Bargain Hunter: Strawberry mugs, hot barbecues and swish rugs

Strawberry mugs forever

Shop top Irish design at all 13 Kilkenny Shop (kilkennyshop.com) stores with names such as Orla Kiely, Stephen Pearce, Nicholas Mosse and Max Benjamin on sale and reduced by up to 50 per cent. A star buy is Stephen Pearce's classic serving dish, reduced 40 per cent from€39.95 now €23.97.

Also reduced are these strawberry season mugs by Shannonbridge Pottery, reduced from €34.95 to €20.97, for a set of four while stocks last. Shop online and get free delivery on orders over €40.

Cold, bare floors? RugArt’s got it covered

With RugArt (01-2690505; rugart.ie) opening a swish new showroom adjacent to Kenneth Hodgins at 1c, Birch Avenue, Stillorgan Industrial Park, Dublin 18, it looks like a second interiors hub is evolving across the road from Beacon South Quarter.

Pure is a new hand-tufted wool range that has just a 10-day lead time and comes in five standard sizes ranging from 60cm by 120cm, €190, to a 250cm by 350cm, €2,285. Some styles also come in a 230cm circular option, €1,380. To celebrate the move from Clonskeagh, RugArt is offering Irish Times readers who present today’s column 20 per cent off all Pure orders, ending May 10th.

If you’re going to revamp, do it in tile

To celebrate recently winning the Tile Association award for Best Independent Tile Retailer in the UK and Ireland, Tile Style (01-8555200; tilestyle.ie) in Ballymount is offering 25 per cent off Porcelanosa Old Natural, 33.6cm by 100cm, a textured wall tile that will suit both contemporary and rustic washrooms.

Normally €84.69 per square metre, it is currently on sale at €63.50 per sq m and can be viewed in the store’s new Porcelanosa showroom.

Make it a sizzler this summer

Based on the original 1952 kettle design, the Weber Master Touch charcoal barbecue is a classic. Once you cook your meal, the device can be used to build an outdoor fire to keep warm on these late spring evenings. Available in glossy black, red, grey and lime green, it normally costs €329.95.

Johnstown Garden Centre in Naas (045-879138; johnstowngardencentre.ie) is offering Irish Times readers who present today's column the chance to buy it for €296.95, a reduction of 10 per cent.

Trending . . . vacuuming for the lazy

Miele’s Scout RX1 is a robotic vacuum that promises to clean your home without you having to lift a finger. It can negotiate rug and door saddle height differences, has a gyro sensor to navigate difficult to access areas while an on-board digital camera scans the ceiling of the room to ensure no area is missed. Infrared sensors on the front scan ahead to avoid collisions with furniture and other obstacles. Three further sensors below the unit prevent the Scout RX1 from falling down stairs.

Priced at €599.99, it can also be programmed to start and finish at specific times meaning you can come home to a clean house. Buy at Miele (01-4610710; miele.ie) 2024, Broomhill, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24.

Three of the best . . . Inspired by nature

Celebrate the warming weather by investing in decorative items that pay homage to the natural world. This goldfinch melamine plate and cup is designed for children but should charm young at heart adults. A picnic must-have, the set costs about €14, ex delivery from UK-based Oak Room Shop (0044-1707-275175; oakroomshop.co.uk).

Add drama to a room with this octopus triptych, originally printed from a copperplate engraving made in 1826 by scientist Lord Bodner as part of a series studying creatures of the deep. It is available to buy unframed, about €1,580 or framed, about €4,600, ex delivery from US-based Natural Curiosities (001-323-9061083 naturalcuriosities.com) a site whose fans include decorators Kelly Hoppen and Nina Campbell. Etsy has some similar prints.

Elemental is an exhibition running at Enniskerry-based Galerie Lisette (086-8111745 galerielisette.com), Church Hill, run by mother and daughter team Aida and Lucina Lennon. It features the work of nature loving artists: the Greece-born, Wicklow-based ceramicist Magda Bethani, and photographer David Stephenson. The Twisted Branch bowl, 44cm in diameter, by Bethani costs €375; Stephenson's prints cost €100 for an A2 framed work.