Raise a glass to Myra

Shoparound: Whether it's sandblasted glass table tops, glass blocks for your shower or custom-made mirrors you're after, Myra Glass on Clanbrassil Street, Dublin 8 has all the answers.

Having supplied builders, designers and architects with all their glass and mirror needs for 60 years, the company has noticed a marked increase in DIY homeowners snooping around its showrooms in the last five years.

People are coming in with magazine clippings, photos and even images surreptitiously taken in more expensive design stores by mobile phone and asking Myra to help them recreate the look, according to Joe Claffey.

And with the funky glass blocks so beloved of designers selling from €5.50 each, it's no surprise that home improvers looking to do it themselves are making their way to Myra Glass. Available in over a dozen colours and a number of textures, glass blocks are particularly popular for use in showers and stairwells at the moment, according to Joe.

"Fifteen years ago they were being pulled out of houses and you could have got them for free in a skip," he says. Aside from glass blocks, Myra has a mind-boggling array of glass colours and glass treatment techniques available. Sandblasted glass, which is very versatile and quite inexpensive can be used to create funky table tops (around €90 for a lamp table top).

Opal glass - opaque glass achieved by sandwiching two sheets of glass together with a film in between - is good to use in bathrooms and can look great as a frame for a mirror (a 30 inch opal glass-framed mirror costs €120). Satin glass, opaque from the manufacturing stage, is more expensive but can be more durable. It is being used in a lot of kitchens. Also coming back into fashion is stained glass, and the store has its own stained glass artist in house. Myra has hundreds of designs to choose from, but come in with a few ideas yourself - Myra will be happy to design it for you. Prices for stained glass start at around €200 per front door panel.

Myra Glass 01 4533321