Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » dublin design guide

today’s city guide comes from nathalie of design undercover. based in dublin, i can think of no one more fit to create the d*s dublin design guide than an honest-to-goodness local design fan. nathalie covers all sorts of fantastic design shops and local designer spots, as well as a great section on dublin art. i hope you’ll enjoy her guide as much as i did- click here for the full post or just click “read more” below. [thanks, nathalie!]

Dublin is one of Europe’s most down-to-earth, young & friendly cities. It is a fantastic place to discover as it is both accessible and incredible easy to get around by foot. In nearly 8 years that I have been living here I have seen it changing incredibly. It has retained his fun and friendly factor and has gained a very cosmopolitan personality which can be seen by the very diverse international eateries and is greatly manifested in the arts People are drawn here for its many historic museums, first class attractions, Georgian architecture and of course, the well known Irish “craic” that will without a doubt make you hop from one pub to another and experience one of the main social activity of the city, hoping you won’t feel to hangover to discover the design & art sides of it!

Dublin City Centre

Camden Street:

Inreda
Small but mighty shop that stock all the latest in Scandinavian & Italian furniture and home accessories.

The Daintree
For some really nice and unique paper and stationary, and at the end of the shop there is a door that connect to the lovely( still a kept secret in town) the Cake Cafe’, homemade scrumptious deserts and organic food served in cute vintage ceramics.

O’ Sullivans
The place to go when looking for any kinds of art supplies

Wexford Street

Décor
Furniture store with Asian & African pieces, and a place that regularly showcases the work of local artists.

Dijn Jewelry
Jewellery designer and maker Simon Phelan uses natural materials such as amber, pearl, turquoise and other stones from India, silver, gold and antique glass. He sources his raw materials from auctions and car boot sales, and in America and India.

George Street

Dunnes Home
Dunnes Home, part of the Irish clothes, food and home furnishings store chain called Dunnes Stores, this space is interesting as dedicated exclusively to home accessories and furniture at very affordable prices.

Wild Child Originals
Vintage clothes turned vintage furniture shop with pieces from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Tthe owners travel the world to find really unique pieces.

Mobilia
Modern Scandinavian and Italian furniture, we’re talking Kartell material and some home accessories.

Exchequer Street

Sabotage (14 Exchequer Street)
Mainly cool fashion but also a small collection of cute& quirky home accessories can be found.

Suffolk Street

Avoca
This store is an Irish institution and a must visit for everyone. Avoca is a family business that started 280 years ago, there are 7 stores in Ireland and one in Maryland in the USA. Avoca stock thousands of product: ceramics, glass, books, homewares, clothes, throws, rugs, kidswear, toys, jewelries and gourmet food.In a nutshell Avoca is a one stop shop for making a home beautiful and inspiring and the perfect place to buy something that will fit in your suitcase ! To me Avoca is the closest I get to the American Anthropologie experience.

Habitat
Contemporary design led furniture and accessories for the home. Shop motto: inspirational products at accessible prices. Habitat Ireland is an independent Irish franchise so in addition to stocking the exclusive UK Habitat range, they also source products from both Irish and international designers and often showcase work from up and coming Irish designers.

20th Century Furniture: (First Floor inside Habitat)
A small corner of beautiful vintage furniture.

South King street

Stock (33 – 34 South King Street)
Lovely table ware, home accessories and kitchen supplies.

Chatam Street

Muji
A Japanese retail store that supplies health and beauty, houseware and stationary products with novel designs at reasonable prices.

Kitchen Compliments
All you need to bake that cake! Great place for all your kitchen supply needs.

Castle Market Street

Crown Jewels – The Bead Shop (12 Castle Market St. between George St. Market and Powerscourt Townhouse Centre)
This small shop is a treasure-trove of beads and buttons.

Nassau Street

Design Yard (48-49 Nassau Street)
An art Gallery and a shop at the same time, it regular displays the work of new Irish artists, it was founded to foster and promote the individual talents living in Ireland. Design Yard carries the work of more than 350 artists both emerging and established . It showcases Jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, metal work, glass and framed pieces.

Kilkenny shop
Where everything is exclusively made in Ireland, from clothes to chocolates to art, ceramics and jewelry and gifts; la crème de la crème of established Irish designers is here.

Gallery 29
Great and unique vintage poster collections

The Design Tower (Trinity Centre, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 01-6753867)
The Design Tower is a magnificent historic building, once a sugar refinery it is now home to professional artists, designers and craftspeople. You need to call in advance to check which studio is open to the public.

Temple Bar

Urban Outfitters
Their home accessory section is tiny compared to the U.S counterpart, but some interesting objects can be found from time to time.

Haus (Caws lane)
Vitra showroom and top of the line designer furniture and accessories, great window shopping.

Retrospect (Caws lane)
Cool vintage finds furniture and home accessories.

2 Cool Design
For the latest design trends, pretend to be a trade customer and steal all the latest news & trends on design. You will find the classic designer brands of Arabia, Littala, Hackman and the modern and innovative Snowcrash, Luhta-Home and many more!

Thomas Street

If Antiques are your thing then simply head to Thomas Street where you will be spoiled with choices. Also of note are:

Oxfam Home
Charity shop, well known for some great bargains, a wonderland of potential DIY project.

The Bad Art Gallery
Really beautiful space that regularly exhibit the work of both established and emerging Irish talents.

Touch-Wood (Friday and Saturdays from 10 to 6 or by appointment)
Their home is a shop, what you see you can buy, and while you browse around, the host will make you a good cup of coffee.

