Irish Designers to stay home with

Dream domestic design? Look no further than native talent, says Valerie Shanley

60s designs by Orla Kiely

Kenneth Turner home fragrance candles

Helen McAlinden designs fro Foxford Woollen

Rachel Allen's homeware collection

Candles from the John Rocha collection

Bed clothes from the Costello range for Dunnes Stores

Crystal Chandelier from Louise Kennedy

For '60s chicks

Some people have a way of making '60s and '70s colour and patterns seem fresh and exciting – while the rest of us just make them look, well, old. Dublin-born London-based designer Orla Kiely is one of those women who leads by example – her period house in London has an orange stair-runner, cast-iron fireplace painted in stripes and a 1950s lipstick-red kitchen cabinet. Check out her home collection of stem-print and geometric wallpapers, bed linens, towels, lamps, cushions and mugs. Just don't overdo it. The aim is to create a '60s Chelsea pad a la Mick and Marianne, not a dodgy bedsit on the NCR in serious need, as the estate agents say "of some modernisation". If unsure, maybe safer to stick to one of her trademark handbags and just drape that over a chair instead.

For mad men (and women)

The key accoutrement here is a cute apron to release your inner Betty Draper, a la Mad Men. Twenty-first century businesswoman, chef, food writer and champion of the farmers' market Clodagh McKenna has added another string to her bow – the re-invention of the humble pinny with her 'Love Aprons' collection. She was inspired she says by the 1950s, and hopes her aprons will bring "a bit of glamour back into the kitchen so you can effortlessly go from prepping and chopping to a stylish dinner party serving in no time". Just like Bets.

For fragrant fashionistas

Kenneth Turner from Bangor, Co Down, is a man renowned for his un-common scents. His signature home fragrance, Original, may not bear a very original name, but among its fans is Prince Charles, as well as designers such as Donatella Versace and Giorgio Armani. Original was apparently inspired by the floral smells Turner inhaled when out walking his dogs. It's referred to as 'the Chanel No 5 of the home fragrance market'. Originally trained in horticulture at Greenmount Horticultural College, Turner moved to England and worked as a flower seller in an Oxford market. But by the early '70s, he had opened his first retail shop in Mayfair and received the royal seal of approval for some very posh pongs. And while the idea of setting alight something you've just paid nearly €50 for seems wildly extravagant these days, a Ken Turner candle is probably the only way to get rid of that smell of damp corgi.

For rugged romantics

Take one traditional company and mix in a sophisticated designer. That's what Foxford Woollen Mills in Mayo did a decade ago when it enlisted Belfast-born Helen McAlinden to banish its fuddy-duddy image and replace it with a modern, international edge along the lines of Ralph Lauren and Nicole Farhi. Along with her fashion collection, McAlinden designs blankets, throws, rugs and soft furnishings in prints with both a masculine as well as feminine appeal. Fabrics for her ranges are designed and woven in Foxford – unusual in these times when so much material is imported from abroad and so many mills have closed here. Foxford is now a recognised lifestyle brand surviving well in a tough international market. McAlinden not only makes Irish wool very much on-trend again, she also enables recessionistas to fulfil that patriotic directive to buy Irish.

For Domestic Goddesses

Well there is only the one. We need only say the words: "Perfect"; "Divine"; "Lovely"; "Gorgeous" – and that's just what's inscribed on her kitchen mugs. It's the Tribune's cookery writer Rachel Allen who really is the complete domestic goddess, having come up with not only a homewares collection of pretty kitchen linens, delph and tableware, but also handy appliances to ensure your bread always rises and your sponges never fall flat. Napkin, apron and oven-glove fabrics are in colours as pretty as a cottage garden while the Delicate Vine tea set has a nostalgic appeal. All you need to complete that image of domestic bliss of course is an Aga with an Irish terrier snoozing in front of it. But, as they sign snootily in spoof cookery series Posh Nosh, "if you don't have an Aga... well..."

For Desperate Housewives

Paul Costello did the decent thing, way before the recession kicked in, when he concentrated his designer skills into creating a keenly priced homewares collection for Dunnes Stores. The man who once dressed the late Princess of Wales (though not literally) has come a long way since he angered Irish women by describing them as "ambitious mutton who wouldn't know style if it tottered up to them in 10-inch heels". He was joking, he sheepishly said afterwards. The Costello Spring collection for Dunnes will appeal to those on a budget and desperate for some new home style as it concentrates on accessories for nearly every room in the house. The 16-piece 'Soho' bone-china tea set costs just €50. Just the thing for a refreshing cuppa – after a hard day in those high heels.

For Stylish Stay At Homes

Well, you're going to be doing that most of the time now that eating out is off the menu. But even if it's just spag bol, you can turn that simple meal with friends into something special – so the designers say – by investing in some classy tableware. John Rocha is at your service here. The Designers at Debenhams site insists you can give your simple table a certain panache "with a unique fusion of Chinese and Celtic culture". No, they don't mean a takeaway with a bottle of stout, but classy-looking mats and coasters in soft leather, and napkins in natural Irish linen. Colours are muted shades of plum or chocolate brown, the perfect complement when those flute wine glasses are filled with merlot (from Lidl, of course).

For Classy Dames

Her fashion client list ranges from Jo Malone and Kylie Minogue to Gwyneth Paltrow and Meryl Streep – and that should be good enough for you. Descriptions of Louise Kennedy's work invariably carry the adjectives 'understated', 'discreet' and 'elegant' and therefore it's inappropriate to refer to her Tipperary Crystal designs as mere 'homewares'. The elegant wine glasses – called 'stemware' by the way – are very much special occasion. There are also bowls, lamps and candlesticks. The big statement pieces are the art deco crystal chandeliers. But maybe the statement you should be thinking of is less about showing off, and more to do with the bank – the smaller crystal chandelier retails in Brown Thomas for €11,500. As for the price of the large one – if you need to ask you definitely can't afford it.

March 1, 2009