My House of Prints

Based in South West London these absolutely stunning artwork is created by My House of Print in their home studio.

This company offers beautiful personalised prints with thoughtful and creative hand crafted features. This new company is providing top quality service with a personal touch.

These amazing prints can be purchased through their website www.myhouseofprint.com and here is a small taste of what they offer....and they are STUNNING!!!

Personalised New Home Print

I would absolutely love to have the gorgeous print to welcome me to my new house next year and to mark the occasion. This personalised gift is £32 and marks a memory forever. A great gift for family and friends - hint hint to mine LOL!! 

Box Frame Animal Prints

I think that these prints are just stunning and would make a child’s bedroom or nursery so stylish!! These prints come in a Zebra, Elephant, Tiger or Giraffe (along with their party hats) for £34. And at the moment there a special offer for 3 prints for £99 – which is especially great because it is so hard to just pick one print because they are all stunning. This is a gift that your child or family member will cherish for life.

Ps. I don’t have a baby, but I would still put these in my house as I think they are amazing pieces of funky artwork!! Not just for kids! 

Make sure you look out for My House of Prints on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to see more shots of their amazing work!!

Chic & Cheerful Review: Olivia Rose Ireland

If you follow my Facebook page or Instagram you may have seen last weekend that I received two absolutely gorgeous candles by a new brand called ‘Olivia Rose Ireland’.

These handmade candles smell amazing, I got ‘Midsummer’s Night’ and ‘Blackberry Sage’ – I can’t decide which one I love more, the warm musk of Midsummer’s Night or the sweetness of Blackberry Sage.  They are handmade in Ireland with all natural products.

I met Eddie the creator of Olivia Rose Ireland last weekend and he told me all about the background story of how the brand came about. Basically he was sent on a shopping trip by his wife to pick up a candle in town and when he found the candle seen that it was €30 he called her to ask if this was a mistake which he was told it was not. He decided to he wasn’t spending that kind of money on a candle, he would make his own!! And thankfully he did as they are really special!!  

There is a range of sizes available at very reasonable prices. The sizes are:

4.5oz (30-35 hours burning) €8

5.5oz (35-40 hours burning) €10

7oz (45-48 hours burning) €12

They have great burning on them and the scent travels so well throughout the house – I can smell it from the second I walk in the front door. Even unlit the candles give away a beautiful subtle scent.

Fragrances Available:

-          Pink Sugar

-          White Tea & Ginger

-          Midsummer’s Night

-          Vanilla Spice

-          Baby Cuddles

-          Blackberry Sage

-          Sea Breeze

-          Ylang Ylang

-          Strawberries & Cream

Something to please everyone!

 If you are interested in picking up a candle of your own you can purchase through Olivia Rose’s Facebook page, Top to Toe on Aughrim Street in Dublin 7, Allied Home Interiors in Finglas in Dublin 11 and Olivia Rose will also have a stall in Red Stables Market in St. Anne’s Park in Dublin 3 soon so keep an eye out on their Facebook page for more details.

I couldn’t recommend these more, they are my absolute favourite candles at the moment and I cannot wait to try out their new scent ‘Coconut & Lime’ when it is released. 

D.I.Y Corner: Simple & Easy Furniture Revamp

It is so easy to breathe new life into your home by simply painting your furniture. 
This is really on trend on the moment and for good reason, it is so simple and easy to do – if I can do it anyone can!! So many shops are now stocking various brands of chalk paint or egg shell finish which can be used for a revamp project. For the price of a small tin of paint you can have a brand new piece of furniture and it leaves your room feeling fresh and new.

IKEA Bedroom Furniture Lightened & Brightened

I had the full range of ‘Edland’ IKEA furniture in my bedroom and although I loved the original colour after a few years I felt that it was a bit dark in my small bedroom and I really wanted a change. I decided to use Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in ‘Paris Grey’ and finished off with a light coat of Annie Sloan light wax. I love working with Annie Sloan Paint, it’s beautifully fluid and for a messy painter like me it is perfect as it easily wipes away if you paint anything you weren’t meant to (like the floors, tiles or even your hair if you are like me!). This paint really transformed my furniture and in turn brightened and lightened my bedroom.