Off the beaten track, in the Suburbs:

A short Dart train ride away:

DunLaoghaoire

Originals (Convent Road)
For some really cute girly home accessories …and a four poster bed with not one, but 10 quilts.

Inside Out
Sells some really original cashmere rugs made in India and furniture made by international and local designers.

Meadows and Byrne
The smaller, Irish version of Pottery Barn.

Rua
Local Irish furniture designer that creates beautiful furniture and lighting.

Brian N Nolan
If you need a pattern and wallpaper fix, this is the place, they stock all the major wallpaper and fabric brands.

Blackrock

Nordic Living (main street)
For the latest in Danish and Scandinavian design.

KA International
For some elegance and sophisticated fabrics.

A short Luas ride away:

Sandyford: The Beacon South Quarter

BoConcept
Denmark’s most popular retail furniture

Kube Interiors
German design furniture and home accessories.

Roche Bobois
7,100 sq f of inspiration divided into hundreds of room sets, European style.

Rathgar

Affinity:
The owner of this shop travels extensively to find original products and the shop has a very wide range of them: home wares, furniture, lighting, books but also handbags and jewelery. Style and elegance is the common denominator of all the ranges.

Dublin Art

Local artists’ work can be seen in various Dublin art galleries. Specially the gallery located in Temple Bar Square often features work from students of the National Art College of Ireland however, the best place for me to see and talk to local artist is Merrion Square on a Sunday. Every Sunday The Merrion Square Art is held from 10:30AM to 18:30PM (Irish weather permitting). Almost 200 local artists sell their own work, they hang their paintings/prints on the railings on the sides of the square.

Make sure you are in Dublin at the weekend to browse the local markets:

The Dublin Markets:

The Book Fair- Every Saturday in Temple Bar Square from 10 to 5pm.

Designer Mart- ( Caw’s Lane ) Every Saturday from 10.30 to 5.30 where Dublin up and coming designers showcase their work from clothes to jewelry and art.

Castle Market/George St. Market Arcade, off S. Gt. Georges St., is a covered market featuring an ever-changing array of new and used goods from scented candles and Celtic greeting cards, to mobiles, hats, and tee-shirts.

Blackrock Market: 19A Main St., Blackrock (tel. 283-3522). (Sat-Sun afternoons), it is well worth getting a bus or the DART out to this southside suburb. Dealers offer antiques, crafts, books, hand-knits, etc. at more than 50 stalls

Temple Bar Market, Meeting House Square, Eustace & Sycamore Sts., in the heart of Temple Bar. This is an outdoor emporium of gourmet Irish goodies — farmhouse cheeses, smoked seafoods, baked goods, pates, chutneys, and organic vegetables and fruits, along with spontaneous street music. Weekends only.

Just in time! I’m so happy! I’m going to Dublin with my best friend from high school in less than 2 weeks and we will definitely be hitting a few of these places up! I don’t want to push my luck, but can anyone recommend any can’t-miss cafes or pubs in Dublin or near the Wicklow Mountains?

As a local I have to say that’s pretty comprehensive indeed…well done Nathalie!
Just 2 things to add – Murphy Sheehy on Castle Market is the best fabric shop in town and The Loft Market in Powerscourt Townhouse every weekend is a great place to catch up and coming designers

Grace,
it was a real pleasure working on this.

and
Thank you guys so much for all the nice comments ! it really means a lot . I m truly humbled for having had the opportunity to contribute to Design Sponge and putting together the guide was really great fun !

This is perfect! I’m studying abroad in Dublin next year for 9 months, and there’s no way I can be there that long without something cozy and aesthetic like home… this list is already bookmarked for reference! I especially like the idea of the Saturday design fairs, looks like my weekends are already planned!

Very informative guide Nathalie as a Dub living in New York I would like to add The Pen Corner, Dawson St,
Blarney Woolen Mills handy for trims on the opposite quay to Temple Bar{another area with interesting shops and gallaries} and if one has time taking a bus out to Enniskerry a lovely little village in Wicklow and visiting the Avoca shop there as part of Powerscourt House which has very nice gardens and coffee shop/restaurant.

Hi There,
I am wondering if anyone could help me. I am living and working in Vancouver Canada as a designer for a Canadian brand “Aritzia”. I would love to move to Dublin, but have no idea where to start looking for a job. I specialize in fashion graphics and specification sheets (although I can do about almost anything in the fashion design world and have worked in MANY different position).
If anyone could throw some local designer labels my way so I could start my research, it would be most appreciated!!
Thanks so much
Melissa

Great guide Natalie. Thanks for mentioning Daintree Paper on Camden street.I work there myself and the atmosphere around the area of Camden st is lovely with lots of small businesses and second hand shops, along with cafe’s like The Cake Cafe, Green 19, The Boulangerie, and all the fantastic bars – Solas, Anseo, The Village, Whelans. And there is also some great bargains to buy in Georges St Arcade, Om Diva is a treasure chest of new and vintage pieces in the arcade. And Simons Cafe is the place to sit and people watch while eating their famous carrot cake. The arcade has lots to offer. And if its markets you are interested in then there is a monthly market in Newmarket Square, just off Cork St, which takes place every last sunday and first sunday of each month. Apart from markets everyone who comes to Dublin must see the Guinness Store House on James st. It’s a must.

Thanks so much for including this must see design guide for Dublin! I’m from Cork and its so refreshing to feel that beautiful things aren’t as far away as I thought! Too often I while away happy hours lusting after items that seem impossible to source in Ireland, so thank you for this very valuable contribution. Now if we could only continue such a guide around the rest of Ireland……

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