This issue we are embracing the warmer weather with our summer special! Summer is all about spending time with friends and family in our outdoor spaces, which is why we have got you covered for all of your outdoor dining, living and cooking needs. We bring you lots of outdoor furniture options, from dining tables and chairs to loungers, swing chairs and daybeds; you will be dining and relaxing alfresco all summer! For the full summer experience, there’s nothing quite like lighting the barbecue and cooking outdoors, and we have lots of options, from portable to more permanent fixtures, and even those you can take with you on a day to the beach! Once you have all your furniture in place it’s time to add some atmospheric additions to make it warm and cosy to enjoy on those nice summer evenings. We aren’t always too lucky with the weather here in Ireland, so we look at eight simple ways to bring summer indoors for those ‘Irish summer’ days, helping us enjoy the season when we aren’t outside.
Our readers’ homes this issue take us to Ciara and Kevin’s semi-detached house in Belfast that is light, bright and full of sunshine; then we visit Margaret in Dublin who, after downsizing, restored and renovated the beautiful home that she grew up in; and Aoife and John’s cottage in the Wicklow Mountains provides them with the perfect escape from the city. In Blackrock, Ciara and Ken show us their stunning new kitchen extension, a bespoke design by Shalford Interiors that is exactly what they wanted.
On to our issue regulars, our travel pages take us camping in some of Europe’s top camping destinations, and closer to home we are exploring the past-time of coastal swimming, and some lovely spots around Ireland that lend themselves to it. If you are looking for delicious recipes to try on the barbecue, we have five to share from Belfast’s Cast & Crew and our gardening expert, Deirdre Prince shows us how to create the perfect hanging baskets.
If you have a home, or know someone who has a home, that you would like to see featured in the magazine, contact editorial on 028 9147 3979 or email editorial@ihil.net