Giving Life To An Old Rocking Chair

I purchased this rocking chair on Adverts.ie with the purpose of making a D.I.Y project of it. I decided to step outside my comfort zone colour scheme wise and go with this beautiful lilac shade of Annie Sloan paint in ‘Emile’ and I then finished it off with Annie Sloan light wax. I absolutely loved this piece when it was complete, I felt that it was a beautiful statement piece and really revamped and modernized an unloved piece of furniture.

Revamping An Old Family Dresser

This dresser was originally pine and was painted over in cheap cream paint by my mam a few years ago. This did the job for a little while in revamping the original pine which had become outdated. We decided to go with Farrow & Ball eggshell finish paint in ‘Pigeon’ for a new look. This was my first time to work with Farrow & Ball paint and I found it very different to the usual chalk paint i use as I am quite a messy painter and this is quite sticky in texture and hard to remove from other surfaces if you splash or spill any by accident - which I do a lot. I love the selection of colours Farrow & Ball have available, there is so much variety. I am a huge fan of Farrow & Ball and it is my dream to paint my entire house in their paint!!!

Dining Chair Made New

I painted this chair featured in the picture below for a friend along with her dining table and other chairs last Summer. She felt that her kitchen needed a bit of a face lift and wanted to go with Annie Sloan chalk paint in ‘Versailles’. I loved how it turn out, it had a lovely shabby chic feel to it as we decided to go without a wax finish and left it with the famous Annie Sloan soft chalky finish. 

So that's my little attempt at D.I.Y, it is so easily done and if I can do it anyone can!! 

Don't be afraid, get your paint brush out and just go for it!! 

Elaine Kellegher Photography & Design

Elaine Kellegher Photography & Design

I came across Elaine Kellegher Photography & Design's website through Facebook recently and I have to say I am just blown away by her gorgeous photography & selection of prints available on the site.

Elaine has a large variety of prints available on her page and different categories including General Wall Art, Dublin Series, Irish Series, New Home Series and Father Ted Series.  I think that these prints would make fantastic gifts for family and friend or even a treat for yourself.

As there are so many fabulous designs available on the site and I thought that I would share my favourite piece of each category with you all.

These prints can be found on Elaine's website:

http://ekphotographydesign.com 

and also on etsy.com under the same name.

All details of pricing and P&P can be found on the links beside each print which will bring you to Elaine’s website.

General Wall Art Prints: 

http://bit.ly/ccekwallart  

“Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Taken”

This is probably my favourite piece from Elaine’s entire collection as it is one of my favourite quotes by the great Oscar Wilde. A great self motivation! 

Dublin Series Prints:

http://bit.ly/ccekdubprints 

'Poolbeg Chimneys'

The famous Poolbeg Chimneys beautifully captured in block colour has to be my favourite piece from Elaine’s Dublin series. I think that the colours used are beautiful and it is so simple yet gorgeous!

Irish Location Prints: 

http://bit.ly/ccekirishprints 

'Cork City' 

For the Cork Rebels a feisty print which would give pride in any room. There are a variety of towns and counties available in the Irish Location series, this is just one example.

New Home Print: 

http://bit.ly/cceknewhome 

“Welcome Home Deer”

This print can be customized for each new home owner with their town or county. I love the wacky concept and I think it adds great fun to a room.

Father Ted Prints: 

http://bit.ly/ekfrtedfb

“That Money Was Just”

A great piece of fun and Irish comedy to welcome into your home from Elaine’s Father Ted series. There a several pieces available from this new collection which can be found on Elaine’s website or on Etsy.com

Elaine also has a range of prints available including custom prints, cards for all occasions and so much more. I would highly recommend that you check out her page as there are some really beautiful prints there. 

https://www.facebook.com/ekphotographydesign?fref=ts

Lamp World:

A Chic & Cheerful Promotion

I first came across Lamp World through Facebook and I am so glad that I found their page as their lighting collection is just amazing.  They have a large variety of lighting available for all tastes – modern pieces, traditional, crystal and so much more.

