Take time to head out west, to the heat and the cacti of the desert landscape, for it is cowboy country, with an Ennio Morricone soundtrack in the background, that reigns supreme this summer.
Launched at Milan this month, Emu’s Ficus is a cool steel wire garden screen that evokes the classic cacti form. It seems fitting that it was launched by a firm from Italy, home of the spaghetti western. To buy the model on the left in the photograph above, with additional chartreuse-coloured leaf and cacti flowers, will cost about €3,936, excluding delivery, from the UK-based Go Modern.
The red flowers are extra (and cost about €141 each), as are the leaves in the greenery on the middle and right of the shot. If you’re buying online it can be tricky to understand the modular add-on options; it’s far easier to call James on +44-20-77319540 and ask for his help. You can also order a light and cover to backlight the screen at night, but a simple lantern will do the same job.
A touch of Mexican magic
This Magico Mexico fabric, shown both on the stool and behind as a perceived wall covering, is a 100 per cent cotton design by the illustrator Gabriel Pacheco for Rubelli that catapults us into a landscape populated by fantastic fauna and colour-rich flora. Suitable for use on seating and curtains, the print includes mysterious architectural elements that reference the Mexican architect Luis Barragán. It costs about €134 a linear metre, excluding delivery.
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Slouchy south-of-the-border seating
Designed by queen of relaxed luxury Kelly Weastler, the Santa Monica Proper hotel in California features all manner of south-of-the-border elements, from hand-thrown ceramics to slouchy seating. In pride of place is Soriana, a 1969 design by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Cassina.
While it comes in both outdoor and indoor options, Irish buyers will likely plump for the interior option. The metal frame is available in five glossy finishes, ranging from black and white to China red, night blue and emerald green. Prices for the armchair start from €4,370; the matching ottoman starts at €2,995, to order from Minima Home.
A cactus to covet
Who knew a cactus-shaped radiator could be something to covet? Available through the Italian online shop Viadurini, it costs €3,438, excluding delivery, and looks great in brutalist settings.
Softer spikes
This watercolour mural, a design by Anna Konchits, is a softer way to buy into the trend for spikes. Made to measure, it costs from about €35 a square metre from Wallsauce for a standard paste paper, and from about €50 a square metre for a peel-and-stick mural.
Three hip home accents for less than €100
1. Kahlo colour
These tiny Frida Kahlo bud vases stand just 8cm high but pack a powerful punch of colour. The set costs €28.95 from Twenty Six in Nenagh.
2. Cacti cabinet
Although cacti are best kept indoors in Ireland, according to Sam Smyth of Urban Plant Life, they do make a very smart backdrop to a small outdoor terrace for the winter months. He sells faux plants to team with this Kolbjörn cabinet, €80, from Ikea.
3. Starck spikes
Red Candy is channelling 1980s Philippe Starck, who turned everyday items into home talking points. This toilet brush costs €46.
Trending: A glass act
The architectural glass artist Bianca Divito does a lot of interior door and glazing panels, but some of her most evocative work is in gardens, where it can better catch the movement of the sun through the day. This 180cm-high installation is set in a double-glazed, toughened-glass unit set into a high-grade stainless-steel frame to better weather the elements. It is part of an overall garden design by her husband, the landscaper Damien Keane of Keane Spaces. Something of similar dimensions will cost from about €3,000, including installation.
