Wish List: Cool coffeepots, clever kettles, and dinky door decor 

Eve Kelliher spies coffee and tea kits she wants Santa to seek out, and river-inspired paint

SET FOR LIFE

We just adore our coffee here at Wish List, so this gorgeous Le Creuset set complete with coffeepot brewed our interest when we spotted it. Anyone who grew up with this heritage stoneware in the kitchen will know the mantra: Le Creuset is for life. 

Meadows & Byrne has introduced a new colour line; scratch-resistant and easy to clean, the Bamboo collection is a true green and a nod towards current trends of eco-sensibility. Priced from €17, it’s available at Meadows & Byrne’s 13 stores and on www.meadowsandbyrne.com.

PUT THE KETTLE ON

The tide of festive fare is already surging into supermarket aisles and we just have to swim with it, I guess. It does sweep our thoughts towards gift ideas and one practical present for the tea drinker we all have in our life is of course a shiny new kettle. 

The Uccello, below, stands out because it was designed to help make life easier for anyone with reduced strength, mobility, dexterity or visibility. 

Its lightweight design, combined with the rotating cradle of the Uccello Kettle, means you only have to “tilt-to-pour”, eliminating any lifting, straining, or trying to balance and aim when pouring hot water — you can pour with just one finger, as the makers promise.

The kettle, €68.99, comes with a two-year warranty and when you purchase on the website, www.uccellodesigns.ie, you will also receive free delivery. 

The kettle holds 1.5 litres of water (that adds up to six cups of tea) and once you register your kettle on the website you will receive a 10% discount code for a future purchase on the website for any other products or another Uccello kettle. 

Some buyers even share this discount with a friend to purchase their own.

RIVER RUN

Green is a real interiors theme this year. Artist Lucy Mayes was, as she describes it, "mud parking" along London’s River Thames when she became fascinated by the eroded masonry lying on the riverbed. She picked up a river-washed red brick — affectionately known as a Thames spud — which crumbled at her touch, leaving her with a handful of red ochre, and Lucy’s passion for pigment was born. 

Her latest creation, Constable Green, evolved from pigments extracted from trees, plants and earthy compounds, and is the new seasonal paint shade from interior design house Neptune. It’s named in honour of master pastoral artist John Constable. 

See Neptune.com for Irish stockists.

NEW CHAPTER 

A book chronicling how a Munster community adapted, like the rest of the global population, to a new way of living during the Covid-19 lockdown has become a coffee-table classic.

‘Killarney Behind the Mask’ captures the experiences of men, women and children "whose lives were turned upside down from January to December 2020", according to its editor John O’Mahony.

It was written and published by photographer Marie Carroll O’Sullivan.

"Through my eyes, it was never a big project, more a labour of love," she says. The 364-page hardback is dedicated to Marie’s parents, Mary and the late Pat, and to the late Killarney Garda Paudie Twohig who, with his Garda wife Diane, contributed hugely to the book. 

The beneficiaries are the Kerry branch of the Irish Cancer Society and Pieta House-Nathan’s Walk, and the Covid-19 staff at University Hospital Kerry. The book, €35, designed by Sinead Collins of Design by Sinead and edited by John O’Mahony of O’Mahony Media, is available at Eason, Bricín, and Kerry Catering Supplies, Countess Shopping Centre, all Killarney, Carry Out Off Licences, Killarney, Carrig Road Service Station, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, Super Valu, Tralee, and online at thelittlememorygallery.com/shop/p/behindthemask-book.

OPEN DOOR

Wouldn’t this fab wreath, €4.20, look good on any festive front door this December? Søstrene Grene has just unveiled its Christmas 2022 array which features affordable items to transform your home into a wonderland. 

The Magic of Christmas collection includes candles, candleholders and decorations, as well as hobby items to make your own trinkets, and will launch in stores worldwide including George’s Street, Dublin 2, Dun Laoghaire, Cork, Limerick, Belfast, Newry and Bangor from October 27. See www.sostrenegrene.com.

WILD WAYS

Want to incorporate the Dulux Colour of the Year 2023 into your interiors without picking up a paintbrush? Check out how furniture maker DFS has incorporated the shade into some of its star pieces. 

The DFS Belair velvet three-seater sofa bed, €1,449, and velvet square-top button footstool, €419, both pictured above, come in Dulux Colour of the Year 2023 Wild Wonder. 

A velvet accent chair is also available in the complementary natural shade Dulux Manuka Honeybee, €619. You’ll find them online at www.dfs.ie from December 21.

BATHROOM SHELF

For the Bathroom Shelf this week our pick is Avène’s Cleanance Cleansing Gel, €14.99 — because it’s been repackaged into a lovely easy-squeezy tube and also because it promises to reduce excess sebum and unblock pores. It is part of Avène’s range of gentle and non-comedogenic products. 

Cork GP Dr Doireann O’Leary, Avène’s skincare ambassador, says: "Don’t pick or squeeze a spot, as tempting as it may be. 

"Finally, remember that sometimes we can do 'everything right' and can still have acne. Women with PCOS, for example, often suffer from very difficult acne due to high testosterone levels. Some medications like corticosteroids cause acne too. You can attend your GP or dermatologist for support and guidance in the management of your acne."

See www.avene.ie.

HOME TURF

Selecting a little something to send a loved one stranded on faraway shores for the festive season? Well, what about wafting the essence of ‘home turf’ to your buddy at the other end of the globe? 

The Home Moment, luxury homeware maker, has produced four different scents just in time for Christmas: Amber, exotic rose, and On the Vine. But it was the fourth, a candle simply called Turf, above, that made us Wish Listers sit up and take notice. 

The Home Discovery set is "aimed at enhancing the ambience of each room of your home with a focus on dressing’ your room with scent", we’re told. This set will be sold as four 180ml candles with a total burn-time of 120 hours, costing €69.95.

The Turf candle ‘is perfect for cosying up on the couch with a good book in your sitting room’, adds Deirdre Young, co-founder of The Home Moment. These candles are hand-poured using soy wax, and there’s a bespoke soundscape with each. The boxes are fully recyclable and compostable. For international shipping, orders need to be made by December 16 to guarantee delivery.