A hideaway for toys; lighting for the garden and Seven Wood moves on

Seven Wood pop-up space

If you’ve been missing Niamh Banks’s gorgeous Seven Wood pop-up space, which had a lengthy run on Dublin’s Dawson Street, you may be pleased to learn that her eclectic collection of gifts, furniture and cosmetics will be popping up again later this summer - on Avenue Road in Dublin’s Portobello.

“The Dawson Street experience has been a really positive one and I am delighted to be showcasing similar lines in the furniture, interiors and natural skincare in the new space,” Banks says.

“The collection will be as in Dawson Street – vintage mid century furniture, along with new pieces from talented Irish furniture makers. And we will be showcasing art from David Uda (Duda) and David McSwiggan.

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“Viewings at the Portobello showroom will be by appointment and we’ll also be hosting open days and events.”

In the meantime, should you find you simply can't do without the cool blue stripes of the Rabbit Beach serving platter or the New York bowl (€49.90 each), you can get them from the website, sevenwood.ie.

A hideaway for toys

Now, who doesn’t love a birthday party? Especially when you can blow out the candles, cut up the cake, give everyone a piece, gobble it up, collect the plates - and then do the whole thing again. And again. (And again.)

It’s a two-year-old’s idea of tremendous fun, and Aldi’s wooden play food sets - you can have pizza if you prefer, or there’s a healthy fruit option complete with tomato, carrot and chopping board - are guaranteed to keep young cooks happily occupied for hours.

Parents, of course, will be more concerned about what happens to the various bits and pieces afterwards: which is where the new Aldi collection of furniture and storage solutions comes into play.

At €49.99, a cupboard with cutout handles is just the job for closing the door on clutter, while a shelf unit with a solid wood frame (€29.99) is as stylish as it is practical.

There’s also a clever sling shelf unit which makes it easy for toddlers to spot their favourite books. As for the A-frame shelf unit, also €29.99, well, gardeners of all ages will have their eye on that one as a way of to helping to disguise the bald spots currently emerging in the borders.

All products will be in Aldi stores on Sunday July 16th. aldi.ie

Revamp your outdoor space

As the days begin to get ever so slightly shorter, it’s a good time to think about revamping your outdoor lighting arrangements.

Whether you need something which can sit comfortably under trees or in borders, or a soft spotlight to complement hard landscaping areas of concrete and timber, the new Bare range from Harte Outdoor Lighting in New Ross, Co Wexford will fit the bill.

Hartes have been making cast iron lights for more than a quarter of a century and have supplied traditional-style light fittings to - among others - Aras an Uachtaráin, Ashford Castle and Kildare Village.

Designed by Jack Harte and effortlessly able to withstand the ravages of the Irish weather, the bold contemporary lines of the new lights are simple and striking.

They are available in galvanised steel as well as Harte's range of heritage colours: Smithy's Black, Iron Grey, Fired Brick Red, Peacock Blue, Trinity Gold and Kitchen Garden Green. harteoutdoorlighting.ie

Pliable ply

Although early forms of plywood were found in Egyptian tombs the material has become associated with mould-breaking furniture of the early 19th century when designers such as Alvar Aalto, Grete Jalk, Robin Day, Marcel Breuer and Charles and Ray Eames created furniture in shapes never seen before.

The word ply means both a layered material (hence your two- or three-ply tissues) and to fold or bend, from late middle English and the French verb “plier”.

The strength of the layering and the pliability saw plywood used in many objects from cars and canoes to tea chests, skateboards, kitchens and furniture.

An exhibition at the V&A in London - Plywood: Material of the Modern World – will show iconic pieces from its own collection as well as loans from the world over.

It includes a 1908 book printed during Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to Antarctica that has plywood covers.

“Created to have more strength and reliability than solid wood, [PLYWOOD’S]development as a mouldable material has changed furniture design immeasurably through the 20th century, and with current moods around provenance and honesty of material, has now come into its own for its decorative properties,” says Ruth Wassermann, head of design at Made.com which is sponsoring the exhibition.

“Plywood is integral to the soft wooden curves of Nordic design.”

Plywood: Material of the Modern World exhibition runs from July 15th to12 November 12th in the Porter Gallery at the V&A. Admission is free.

Garden furniture with a twist

There’s a touch of tea with the vicar to this Chatto Lloyd Loom garden furniture set which is stil made in the style devised by in 1917 by the American Marshall B. Lloyd.

Lloyd twisted kraft paper around a metal wire, placed the paper threads on a loom and wove them into what was to become the traditional Lloyd Loom chair of which millions have since been made.

The chairs and sofa are hand painted and while they’re immensely durable, it’s best to give them some cover in the winter months.

The Tuscany coffee table is protected with a timber treatment oil but similarly would prefer to be indoors in harsh weather. Chatto sofa set and Tuscany coffee table, price €4,402/£3,420.

See neptune.com for Irish stockists.