I am mostly attracted tend to create a sense of what the Danish call Hygge 

“A Fundamental quality of Danish culture, Hygge cannot be translated using a single word. Rather, it includes many of the pleasures we associate with everyday living – relaxing with friends, enjoying good food and creating a cozy evening by lighting a candle or two“ (Source: http://www.skagen.com)

So, for this reason, I’ve included some of my Autumn Interior Essentials while maybe introducing you to some of my favourite brands.

Candles – I can already see myself eyeing up new candles for the house! Is there any cosier light than candlelight? The only thing about Candles though, is that their scent is pretty personal, eh? What you like, may not be what I like! However, one good rule of thumb is to buy the most natural made candles that you can. The Bearded Candle Makers are a super Irish company. Check them out here http://www.thebeardedcandlemakers.com

Throws – Whenever I think of Throws, I think of Avoca Handweavers http://www.avoca.com. We lived not far from the Kilmacanougue store and a trip to the town of Avoca (which many will know as ‘Ballykissangel’ from the TV show) was always a treat as you can view the weaving of the throws there, at the original store. We have this throw and even in summer, you’ll see me curled up in it watching telly!

Rugs – I have a faux sheepskin rug beside my bed & it’s super toasty when you get out of the bed and have something to rest your toes on. For the real thing, here’s a lovely example from http://www.blarney.com

Curtains – Yup, at this point you may think I’ve lost the plot but y’see we don’t have any curtains up yet so I absolutely can’t wait to try and change that a little before Christmas comes around! I read somewhere once that Curtains are to a room, what accessories are to an outfit – that a room simply isn’t dressed if there are no curtains. We have blinds but it’s not the same for me. There is something so enveloping about closing the curtains on an Autumn night and retreating to the cosiness. My dream curtains for our sitting room are right here…

A ‘Huggable’ Mug! It’s Hot Chocolate season people!!!! Sure, I love a glass of wine as much as the next person but there is something wonderfully satisfying about holding a mug that fits perfectly in your hand and it’s even better if it’s full of Hot Chocolate. 2 of my favourite mugs right now come from two super Irish stores: http://www.aprilandthebear.comand http://www.moss.ie…for when Wine O’ Clock just can’t come quick enough..

Do you have any Autumn Interior Essentials to add? What are your seasonal favourites?

Hoping you have the best September, whatever it has in store for you xxxx

Hilda x

 

 

 

Share it Friday #7

Happy Friday!! If you have nothing planned for the weekend after next yet, there are a few little ‘Design related happenings’ on in Dublin that you may like to know about!

I had hoped to visit Teeling Whiskey Distillery before Christmas last year to purchase 2 bottles of their fine whiskey & see the beautiful building that their distillery is housed in, but due to time constraints, I had to purchase them instead from a local off-license. I hope to visit someday soon! The weekend after next sees, what should be a fab Craft Fair, should you be in the vicinity. 

On the same day, the gals from DUST are closing their doors to move solely on-line. Their Interior Design consultancy side of the business is booming and I’m delighted to see such success. They were both very encouraging to me at the beginning of my design journey + I wish them every best wish for their sparkling future! Say goodbye to their beautiful store and check out it’s sale on that Saturday to pick up some fabulous bargains. 

And on the Sunday, the monthly Dublin Flea Market takes place which is probably up there with one of the most pleasurable ways to spend a Sunday in Dublin! Ever since a good friend of mine designed one of the posters for it, I’ve been more aware of their own beauty also and this month’s is no exception

In other news, I’ve been nominated/shortlisted for 2 Blogging awards! The first is in the ‘Best Design Inspiration Blog’ category in the Amara Interior Blog Awards in the UK

and the second nomination is that I am shortlisted in the ‘Arts & Crafts/Interior Design Blog’ category in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 

To say that I’m overwhelmed is a huge understatement. The blog came before the studies & I never thought that it would be noticed all that much. I write the blog to share my passion for Design & to receive recognition for this is really lovely. 

