I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE BATH TUB

Some time next year with any luck we’ll be doing a big, big job on our tiny, tiny bathroom. We’re going to make it bigger and our second bedroom smaller, and remodel the bathroom completely - including getting a bathtub! Apart from a brief period in 2005, I haven’t lived somewhere with a bathtub for years, so this is huuuuge. I’m leaning strongly in favour of an all-white, traditional/vintage style bathroom with a freestanding, roll-top tub. True to form, I’ve been getting ahead of myself and whizzing round the net collecting ideas. Check out my whole set of bathroom inspiration images here. Who knew bathrooms could be so frickin’ gorgeous!

TORD BOONTJE CHRISTMAS

I love my living room lightshade rather a lot and so won’t be taking it down to make way for Christmas decorations. But if I was, I would definitely switch it for Tord Boontje’s Midsummer Xmas light (€80) - a holiday themed re-working of the already famous Midsummer light. Available online from POAA in The Netherlands, it’s almost too pretty to pass up. But hey, Tord Boontje’s Fairy Tail Garland decorations over at Made In Design might take my mind off it.

NEED TO KNOW : POAA is based in The Netherlands and deliver worldwide.
PAYMENT : Paypal (Visa, Delta, Electron, Mastercard, Eurocard, Discover, American Express, Switch, Maestro, Solo)
DELIVERY : Delivery to Ireland for this item is €14.

KAT HEYES: NEW SHOP OPEN TODAY!

Yaaaayyyyy. Kat Heyes is a British illustrator who I’ve had my little eye on for a while – her clients have included Elle, Vogue, The Observer and many other big names. This very day sees the launch of Kat’s Etsy shop, where she’ll be selling prints of some of her beautiful illustrations. Woop!! There’s currently just one print available to buy ["Yellow Belly" above; edition of 100] but Kat will be updating the shop with more soon. Below is a sneak preview of more prints from the same series that will soon be available. I just love the colourful octagonal and patchwork patterns on the owls, and I’ll most definitely be buying one or two prints myself. Check Kat's shop here for updates.

NEED TO KNOW : Prints are $35/€23.76 + $5/€3.40 shipping from the UK.
PAYMENT : Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover.

TIN TOWN AFRICAN TREE

You’d swear I had nothing but Christmas on my mind this week, when in reality I tend to be a bit of a last-minute gal. I may break with that tradition though to get my order in for one of these gooorgeous laser-cut steel trees from South African company Tin Town. They're brand new over at Design My World and are available in white or red. Laser cutting and monkeys for Xmas? Yes please!!

NEED TO KNOW : This item costs £34.95/€49.95 (+ £10.50/€14.57 delivery to Ireland).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the US! Homebug has thousands of regular US readers, which is really wonderful as a lot of the time my posts may seem aimed at my Irish readership, so in the spirit of the holiday I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all the US and international Homebug readers who stop by, leave comments or get in touch. I know I can be a bit slack at responding at times, but believe me, it means a lot to know y’all are digging the blog. I hope those of you in the US have a good holiday, and that everyone else has a good Thursday!
Zee x

PS : Fabric shown above is by Robert Kauffman and available online from Volksfaden, Germany.

VITRA GIFT GUIDE

How cute is Vitra’s holiday gift guide illustration (above)? The guide includes a host of iconic Vitra designs, such as the Isamu Noguchi Akari lamps (one of those is certainly on my Christmas wish list), Georg Nelson clocks (them too), Alexander Girard wooden dolls, as well as newer products like a gold-leaf LTR table and miniature Eames plywood elephant. Online, I recommend Einrichten Design for buying Vitra products. In Ireland, Haus.

Akari 1A by Isamu Noguchi (€167); Night Clock by Georg Nelson (€217)
Wooden dolls by Alexander Girard (€77 each)
Gold leaf LTR occasional table by Charles & Ray Eames (€348); Miniature plywood elephant by Charles & Ray Eames (€130)

PLUTOPRODUKTER TREE CANDLEHOLDER

I have a slight obsession with trees and leaves, so I’m a big fan of Swedish design company Plutoprodukter. I especially love their Tree Candleholder – I think it would make a great Christmas decoration that can also be used throughout the year. It’s made of lacquered steel and available in black, white or silver from the Scandinavian Design Centre for €49.89.