Lamp World is based in Cork, but they have a brilliant website with so many pieces available and have free shipping across Europe.

And something which is even better…..Lamp World is giving all Chic & Cheerful reader who purchase any of their lighting a special promotion. At point of purchase you can type in the voucher code ‘Chic & Cheerful’ to avail of a 5% discount!!

It would take me forever to talk about all the pieces I love, so I decided to pick one from each category to talk about.

Floor Lamps

This was probably the hardest category to pick just one lamp from but I eventually picked a favourite and it’s the ‘Trento Floor Lamp’. This is a stunning, modern tripod lamp which retails from €333.33. This is such a statement piece and would make any room fabulous.

Crystal Lighting

I just think that there is nothing as glamourous as a crystal light. They are luxurious and create beautiful lighting in a room. My favourite crystal light from Lamp World is the ‘Bari Pendant Light’. This is a beautiful modern piece, which I would personally love to have hanging over my dining room table – a real talking piece of glamour. This piece retails at €200.00.

Pendent Lights

I am obsessed with pendent lighting especially modern, industrial lights like my favourite one from the store which is the ‘Latio Pendant Lamp’ which retails from €233.70. I think pendant lights like these look amazing grouped together like in the picture below, I would love to have three pendant lights such as these over my island in my kitchen – The Dream!!

Ceiling Lights

My top choice ceiling light had to be the ‘Capri Ceiling Light’. I love the idea of having a shade over a crystal light, I think it’s really stylish and understated. I would love this is my sitting room; I think that it would create really beautiful dimmed lighting which would be so relaxing and cosy. This retails at €526.44

Wall Lights

This is really special the ‘Arctica Wall Lighting’ is a crystal wall light which just screams glamour! I think that this would give amazing light and shade into a room and would be especially nice in a bedroom. This light retails at €158.67.

Table Lamps

It’s another tripod lamp….I love them! This beautiful lamp is a modern piece which looks simply stunning with the contrast of black and gold. Retailing at €247.23.

Downlights & Spotlights

This light stood out to me as it is not something I had seen before and I thought that it was really different. It’s the ‘Antic II Spotlight’ which is an almost antique style down lighters, I think it’s a great way of adding a modern style of lighting to an antique style room. This light retails at €23.37.

LED Lights

I thought that this light was a great statement piece which was really modern yet simple. It is the ‘Oslo 5 Pendant Lamp’ a five piece LED pendant light which retails at €511.68. Just like the picture below, I think that these look amazing over a kitchen island.

But that’s just my opinion make sure you go onto www.lampworld.ie to put together your own wish list of lighting, there are so many pieces to choose from.

And don’t forget to use the Chic & Cheerful voucher promotion code – ‘chic & cheerful’. 

Chic & Cheerful

Hi Everyone!!

Welcome to my blog Chic & Cheerful. 

I have had my Facebook page up and running for a little while now, but I have finally bitten the bullet and begun my blog. I’m really nervous to start and I hope that you all like it!!

For my first official blog post I wanted to explain to you all what my blog is all about.

The idea of this page came from my obsession with interior design and the journey of building my first home which I am now going through with my other half.

Around three years ago myself and my boyfriend were blessed with the opportunity to build our first home together. This process has been lengthy and at times very stressful. We found this hard as we didn’t know anyone else who built a house before, all our family and friends bought their home and building is so different and more complicated than that. I tried my best to research online and find all the information I needed, but even this was a tough task. I thought to myself “I wish there was forum I could turn to and ask for help”. And that I what I would like to be able to do for someone else with Chic & Cheerful.

At the moment we are still going through the process of the build, we have planning permission, we have our builder, but still no house….but we will get there!! We have learned so much at this point, done lots of research and gotten lots of tips I would like to share with others in the same boat as me.

So I would like Chic & Cheerful to be a forum to help other building or buying their first home, as well as a place to share interior design ideas, purchases and DIY projects.

I really hope you all enjoy it!!

Amy of Chic & Cheerful