Summer sales, outdoor lighting and penthouse ideas

Looking good with Loire

Add French polish to your kitchen with this Loire dining collection which includes a natural oak-topped cross leg dining table, 90cm by 190cm, four slatted back chairs and a bench, reduced by 14 per cent – €1,599 to €1,375 – in the summer sale at Swords-based Frank McGowan (01-8706100 frankmcgowan.com).

Keen eye of the Tigress

Tigress Luxury Interiors (01 9690771 tigressluxuryinteriors.com) is a relatively new online Irish shop stocking swish pieces of furniture and run by Kate Borowska, a Polish-trained interior designer working in residential for the last three years.

This Belgian-designed Romero dining set features six chairs, available in a linen mix beige, grey or mustard (pictured) and a large pedestal leg lime-washed oak table, 78cm by 240cm by 100cm, that is reduced from €6,000 to €4,500. Irish Times readers who call and present today’s column can get a further 10 per cent off, a purchase price of €4,050. Offer ends June 25th. (085-1720678)

Summer sale at Michael Murphy

The summer sale is now on at all branches of Michael Murphy (michaelmurphy.ie); Newbridge (045-431868), Drinagh Retail Park (053-9106110) Wexford, New Ross (051-448944), and the recently opened premises in Leopardstown Retail Park (01-533 4859) in Dublin 18. This Wessex round mirror, 91.5cm in diameter, is now half price, reduced from €299 to €149. Another great buy is the Manhattan open bookcase, an industrial-style steel frame design, 120cm by 180cm, reduced by 50 per cent from €799 to €399. Sale ends July 17th.

Brighten up with Duggan Lighting

Invest in some outdoor lighting that can also be used indoors to better knit the two spaces together. Kilkenny-based Willie Duggan Lighting (056-567764 308 williedugganlighting.com) is offering Irish Times readers who present today's column the chance to order anything from their exterior lighting collection less 10 per cent. This classic brass wall lamp, 26cm by 26cm, is normally €166. Present today's column and it's yours for €149.50. Offer ends June 25th.

Trending ... penthouse perfection

The Ballymore Group (ballymoregroup.com) recently won the Evening Standard Grand Prix award for its work on the penthouse of 21 Wapping Lane in London. Designed by architects Paul Davies and Partners (pdplondon.com) with an interior by Amos and Amos (amosandamos.com) there is plenty to love here. The treads in the solid timber spiral staircase echo the limed wood flooring below. The space features pieces by Dare Studio, Bethan Gray, Pinch, Lee Broom, Tom Dixon and Buster. The semi-professional kitchen features stainless steel, Basaltina stone worktops and lacquered cabinets with oak veneered interiors and a Falcon range cooker.

Three of the best . . . outdoor lighting

Made in Italy, the Muse battery-operated outdoor lamp by Contardi (contardi-italia.com) is a fresh take on the hurricane lamp. It has a plaited leather handle, comes with either a white pearl or black lacquer frame and in two sizes, the 40cm square model costs about €809 while the large 60cm square design is about €1,139 through UK-based Go Modern (0044-2077319540 gomodern.co.uk)

Add designer mood lighting to your outdoors with Etoile, a moulded metal light designed by Italian firm Cuproom (0039- 423302292 cuproom.it). It comes in several colours and sizes ranging in height from 30cm to 150cm. Prices start at €380.

Outdoor lighting is ambient and can make the bleakest of outside spaces look warm and inviting. Home Store and More (01-427 6500 homestoreandmore.ie) has garlands of 72 solar powered lights that wrap around outdoor parasols, €11.99, to add warmth to al fresco dining. Another cool option is their 28cm topiary solar light hanging balls,€14.99.