NEED TO KNOW : The Scandinavian Design Centre is a Swedish online store that delivers internationally.
PAYMENT : MasterCard, VISA, EuroCard and, in some cases, cash on delivery. They also offer money transfer to their bank account and a direct VAT deduction in case you are a corporate customer within EU and have a valid VAT number.
DELIVERY : Delivery to Ireland for this item is €17.89

CHRISTMAS AT HABITAT

Habitat have a selection of their sexy new Christmas range available to view on their other European sites right now – every site except the Irish one, wouldn’t you know. If you want to check out their whole range, including striking alternatives to traditional Christmas trees and stylish gifts for kids, get thee to their Galway or Dublin branches pronto.

OWL LAMP @URBAN OUTFITTERS

photo via Aggtastic

I don’t often bother with Urban Outfitters in Dublin, as I have little need for novelty piggybanks, tacky ashtrays or Jesus action figures. I’ve griped before that Urban Outfitters in the US is a whole n’other story - when I visited a New York branch earlier this year I came out with a fabulous haul of excellent homewares (check out the US Urban Outfitters website here). Included in the haul was a cute lil’ owl lamp base, which I’m pleased to see is now available in Urban Outfitters over here. Well, pleased for you guys anyway! But at least I can comfort myself that I got mine for a bargain $24/€16 in the US, while they’re retailing for €36 here.

SHOP LOCATIONS : Dundrum, Temple Bar

PAUL G. SMYTH

And just because I love his work too, here’s some images from the website of the very talented Dublin-based musician and visual artist Paul G. Smyth (who happens to be married to Beth O’Halloran, don’t you know... Is it cheesy that I’m posting about both of them today? Oh well, I don’t care).

BETH O'HALLORAN

Dear Ada is a blog I check on an almost daily basis. Its writer Birdie has a fantastic eye for beautiful art, and must search high and low to always have something fresh to post about from different corners of the globe. I was pleased as punch to see mention of Dublin artist Beth O’Halloran on Dear Ada today. As well as being a wonderful artist, Beth is a complete sweetheart, so I can’t resist posting a few images of her work myself this morning. See Beth’s site for links to more work.

HOME SNOOP : CAITRIONA'S PROGRESS REPORT

Homebug reader Caitriona got in touch with me to share some pictures of the progress she and her husband Aonghus are making in their adorable little Dublin house... Yay, thanks Caitriona! I'm so envious of their living room's original features, like that terrific cast iron fireplace and the original floorboards. I'd say decorating decisions are a little less arduous when a house has such good bones to work with! I love how Caitriona and Aonghus are staying faithful to their house's original character, while still making dramatic changes. Personally, that's what I'm all about. Check out that apple green feature wall and how the door and doorframe are included – such a cute modern touch, and something I'd like to try somewhere in our own house.

Anyone with a small space who thinks they can't use bold colour, take note – see how the fresh white and green walls are accented with pops of red and grounded by an elegant taupe-coloured, slimline sofa - it works like a charm (update: the sofa is Habitat's Ronda; Habitat are just the best for compact sofas).

Have a look at all of the before, during and after photos on Caitriona's site to see just how hard she and Aonghus have been working (a couple of before and after shots below). Thanks again Caitriona!

PS: If you'd like to share photos of your space I'd be over the moon to hear from you. Email me at zee@homebug.net

THE GUARDIAN : WRITERS' ROOMS

A favourite feature of mine in The Guardian is “Writers’ Rooms” where writers are interviewed about their workspace, and a photo of their room accompanies the interview – the pictures show interiors that are comfortable, familiar, practical, inspirational and, of course, floor to ceiling in books. When I was nine-years-old and determined that I’d grow up to write novels about witches in boarding school I imagined I’d have such a writing room myself. My novel-writing ambitions were shelved when I eventually accepted that Jill Murphy’s series of books about witches in boarding school didn’t leave much room in the genre for me (not that it stopped J.K. Rowling, arf!) Anyway, when I see pictures of writers’ room in The Guardian I always romanticise about what could have been, and I see that the Guardian Online has now collected the whole "Writers' Rooms" series together on their website here. Thank you, Guardian! Above are rooms belonging to John Richardson, Mark Haddon and Nicola Barker. Below are two rooms from dear old Dublin - Seamus Heaney and Colm Toibín.

