Rugs, tables and drinks cabinets for eclectic tastes on auction this week

Interior design – whether professional or amateur - is such a staple of 21st-century life that you would think it’s been around for centuries.

But New Yorker Elsie de Wolfe is considered to be one of the first interior decorators – a term used in the early 1900s to describe upper-class women with a penchant for furnishing and embellishing homes.

Another New Yorker, Dorothy Draper was deemed to be one of the first interior designers, when she started a business designing the interiors of high-profile hotels. Others followed, such as Florence Knoll from the famous Knoll furniture company, and more recently Irish-born, New-York based Clodagh Phipps known simply as Clodagh.

And, while interior design magazines prescribe new trends each year, experienced interior designers know that true taste isn’t limited to fashions.

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“When specifying furniture, the goal is to connect the design concept and overall feeling of the space with functionality, comfort and durability,” write Stephanie Travis and Catherine Anderson in their intriguing book, Interior Design is Not Decoration and Other Ideas (Laurence King Publishing).

Adam’s At Home online auction, which ends on Wednesday, June 11th, has a diverse range of furnishing from book cases, to tables, chairs, lamps and rugs, which should catch the eye of contemporary interior designers with an eclectic taste.

Two walnut bedside chests (€300-€400), a set of eight oak and elmwood Windsor-style kitchen chairs (€1,500-€2,000), a late 19th-century Victorian walnut centre table (€500-€800), and a mahogany and brass mounted pedestal drinks cabinet (€200-€300) are some of the interesting lots.

Two walnut bedside chests (€300-€400) from Adam's

Late 19th-century Victorian walnut centre table (€500-€800), at Adam's

A mahogany and brass mounted pedestal drinks cabinet (€200-€300), from Adam's

The At Home auction – which will be on view from Saturday, June 7th until Tuesday, June 10th, in Adam’s St Stephen’s Green showrooms - also has a good selection of rugs, runners, prayer mats and wall hangings. These include a modern kilim rug from Turkey (€500-€700); an embroidered wall hanging from Uzbekistan (€300-€500); and a Gabbeh wool rug from Iran (€400-€600). Gabbeh rugs are traditional deep-pile Persian rugs often made from hand-knotted wool.

a modern kilim rug from Turkey (€500-€700),Adam's

Two watercolours from the prominent botanical artist, Wendy Walsh (1915-2014), are also included in the auction. Walsh was born in Cumbria, England, but spent many years in Ireland with her husband John Walsh and their three children. There is a permanent exhibition of her work in Burtown House, Athy, Co Kildare as her daughter, the artist Lesley Fennell lives there. Wendy and John retired to the stable yard house at Burtown.

Bianchi 1928 car (€20,000-€40,000) RJ Keighery

The sale of classic cars, traps, carriages, motor memorabilia and signage at R J Keighery in Waterford city on Monday, June 16th will no doubt draw interest from classic and vintage car enthusiasts.

“These cars were left to a woman in her father’s will and have been sitting in a shed in east Waterford for many years,” says Thomas Keighery.

Keighery selects a rare Ford Model A Touring from 1912 (€20,000-€40,000), and a Bianchi 1928 car (€20,000-€40,000) imported into Ireland years ago, among the pièces de résistance. He tells me that the Model T Ford Touring cars were supplied with fore doors as standard, while the earlier models were open-front models without doors to enclose the front-seat passengers.

Ford Model A Touring from 1912 (€20,000-€40,000), at RJ Keighery

He adds that the Bianchi vintage car model S5 with timber spokes is reputed to be the only one of its kind in Ireland.

Finally, the summer months are ideal for taking on furniture restoration projects. The warmer days and long evenings make it easier to work out of doors or if inside, paint, varnish and glue smells can be reduced by opening windows and doors.

Pepie O’Sullivan and Nigel Barnes run beginners upholstery courses over two days from their home at Clooneenagh House in west Clare. Over a weekend, a novice restorer will learn how to dismantle and rebuild a uncomplicated chair frame and complete the upholstery.

“We can’t turn you into a skilled craftsman in one weekend, but we aim to give you enough building blocks and confidence to tackle your own antique restoration projects,” says O’Sullivan.

Participants can bring along their own piece of furniture to work on. “Good shabby and wobbly dining type chairs with upholstered seats or backs or open armchairs are good beginner projects,” says Barnes. Tools will be supplied as will all other materials and lunch. Cost €215 for two days. See oldchairs.ie for upcoming dates.

Antique furniture restorer George Williams at work

Antique furniture restorer, George Williams runs one-day courses in antique furniture care and restoration and staining and French polishing from his home in Kells, Co Meath. A former antiques dealer, Williams has a wealth of knowledge about furniture from different eras and how best to maintain and repair them. He also runs courses in restoring and maintaining 18th- and 19th-century sash windows. See georgian-antiques.com

Adams.ie; antiquesireland.ie; oldchairs.ie; georgian-antiques.com