Swedish retailer Ikea was the most anticipated retail opening of recent times (the shop is located on Airport Road West, just outside Belfast), but the New Year brings more new specialist shops and although not on the same scale, these smaller gems offer many a good find.
EDEN HOME AND GARDEN(www.edenhomeandgarden.ie) is at 1-4 Temple Grove, Temple Road in Blackrock, Co Dublin. It was opened last last year by Michael Grehan (formerly of Dali's restaurant) and Cormac Woods (ex-Pia Bang Home). They are selling furniture, objects for the garden and small gift items. It's a big space that has been purposefully left a little raw (with an exposed ceiling, for example) which gives it the feeling of a New York loft. Check out the big, comfortable sofas and wonderful big, faded wood display cases.
BACARA HOME(www.bacara.ie) is at 61 Glasthule Road, Sandycove, Co Dublin. What makes this shop, owned by Pamela Rooney, stand out is one-off pieces she has sourced from Europe. It's unlikely that what you see here will be found anywhere else. The style is ornate Bohemian, so don't go there if your preference is for straight-line minimalism. Do visit if you want lighting or mirrors with a bit of soul.
MOBILIA(www.mobilia.ie) is not about cutting-edge design, although it does have plenty of very cool things. Owner Sharon Gernon offers affordable basics. This is furniture that works, has a certain style and doesn't cost the earth. Kitchen counter stools are often hard to find, but this is a good place to get them. The shop has just re-located from Stephen's Street to larger, more prominent premises on South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2.
BO CONCEPT(www.boconcept.com), the Danish company, has opened a large new store in Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford, Co Dublin, in conjunction with Barry Rochford of Living furniture. It offers a soft, modern style - nothing too harsh. Prices are reasonable. Sofas are some of the shop's best offerings, but check out the shelving units, too.
VALOEARTH(www.valoearth.ie), a new shop in the White Swan Business Centre, off the South Circular Road, Dublin 8, is in the Scandinavian vein - the founder, Johanna Harmala, comes from Finland. She has gathered furniture sourced in Asia that uses exotic materials and elements inspired by nature, such as lightshades made from silk cocoons. This is more a showroom than shop, and is open only by appointment. Visit the website first to see if it is to your taste.
SELECT INTERIORSThe popularity of Art Deco furniture continues to grow, and the latest shop to incorporate this style is Select Interiors (formerly Jones Antiques) in Francis Street, Dublin 8, where the owners have begun to mix some 1930s reproductions with their existing stock of 18th- and 19th-century antiques.
ENVIRONMENT FURNITURE(www.environmentfurniture.com) has just opened a shop in CHQ at the IFSC in Dublin 1. This is the Californian company's first store outside the US and a second will open in Carrick-on-Suir later this year. As the name suggests, the furniture is made from reclaimed Peropa hardwood, mostly taken from old industrial buildings in Brazil. Other pieces are made from mahogany that has been responsibly harvested. The style is quite new-age Californian in style - big, chunky furniture that is rough around the edges. Nothing is too precious, and shapes are simple enough to sit with slicker modern furniture. Arriving later this year are sofas made from the canvas covers of trucks. This shop is beside the new Meadows & Byrne shop in CHQ, which is also worth a visit.