Eoin Lyons suggests ways to get that lived-in feeling, instantly
Fast furniture (and cheap too)
Famous Furniture on the Longmile Road, Dublin 12 (01-4050520) opened a few weeks ago selling cancelled orders and end-of-line stock, and is the talked about place of the moment. It sells stock from shops including Laura Ashley, Marks & Spencer, Next, House of Fraser and even Harrods, all at half their original price. It's already a haunt for interior designers such as Karri Rocca, Sarah Cruise and Peter Willis. "They operate on the basis that what you see on the floor can be bought and taken away the same day," says Willis. Otherwise, delivery takes a few days. A painted wood bed (below) that was €1,740 at Laura Ashley can be bought for €925 and a 1.8m (6ft) glass dining table from Marks & Spencer was €779, now €389.
Speedy sofas
Nice, or now? You don't always have to make this choice, but we found very few furniture shops have anything that can be bought and delivered a day or two later. Most do not keep stock, and operate a lead-time of four to six weeks after ordering. Diamond Living (1850-454444) tags many sofas with an Express sticker, indicating that they are in stock and available for immediate delivery: for example immediate delivery is available for the Nova red leather three-seater sofa with a 1950s style, on sale for €1,295.
At this time of year, shop floor display sofas, such as the stone fabric L-shape with recessed legs on offer at Duff Tisdall (01-8558070) for €2,200, are being sold off, and these can usually be delivered a few days after purchase. Living, House of Fraser and O'Hagan Design all have ready-to-go sofas on sale at the moment.
Alternatively, you could have an existing sofa transformed in a week by upholsterer Joshua Duffy (01-4730390), an established father and son business on Francis Street. Known for their fine work, the Duffys will collect a sofa on Monday and return it on Friday of the same week, recovered and re-upholstered. A large piece may take a few days longer. Clients can supply their own fabric or choose from one of Duffy's sample books. Each sofa is different but, on average, they charge about €300 for labour, and fabric will cost from €200 upwards.
Curtains in a hurry
TODAY: If you need to cover a window today, and don't have a lot of money to spend, KA International (01-8781052) has one of the best readymade options - a heavy, natural linen that comes in three widths, costing from €115, with either a looped or pleated top. All are three metres long, but can be taken up by cutting the fabric and using an iron-on strip to make a hem. KA also sells lining and curtain poles, from €45. They also have a call-out service to drill the pole in place. IN TWO DAYS: Hickeys Fabrics, with shops nationwide, sells kits to make Roman blinds in different widths, costing from €45. The drop on each blind is 2.4 metres, but this can be adapted. If you're adept at putting things such as flat-packs together, it's not too hard, but then you will need to get the fabric panel made up. Hickeys can do this for you, but it can take 10 days. Instead, find someone handy with a sewing machine and ask them (nicely) to do it for you. Cut the fabric to size and sew lining behind it, before attaching the whole thing to the frame. IN SEVEN DAYS: Curtain-maker Margaret Buggy (059-9159981) is a name we had to prise from top-end fabric distributor Gerry Cremins of Cremins Moiselle Ltd, The Design Centre, Bray South Business Park, Killarney Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, 01-2042848. Buggy's workroom in Ballon, Co Carlow employs 15 people (she does very large-scale projects) and this means a fast turnaround for smaller jobs. Finished curtains should be ready about one week after you give her the fabric and dimensions. What's unusual is that such efficiency does not mean finish is compromised - everything is hand-sewn and interlined - and she works with many of the country's better-known decorators. She uses the best linings and eyelets and has been making curtains for 30 years.