NEW ONLINE SHOP : LE SOUK

I’m so excited to be sharing the news that Danielle from one of Homebug’s favourite blogs The Style Files has launched a terrific new online store, Le Souk. Le Souk sells lots of beautiful living accessories all selected with the same love, care and wonderful taste that Danielle displays in her blog. Also, at least 5% of the shop's profits are donated to women in war-torn regions. I’d like to wish Danielle the best of luck in her new venture – she’s a real inspiration and I’d love some day to be able to do something similar. But in the meantime, I’ll settle for starting a new shopping list, thanks to Le Souk:

Pol’s Potten Trinidad Vase €34.95; Pol’s Potten Jug With Hole €19.95

Moroccan Leather Poof €165 Pol’s Potten silver teapot €35.95 ; Handwoven Turkish towels €8.95

NEED TO KNOW : Le Souk is based in The Netherlands and delivers worldwide.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, iDEAL, Paypal, bank transfer

THOMAS BREZING

The absolutely wonderful Dublin-based, German artist Thomas Brezing has an exhibition of paintings and installations entitled “Seven Miles Above The Earth” on display in The Lab, Dublin from 16 November to 21 December. View more of his beautiful work over on his website.

ETSY FAVOURITES

It’s been a while since I did a roundup of my Etsy favourites, so here’s a whole bunch of lovely, affordable art for you…

The White Deer handcut paper sculpture [above] by SanFran67, England - $50 + $6.50 shipping

In A Line print [above left] by Handmaid - $13.50 + $5 shipping
Giclee Print [above] by Jenn Ski, USA - $39

DNA Memory drawing [above] by Wolfie and The Sneak - $100

A Beautiful Hole print [above left] and Clouds print [above right] by Kathryn Knudsen, USA - $20 + $6.75 shipping each
Pile of Wood print [above] by Gennine, Mexico - $20 + $10 shipping

TEEPEE BY ERIKA WAKERLY

I’m really, really loving Erika Wakerly’s Teepee fabric at the moment (it’s available as wallpaper too). Erika’s stockists in Ireland are Interior Living, Cork and Lost Weekend, Wexford. See her website for international stockists or to order online.

BEFORE AND AFTER

Check out the quick and easy transformation Jess from How About Orange performed in her guestroom recently. So cute!

MARIMEKKO'S MINI UNIKKO

I have a big thing for Marimekko textiles at the moment (my gorgeous “Aarni” fabric arrived last week, but more about that later). As the Orla Kiely oilcloth I ordered is out of stock and Tinsmiths can’t give me any indication as to whether or not they’ll be restocking it (cheers) I’ve ordered some of Marimekko’s “Mini Unikko” fabric [above] from Reprodepot to make a tablecloth in the meantime. It seems bizarre to be buying a Finnish product from the US, but Reprodepot sell that particular fabric cheaper than elsewhere ($25/€17.14 per yard), and their shipping rate to Ireland is cheaper than many European companies too (just $11.50/€7.88), so hurrah! I love buying new fabrics!

NEED TO KNOW : Reprodepot is a US company which sells fabric by the yard. Be aware that if your order exceeds €22 you may have to pay duty when buying from outside of Europe.
PAYMENT : Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Paypal.
DELIVERY : Shipping to Ireland from US $11.50 (€7.88).

APARTMENT THERAPY

Oh, I almost forgot! Our entryway popped up on Apartment Therapy yesterday! Here’s the post. (I know nobody cares but me!) On the subject of Apartment Therapy, I’m positively head over heels in love with their recent feature on ceramist Diana Fayt’s home [below] – check out the full tour here.