I’d like to say a huge Thank you to those of you who have voted for me so far and those of you who take the time to read or comment on my blog. I really do appreciate every one of you! 

Have the loveliest weekend, whatever you do! Let me know if you manage to make it to any of the above? This weekend I’m meeting one of my oldest friends for a long overdue catch up. There won’t be whiskey but there might be wine. 

Hilda xx

A glimpse inside Ardgillan Castle…

I’ve spent a lot of time at Ardgillan Castle www.ardgillancastle.ie in North County Dublin but have never been able to take the tour of inside. We go to the amazing playground which has such a beautiful view of the sea, we have visited the rose garden and have had a coffee in the tea rooms. A tour hasn’t been really on the cards with two small kids in tow, but yesterday my two munchkins were invited to a birthday party there & I had no idea that I would end up getting some lovely glimpses of the castle itself. The party was for one of my little guy’s oldest friends & one of my first ‘Mum Friends’ – not only was it a fab place for her daughter to have her birthday, I’d just like to say a wee Thanks to Sue for giving me a chance to see some of the castle as well as my kids having a day to remember!

The back of the Castle – we started the party in the room at the window which is second from right 

The kids were dressed up in period costumes and Jasper, the Jester, brought the castle to life with fantastical stories & some fun props along the way. On many occasions, we walked through secret doors to the next room.I honestly don’t know who was more excited, the kids or me…

A pretty gorgeous spinning wheel in a bedroom

I would happily have these curtains in my home! 

This lighting was in a room which had quite a lot of Taxidermy in it, and while I’m aware of current Interior trends for this, I’m not a fan! I preferred to Look Up

Rich period hues in the main Dining Room

I’m thinking this Screen Insert is pretty old…

The kids were told that there was a ghost in this photo – Can you see it?

Some pieces that caught my eye

We weren’t in this room but I can’t resist when I see an open door & glimpse some beauty! This room was light-filled and the Yellow was vibrant.

We moved downstairs to the Castle Kitchens & I got pretty excited, as this is always a favourite part of Castles for me.

The main part of the Kitchens was quite dark

In contrast to the side Kitchens, which were filled with Light

And I spotted a pretty little flat lay in the Kitchen beside

As I mentioned in the title, this is simply a ‘glimpse’ and I really hope it’s given you a little taste of what to expect, should you visit. 

The day was, after all, about a special little lady who turned 7 and we retreated to the party room downstairs for the main event!

Happy Birthday Princess! Hope you had a wonderful day xx

1st of August thoughts…

Do you feel it? If, like me, you live in Ireland, you will most definitely have felt it: That change in the air, the night’s rolling in a little quicker, the Autumn stock sneaking on to our shelves…

Today I’m acknowledging it but am most definitely not ready to say goodbye to Summer yet. My hubby goes back to work after 2 weeks of holidays and we have been eeking out the last few days of Hols with a Family BBQ, a trip to a Jump Zone + today, a fun park with the kids. 

I found this quote today (uncredited I’m afraid, so if you know who said it – do let me know!) and it pretty much summed up how I felt this morning, when I changed the calendars…

For the record, I love Sundays! 

Photo taken on Saturday of my brother + sister-in-law’s recently painted shed, dressed for a day of family fun. 

Wishing you all the loveliest August guys & I’ll see you here again soon xxxx

 

Some things change and some things don’t…

I’ll be 3 years on line in February of next year, and one place in our home that got photographed quite a lot at the beginning was our kitchen window sill. 

I would photograph it early morning, before the blinds went up & I’d often photograph it when I lit candles just before starting to cook. It was a little window into my world. 

I mentioned before that I have been trying to practice the Kon Mari Method and one part of this, deals with keeping your kitchen surfaces very clear – only keeping out what you need and use, if anything. It’s a constant battle to keep our busy family kitchen tidy but I notice that there is a big surge of tidiness when we are about to have guests (!) and today I spent most of the morning in the kitchen.

