The Best Alternative Valentine’s Gifts If You Prefer Interiors To Flowers
By Megan Burns
10th Feb 2018
10th Feb 2018
We all know February 14 is a minefield of clichés. Bouquets, silky lingerie, and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates are thrown at us from every angle, and it’s easy to give in to the rose-tinted marketing. However, if you want to give a gift that won’t wilt in a few days, get forgotten about at the bottom of a drawer, or worse, end up in landfill, here are a few Valentine’s ideas for the interiors lover in your life.
1. Wooing Someone Tile, €27.50, Storytiles
This decorative tile features a sweet scene between an adoring couple. Not matter how long ago your wooing days were, this is sure to raise a sentimental smile.
2. Mungo Murphy Seaweed Bag, €6, Irish Design Shop
Bath lover? Give them a seaweed soak. Collected from the Atlantic coast in Connemara, this dried seaweed promises a deep oily soak to soften stiff muscles. While they’re in there, maybe make the dinner/put the kids to bed/do the dishes (delete as appropriate), and they’ll love you even more.
3. Arran Street East Espresso cups, €30, Industry & Co
Perfect for coffee lovers, these beautiful handmade cups are sure to improve a morning caffeine ritual. They come in pairs, so your other half might even let you use one. Do go for pomegranate pink – it is Valentine’s Day after all.
4. Brass Candle Holder, €55, Elements of Action
If candlelit dinners need to feature more in your lives, team this candle holder with some Brookfield Farm beeswax taper candles and you’ll have no excuse.
5. Tanline boobs light pot, €65 at April And The Bear
February 14 definitely benefits from an injection of humour, and these irreverent pots are in no danger of being over-sentimental. They can also double as a silent message that you’ll still love them when it all (eventually) goes south.
6. A stay in Breac House, from €225 per night
Take a romantic trip without the stress-inducing Ryanair flight, and instead book a stay in this luxurious Donegal retreat. Every detail of the house has been crafted to the highest standards using Irish materials, providing some interiors inspiration as well as a holiday. Stunning views, seaweed baths, homemade breakfast delivered to your room and equipment for you to explore the landscape are all part of the deal, so all you have to think about is being completely loved up. Read more in the January/February 2018 issue of Image Interiors & Living.
7. Hearts A3 linoprint, €40, The Pear in Paper
More thoughtful than a cheesy card from the corner shop, this heart-filled print will leave your loved one in no doubt about how you feel. Linoprint designed and printed onto to 100 per cent recycled heavyweight card in Donegal, it hearts the environment too.
8. Lau vase, €12.95 each, Article
Article is always brimming with lovely items, but we’re quite drawn to these Lau vases at the moment. If you’re in Dublin, you can even pop into Penneys on Mary Street from February 12-14 to get some flowers to put into it, as Image Interiors & Living contributors The Crate will have a pop-up florist in the flagship store, selling single red stems from €3 and bouquets from €7. Now all you have to do is choose between the Valentine-esque red and pink, or moodier blue and grey. Whether you take your choice as an indicator of the state of your relationship, is up to you.
9. Hot Pink Blanket, €385, Ketzal Blankets
If you’re guilty of always hogging the duvet, make amends with this luxurious Alpaca blanket. A great excuse for snuggling up together, it’s incredibly soft, and its love-themed colours will make sure they’ll never forget it was a beautiful Valentine’s gift.
10. Seaweed wallpaper, around €220 per roll, House of Hackney
If you’re still itching to give flowers, step away from the showy roses and go for something a tad cooler. House of Hackney’s psychedelic rework of a William Morris print is a design fan’s dream, and you won’t even have to start picking petals off the floor after a few days.
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