URBAN ALPHABET MUGS @ AVOCA

I noticed recently that Avoca have the Urban Alphabet mug collection in stock! Yay! But they didn’t seem to have ‘Z’… Sod it; I’ll probably just buy ‘A’ because I like the anglepoise lamp on the reverse. See the whole collection here. Or buy online from Graham & Greene here.

PAUL SMITH’S LIMITED EDITION WEDGWOOD MUG

Wedgwood in association with Paul Smith have just launched a limited edition mug to raise money for the NSPCC in the UK. Decorated with a cute floral Paul Smith design that originally appeared in his catwalk collections, the bone china mug is limited to a production of 1,250.

Get ‘em while you still can on the Paul Smith website for £25/€35.75 each.

GIFTS

I really must stop browsing websites’ Christmas gift sections... I’m not really one for buying presents for my family and friends from dedicated “Gift Departments”, so anything that does catch my eye is invariably with myself in my mind. Like these cute little items, for instance. New in at TwentyTwentyOne’s Christmas gift section is this terrific pair of ceramic birds by Aldo Londi for Bitossi (£65/€93). And I simply have to have this adorable Thorsten Van Elten cuckoo clock from Leigh Harmer’s gift section (£11/€15.75)… Selfish, selfish Homebug…

NEED TO KNOW : Both TwentyTwentyOne and Leigh Hamer are UK shops that delivers to Ireland.
DELIVERY : In the case of either TTO or LH, to receive an exact delivery quote, email the company with your delivery address and the items you wish to order.

VENUS AS A DOG

Ooooooh my goodness! Pethra has just been in touch because she thought I might be interested in checking out her blog. While my Swedish leaves a lot to be desired, my appreciation for beautiful Dalmatians in beautiful homes means that her blog is an absolute instant favourite! Pethra's blog also features lots of gorgeous design too, but I hope nobody minds if I indulge myself by sharing some adorable pics of Pethra’s pooch Venus in her lovely home in Sweden. Don’t tell Django, but I think Venus gives him a real run for his money in the cuteness stakes!

FESTIVE MARIMEKKO FABRIC

A few Christmas-themed posts will certainly be sneaking onto Homebug in the next few weeks, starting with this one… Check out this brand new “Aarre” fabric designed by Maija Louekari at Marimekko especially for the holiday season. I love it. Marimekko can do no wrong. Buy it from Finnish Design Shop for €37.50/metre here.

PS: Thanks so much to Maz at Style Treaty for her shout out to Homebug today- what a lovely surprise!

THANKS KIM & JO!

I’m so touched that the girls at Desire to Inspire have a post starring my house and pooch on their blog today! Desire to Inspire is my absolute favourite interior design blog, and the amazing homes it features have me oohing and aahing on a daily basis, so it was quite a strange surprise to see a shot of my own wee gaff up there this morning! Thanks Kim and Jo! And thanks for the further bedroom inspiration too! [below]

RUG HUNTING

Update : I've organised my thoughts regarding our bedroom and even made a mood board [above]. I'll shut up about it now.

Thanks to Linnea in Sweden, whose photoset I discovered today via decor8, I've had a rethink about our bedroom rug. As much as I enjoy getting a very specific idea in my head and driving myself demented hunting for something (like a pink chenille rug), maybe my time would be better served thinking of a more attainable alternative. Linnea identified the rug in her living room [above] as this one from IKEA and you know what, it might work perfectly in our bedroom, given that I'll be making bedroom curtains using this Marimekko fabric [the trees pattern on the mood board]. We don't have IKEA here in Ireland, but the Scottish branches can arrange shipping to Ireland if you ask them nicely.


PS: Don't you love Linnea's String shelves too? I'm mad for String shelves at the moment. And her Thonet chair! Also mad for Thonet chairs.

NEW JONATHAN ADLER GOODIES

Jonathan Adler has updated his online shop with lots of gorgeous new goodies. Shipping to Europe is colossal but hopefully it won't be long before all this new lovely pottery will be available from Avalon Home, the Irish retailers of Jonathan Adler's pottery and homewares.