The Interiors Edit: An interior designer’s guide to chic home gifts
Before you check your Christmas list twice, don’t forget one more deserving recipient: your home.
There’s something undeniably special about this time of year. We spend more time in our homes, sharing with loved ones, perhaps ready to finish out a space or adorn a new one.
Beautiful things abound, sales are plentiful, and independent makers are showcasing their best work, often counting on this season’s support to keep creating. So if you’ve had your eye on a piece or two, something sculptural, something practical, or simply something that sparks joy, consider this your sign.
Elevate your space, indulge in a long-admired detail, or gift a fellow interiors lover something special.
For a housewarming
For the new home, you can never have too many candles. A newly launched Irish brand, go seasonal with Sister Brother’s Dark Wood candle at Pod Furniture.
Another ideal gift (or addition to your new space) is a hand soap. I find myself obsessively washing my hands more than necessary thanks to Danish brand Meraki’s Northern Dawn exfoliating hand soap, also available in a gift box with a matching lotion at April & the Bear.
A decorative bowl is great for entrance tables or kitchen islands to catch random bits. The Nagel chrome bowl from STOFF Copenhagen at Finnish Design Shop is the perfect glamorous, modernist accent.
For the sensible ones
Fact: household chores are more fun when they’re elevated. Go to Article for the chicest dust pan and brush you’ve ever seen, snag the Delta Dustpan & Brush in an elegant black & warm timber tone.
Tired of looking that clunky clothes-horse in the eye? Look no further than the Joseph Joseph Eclipse Clothes Airer, €150 which features a fabric screen to conceal your lacy bits from visitors. Available from Arnotts.
And…if you’re dreading the clean-up after all the festivities, head to Faerly.ie for an eco-friendly and elegant beech dish brush from Iris Hantverk, €6.99.
For the analogue lover
If you’re more excited about reading than gathering this holiday season, you’re not alone. You’ll have great company with these voluptuous grey marble bookends from Oriana B.
For somewhere to stash your magazines (or maybe logs for the fire), go for this elevated Orskov contemporary leather basket.
For the vintage lover
If you’re always on the hunt for the next vintage treasure, visit Acquired.ie or The Vintage Hub’s collections online or in-person to snag rosewood and teak beauties like this midcentury Italian coffee table, €795 from Acquired or these 1960s Tulip candleholders from the Vintage Hub, €195.
Also consider this elegant glazed stoneware bowl by Stig Lindberg, €175 from The Vintage Hub for a coffee table, console or kitchen island.
If you are looking for a statement collector’s piece like one of these midcentury Italian display consoles, browse the Roisin Lafferty Gallery (by appointment on Fitzwilliam Street), with true statement vintage pieces co-curated by the designer herself and Domhnall O Gairbhi from Acquired.ie.
For the host
Perhaps it’s your first year hosting Christmas or maybe you’re a seasoned Martha Stewart. Or it could be a classy thank you for the family member who is inviting you all into their home. À table! never looked better with these Irish-sourced wares…
Select chic heavyweight Irish linen napkins from Stable of Ireland in a selection of colours, or top up water into these ethereal speckled blown glass tumblers from Tomorrows.
Serve the stuffing onto Irish-made ceramic plates in beautiful ombre glazes from Fermoyle Pottery or heap mashed potatoes into the fanciful Dashi crackled serving platters from Jars Céramistes at Sonny’s, a new design concept store in Rathgar, Dublin 6.
Finally, not Irish, but who can resist a classic Bistrot set of cutlery from Sabre Paris? Especially in the timeless ivory.
For the chef
For the cook in your kitchen, invest in a lifetime piece of crockery with Annadale Brickworks’ casserole dish atIrish Design Shop. Decant your Kerrygold into a fine bone china butter dish with the Feldspar butter dish with a delicate cobalt blue handle at Indigo & Cloth.
Seasoning never looked so good with Dwell by Eilish Rickard’s brass salt & pepper mill set, now also available in a gift box.
For the homebody
A mug is a lovely housewarming gift, stocking stuffer, or treat for yourself – especially in Studio Arhoj’s psychedelic glazed Chug Mug. Browse from the colorful Studio Arhoj range and more at Rosalin’s at in Ranelagh.
No seasonal gift guide is complete without a throw – go to Stable of Ireland for their copper wicker blanket, €280 in a lovely rich shade of rust made of 100% Donegal yarn wool.
For the ones in bed by 9pm
And then there are the people who want their home to feel like a hotel. Go to Irish organic cotton brand White & Green for their luxurious Oxford Collection bed set.
Back to scented candles, because who can ever get enough? Nordic Elements stocks a range of Danish FRAMA scented candles with elegant packaging.
For the life of the party
Maybe it’s time to finally bring the bar home with a stunning piece like this Art Deco cherrywood and chrome drinks cabinet €2,600 from Yeats Country Antiques on Francis Street, Dublin 8.
No space for a full bar? No bother. Reach for Jerpoint Glass’ playful Tangerine Twist stemmed glasses for a day-after Bloody Mary at Irish Design Shop.
Aerate that heady Malbec ahead of the dinner with LSA Borough wine carafe, €60 from Indigo & Cloth. Finally, take the mascara off at the end of the night with cotton pads safely stored in Ferm Living’s marble cotton pad holder at Industry & Co. Also just a great gift for the girl who has everything.
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