Linen gets the TLC treatment

A new business that bravely began trading as the recession set in, Table Lighting Chair is one of my favourite places to browse for restored (and reasonably priced) vintage furniture. We found our G-plan coffee table there.

TLC now has a shop at 64 Pleasants Place (conveniently located beside The Cake Café, see previous post) and has just introduced the Lares Linens range to their offerings. Perfect for those cold winter days, the Dublin-made bedding and soft furnishings line includes silk pillowcases, covered hot water bottles and bed socks made from Scottish cashmere. You'll be snug as bug in a rug!

TOASTY: Candlewick covered hot water bottle. Photo: Lares Linen

AB FABRIC: Top to bottom: Vintage Barkcloth Cushion, Pale Pink Irish Linen Pillowcase, Blue Gingham Irish Linen Tailored Pillowcase, Champagne Silk Tailored Pillowcase and Ivory Silk Tailored Pillowcase
Photo: Lares Linen

Featuring a great selection of furniture, and lighting, Table Lighting Chair is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. Some beauts that have featured on the TLC website include the following:

MAD FOR IT: An American longboy by Bogin & Son of Long Island. Spotted on the third series of Mad Men.
Photo: Table Lighting Chair

NIGHT ON THE TILES: A lovely 1950s mosiac-topped side table,  one of a selection of items under €100.
Photo: Table Lighting Chair

SITTING PRETTY: True to their name, there's always an excellent selection of chairs like these ones upholstered in vintage fabric at TLC
Photo: Table Lighting Chair

Wednesday wishlist: Owl-together now

Baby owls. Right up there with baby squirrels and baby seals. A screechingly cute video titled Lovely Owl was doing the rounds via YouTube last week. And it got me thinking about owls.

WEBBED FEAT: The eponymous Lovely Owl has become a YouTube sensation

Barn owl as Gaeilge is 'scréachóg reilige', which translates into 'graveyard screecher'. Spooky! 

The Irish owl (there are three species) are November's species of the month on the info-packed website noticenature.ie.

They are also the avian of choice in the interiors world, where they're having a bit of moment. 

I have one in my sitting room, thanks to a cushion my mother bought me. The owl is perching on my Eames rocker, a present to myself after finishing a pretty tough post-graduate course.

NIGHT WATCH: My owl cushion sits prettily on the Eames rocker

1. Vintage fabric owl cushion

The owl cushion above (€22 plus €3.60 for delivery in Ireland) is available in lots of colourways (and there's some owl bags too) from the Galway-based Away With the Fairies.

FEATHERED FRIENDS: These owl cushions are among the
selection available from Away with the Fairies

2. Ceramic Owl Coin Bank

I remember an old insurance company radio advert that had an owl as a brand mascot (two-eight, two-eight, two-oh, anyone?). This wise owl with a rather fearsome expression from Etsy's Modclay also has finance on his mind. You can save up using the lovely turquoise Vintage Ceramic Owl Coin Bank (approx €20.10 plus delivery).

HAVE A HOOT SAVING: Turquoise Ceramic Owl Coin Bank
by Modclay

3. Donna Wilson Owl Cushion

Designer Donna Wilson has an eye for the quirky and this owl cushion (available in a number of colours) is on sale at Dublin design shop No Fixed Abode for €70 (plus €6 delivery). Made from 100 per cent lambs' wool, it's very tactile like much of her collection.

FOR YOUNG AND OWL: Donna Wilson's Owl Cushion

For more owl-related goods, see the lovely round-up created by Apartment Therapy earlier this month.

Dublin's new tasty pin-up

Dublin's much-loved Cake Café not only serves up baked goods but also has an array of sweet city-inspired designs. The latest item on the menu is this delicious apron cleverly titled Baile Átha Bia. Designed by Pony, it features some of the capital's gastronomic street names, such as Marrowbone Lane, Pudding Row, Cow Parlour and Lime Street, and famous landmarks. Just €12.95, the screen-printed pinny is available in two colour-ways.

BAKE-OFF: It's difficult to choose between the two colour-ways.
Photo: The Cake Café

Other design delights on The Cake Café specials board include this Map of Dublin Tea Towel which seems too pretty to use. I would like to frame this to add to my collection of Dublin-related art and design. At just €6.75 and made from organic cotton, it's the perfect Kris Kindle present / stocking filler.

DUBLIN DISHED UP: This tea cloth features landmarks ranging from the Pigeon House to the Old Guinness Windmill.
Photo: The Cake Café

See a very inventive use of this tea towel on The Cake Café's blog, here.

There's also some rockin' crockery in the beautiful form of this Bone China Plate (€16), a contemporary Dublin take on the Willow Pattern that has featured on plates, mugs and egg cups across Ireland and abroad for manys the year. It's based on a story of star-crossed lovers Bin-Bin and Yo-Yo by Mark O'Halloran (he wrote Adam and Paul, among others), the text of which accompanies the plate.

SERVING UP A STORY: The Bone China Plate shows Dublin landmarks featured in Mark O'Halloran's love story Photo: The Cake Café

These treats are available by telephoning The Cake Café on (01) 478 9394 or, even better, calling in to the eco-sensitive Daintree Building and enjoying a cup of their excellent coffee and choosing some nom nom nom.

http://www.thecakecafe.ie/homepage.html
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