I noticed that although the kitchen window will wasn’t tiled yet, I loved everything that I have there at the moment. And that a lot of the things that I loved having there, hadn’t really changed over the past few years. I was kinda happy to see that Marie Kondo had rubbed off on me a little. I had got rid (usually charity shops benefit from my declutters) of pretty much everything I didn’t want anymore on my kitchen shelf and was left with what I love: plants, a candle, a present from a good friend, a coaster from the Joan Míro foundation in Barcelona (not seen), which I am resting my cuppa on now and a Belleek vase that I love (out of shot) which I love to fill with fresh & inexpensive flowers, usually from Aldi/Lidl.

Do you have a favourite ‘Shelfie’ in your home? I have 3! I love to mix up the mantle piece + the bookshelves. 

It’s important to have these little favourite spots in your home, isn’t it? So much of our space at home is shared, it’s important to make a little space for you! I’m currently moving my study space upstairs to our bedroom also, which I debated about a lot but am happy that I made the right decision. More on that at a later date!

For now, enjoy some summer sunshine & thanks for reading, if you got this far!

Hilda xxxx

Share it Friday #6…

Hi all! I thought I might share a few things that have caught my eye in the last while in this sixth edition of ‘Share it Friday’.

Every once in a while I make an extra magazine purchase and recently gave new Irish magazine house+design a look!

It’s published by RIAI (The registration board for Architect’s in Ireland) so obviously there is an Architectural-Slant to the magazine (!) and I found it beautifully laid out & very informative.

I promised myself a new apron when we re-vamped our kitchen recently (I know, I know – bet your jealous of my rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle?!) and knew that Carolyn Donnelly had a few cute aprons in store at the moment. I got a little side-tracked when I visited Dunnes Stores  though as these T-Towels are super cute & colourful (€5 each)

This Hammock is €85, which is a really good price I think & the cushions are €40 each

I had a choice of aprons & chose this one, for it’s ‘still-summery-vibe’

…and I’m pretty sure Carolyn Donnelly designed this Tote Bag for me (€15)…

I’d also like to share with you that one of you lovely lot has nominated me for the Blog Awards Ireland and I really appreciate it! I’ll let you know when voting opens but even if I don’t go any further than the nomination stage, I’m super chuffed that one of you took the time to vote. Thank You xx

Both of my kids have now got their summer holidays and I have put my studies on hold so as I can enjoy the summer with them as much as possible. I’ll be checking in here whenever I can but for the moment…

Have the best weekend, whatever you do!

Hilda xx

Glamping at Dromquinna Manor, Kenmare, Co. Kerry…

Back in early May, at the end of the school Easter holidays, we took the kids camping glamping for two nights. I have never camped so my Hubbie, who would have done a fair bit of camping back in the day, thought he’d try out glamping first, I think, and potentially ease me into some semblance of ‘proper camping’ in the near future! The mirth that ensued over the weeks prior to us leaving, was worth the 2 nights price of accommodation for him alone: questions that kept on popping into my head, such as, “Will there be electricity?”  (There was), would have him practically rolling on the floor laughing at the utter novice standing in front of him!
The kids could not have been more excited, while I was a little apprehensive as we approached beautiful, sunny Kenmare that Friday evening, but the minute we arrived at the site, I was blown away by the attention to detail and just how stunning the location was

You can choose between double or family tents

The view from our tent…

Our Tent. Safari Chic, eat your heart out!

My favourite type of decking chair and these were made of driftwood by http://www.thebearachair.com

Coolest Coat Stand ever…

The magical light in the field just next to our tent (fenced off, with cattle warnings for little people!)

Once we had settled in, we explored the rest of the facilities a little. There was a wedding on in the Manor that weekend, which just added to the atmosphere

…and the small but perfect playground (there was also a ball court nearby) kept little people amused & happy

It just happened to have THE coolest see-saw ever. Hilda by Design was happy and my little girl thought it was Cinderella’s carriage! Win-Win.

