Lately has been all about my house and garden.
Yesterday I went to a rare and special plant fair which was held at Kilruddery House in county Wicklow. Now my knowledge of things horticultural could be writ large on a tiny leaf and although I was keen to find some out of the ordinary flowers my main aim was simply to find some pretty perennials to plug some of the gaps in my flower beds. I selected what to buy by a process akin to painting by numbers by picking one blue, one pink, and one yellow plant. The stall holders that I spoke to were all friendly and veritable founts of information about the stock they were selling. As I said I have an ocean-sized deficit in my gardening knowledge but I know enough to realize that the fair was plant nirvana. I discovered when I visited it yesterday that it’s an annual event which is always held in a garden of note. There is a website, if you would like to check it out click here.
I knew shortly after I moved into my new place last summer that I wanted to do some work to the house to make it function better (for me) by: adding more storage; upgrading the ancient as the ark electric storage heaters; and seeing if I could improve the flow by rejigging the layout. And the textured wallpaper has just got to go – visual of it above. So far I have done nothing except ponder what’s the best way forward which isn’t a great surprise because I am a master of the art of procrastination.
Photo credit: the logo is from the Simon Open Door website
However this weekend I moved the process on and I did that by booking an appointment with an architect via the Simon Open House day. Simon is an Irish charity which helps the homeless and for the past ten years they have organized an event where anyone can make an hour’s appointment with one of the participating architects for a fee of just fifty euro, all of which incidentally goes to the charity.
On Saturday I met with Stephen Musiol from Small Spaces at the Fumbally Exchange and with a mix of his suggestions, some of my ideas, plus advice from Patrick Mc Kenna from Wabi-Sabi Ltd the mist has lifted and I have a degree of clarity around what I will most likely do.
I am looking forward to the transformation.
Note: this year’s Open Door raised €67,000 and its website says: ‘If you are still interested in participating, please contact us at info@simonopendoor.ie and we will try to accommodate you with architects available to meet in the coming weeks’.
Just Add Attitude 
How exciting, can’t wait to hear and possibly see the before and after. I love your backyard and I know I would love your home.
Thank you so much. I will do a post on the transformation with some before and after shots. When I get it’s finished! As I said I am good at procrastination but would like to have everything done (or at least as much as my budget will allow) by the end of the year.
What a wonderful fundraising idea. Sounds like everything is starting to fall into place.
Hello Karen and yes everything is begining to slot into place. I think the Open Door event is a brilliant fund-raising idea because there is something in it for everyone.
Killruddery looks beautiful.
It is. 😉
It sounds like you have exciting times ahead of you. I really think that the open door event is terrific…everyone benefits.
Yes everyone benefits form the Open Door event, which makes it such a good and painless way to raise money for a good cause. I am energised just thinking about the different possibilities for my small space.
That is wonderful to focus on your garden and it looked like a really interesting event. I’m looking forward to seeing more pictures!
There were so many interesting plants at the fair, the only shame was that it was rainy and cold when I visited which didn’t encourage me to linger for long.
What a great fundraising initiative! So special!
I look forward to hearing more about your upcoming projects. 🙂
Hope everything is well.
F. Xx
The Open Door day is a super idea and win win for everyone. All is well and I hope it is with you too. B xx
What a fun project! It’s always fun to do work on your home. Since we live in an apartment, usually that amounts to just rearranging the furniture 😉 However, it sounds like you have a wonderful project and vision ahead of you and I look forward to hearing about it as you progress!
Thanks Heather, I am not planing on doing a huge amount but I am hopeful that what’s planned will make a huge difference to how the house works for me. 😉
Although inevitably a time-consuming (and not inexpensive) undertaking, renovations are exciting as they let you add a touch of yourself, of who you are to your place, so that it speaks more about you and who you are. Which is always a nice thing, I think. 😉
Good luck with this exciting project, dear B! 🙂
I agree Stefano, renovations are exciting and also usually expensive, even though you might not be doing a whole lot. And yes it is great to make a place more your own by putting a stamp on it that is in synch with, as you say, who you are – so I am very much looking forward to doing that.
Thanks for your good luck wishes. 😉
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