Plyhouse can be anything you want
The furniture and lighting designer Leo Scarff has come up with a clever multifunctional wooden structure – the Plyhouse – which could serve as … well, as pretty much anything you like, really, from a work station to a children's play area. In an office situation, for instance, it could be used to create a breakout meeting-place: "You could put chairs, or even a sofa, inside the structure while people could still work away along the outside," Leo suggests.
Made from birch plywood, veneered plywood or coloured lacquer with black steel fittings, the Plyhouse was originally commissioned by The Dock in Carrick-on-Shannon for its Thinking, Living, Dwelling exhibition. Strong and light, it can be custom-built to any size – the standard height is just under four metres, but it can be scaled down to fit domestic rooms – and can also, if required, be fitted with acoustic panels, cable management and LED lighting strips. Stackable stools are also available. The pictured model costs approximately €3,950 plus VAT.
leoscarffdesign.com
Versatile and vibrant
Sarah Swan's gorgeous Cuban-themed scarves, which launched at the Irish designers' Create showcase this summer, are now on general sale. The oversized, vibrantly-coloured scarves are produced in Italy and digitally printed on fine cotton – and we reckon that Swan's evocative, elegant colonial streetscape would make an extremely striking wall hanging. Priced at €175, the limited-edition scarves are available from Emporium Kalu in Naas, Juju in Greystones or from sarahswandublin.com
Prepare to be illuminated
German company Lampenwelt has just opened an online shop in Ireland, offering a dazzling selection of interior and exterior lighting. During business hours you can phone and talk to their English-speaking support staff, who will answer questions and provide suggestions. With more than 400,000 items in stock at any given time, every lighting style you could possibly imagine is to be found on this site, from cutting-edge industrial through elaborately curlicued chandeliers to ultra-discreet recessed fittings. At the very top of the price range, check out Svarovski's Crystalon (€3,398) a steel-and-sparkle confection that is designed to look like a crystal molecule hanging artfully from your ceiling, or Technolumen's ultra-compact Bauhaus-style floor lamp (€1,747.90), or Axo's flamboyant Plumage (€5,038), with its multicoloured fabric "feathers". There are lamps that look like the planet Saturn and lamps you can control from your phone. It makes for an illuminating browse on a dark evening, so it does. lights.ie
Head to Castlebar for free home advice
According to the Construction Industry Federation, we spent a whopping €4.7 billion on the repair, maintenance and improvement of private houses last year. If you're about to lavish a bit of TLC on your living space, it's a good weekend to head west. A new addition to this year's Castlebar Home Improvement Show at the Breaffy Events Arena is "Meet the Architect", led by Limerick-based Turnkey Architects. Bring along your plans and get free advice on everything from planning permission to effective layouts and exciting materials. And with a collection of builders, designers, furniture makers, kitchen and bathroom specialists, lighting and flooring experts, window suppliers, landscapers, garden designers, accessorisers and DIY retailers also on hand at the show, it's a pretty good place to seek inspiration – not to mention instant quotations. A series of talks and practical clinics are scheduled as well. The show is on today and tomorrow: two-for-one tickets are available at eventbrite.ie, and children go free.