That evening was so stunningly beautiful, we ate in Kenmare but on the second evening, we ate at the site and toasted marshmallows with the kids at the open fire pit, which is lit each evening

There were also BBQ spots behind the log area, with kitchen facilities, a games room, toilets & showers – in the form of what I assume were converted stables?! I don’t really know what gave me that idea though…

I woke early on the first morning, made a cup of coffee in the kitchen and went for a little walk along the bay. These photo’s were taken around 7.45am…

The Boathouse in the dawn, which is a restaurant & residents we met who had eaten there, gave it the thumbs up.

The view of Dromquinna Manor from the water.

At this point, I knew breakfast would be delivered soon (around 8.30am) so I popped back to the tent, where hubby and I shared a blissful, quiet breakfast on the deck, while the kids were still asleep

We lazed around the site for hours that day, and when the weather unfortunately turned, we left for the day, but when we came back that evening, the beautiful weather had returned.

Nobody wanted to leave the next day, which is a testament to how happy everyone was. I got a bit of time to take in some of the sights on the Cliff Walk, before we left

This was the view…

…from this seat…

And if you’d popped a glass of wine & a book in my hand, I could have stayed there for hours!

There is Wi-Fi in the site but I made a conscious decision to take a technological sabbatical and guys, it was the right decision! We all came home relaxed and recharged.

*A special mention to the lovely Gwen (who my son fell in love with a little!) who couldn’t have done more to make sure our stay was as comfortable as possible*

http://www.dromquinnamanor.com

L’Instant Parisien goes to print…

Bonjour!

I can’t remember how or when I discovered L’Instant Parisien on Instagram but it was a while ago! Their photo’s of a Hidden Paris and articles on their site http://www.linstantparisien.com about the wonderful Designer’s and Creatives living and working in Paris soon became one of my favourite ways to keep in touch with Paris from Ireland.
 
When they announced before Christmas that they needed our help to crowdfund to bring the site to print, I couldn’t have been happier to pop on their site and choose from various packages to receive the print edition. My package also gained me 3 beautiful prints by Illustrator, Virginie Morgand depicting scene’s of an integral part of Parisian life: Le Terrace. Made all the more poignant after the attacks in Paris last year, when the Parisians were called back to the Terrace and the Bistro’s. A powerful call that was answered…

The print edition is Bilingual which is super and I’m reading in French, as I have very little opportunity to speak French anymore, so I need to keep it up! I’ve started to read the articles chronologically but here’s a sneak peek of some of the articles that await my attention!

The African Designer’s of the area of Château Rouge, in Paris

A 300 year old Pastel making company, which has been recently revived

A man who keeps bees on the rooftops of Paris and sells the honey he makes

And here’s the cover itself, which is a work of Art…

It was like Christmas all over again when the package arrived yesterday, so ‘Merci’ L’Instant Parisien and may you make many, many more publications.

‘Bonheur’ is a word in the French language which can be translated as Happiness but has a deeper sense of well being also. This publication has already brought me much ‘Bonheur’ and there’s much more to come!

Keeping up the Creative..

As some of you may know, I’ve postponed my studies until October but the creative side will never leave so I had the idea the other day of chronicling our summer through little sketch journals. Tiger Stores came up trumps this morning & I bought 4: one for each of us for Summer entries and one aside for anything I come across related to my course. This last journal is going to be more like a scrapbook.
I was going to wait until the kids were on Summer Holidays, but we are enjoying some really beautiful weather at the moment and the fact that today is the 1st of June…well…we kinda started early! A wee visit to the National Botanic Gardens today brought us some lovely flower spoils (don’t worry, we didn’t pick anything!) and my little guy found loads of pine cones

The kids were super excited when I took out my pencils, pens & colouring pencils as usually I don’t let them touch them! I started my journal too…

…with a pretty abstract ‘interpretation’ of what we found!

I’ve taken quite a few photo’s of the National Botanic Gardens which have been posted on my various social media accounts over the years, but, sure, there’s always room for a few more, eh?

       
         Victorian detail in the Shadows

The beauty of looking up, every once in a while…

Here’s to filling up our journals with summer memories!