Four fab ideas to brighten up our lives and living spaces this spring

Home Editor Eve Kelliher highlights design dates for our diary and fun additions for our life and living space

Top left, Woodie's is encouraging budding gardeners this season, top, centre, Tracey Jeffery with her botanical zero-alochol gin; right, interior designer Celene Collins and, below, centre, engineer Kieran McCarthy will host free event in Cork on Thursday, and below left, Dr Clare Kiely.

Confidence is key to creating a living space you love — and a work zone that’s functional as well as fabulous.

That’s the message Cork interior designer Celene Collins is keen to pass on to everyone she advises.

Celene will be familiar to eagle-eyed TV viewers, following her appearance last year on RTÉ’s Room to Improve alongside architect Dermot Bannon and the late Julian Benson.

She has built a reputation for transforming both residential and commercial spaces through thoughtful, experience-led design and has just opened a new studio in The Fifth Quarter (formerly Paul Street Shopping Centre). “It marks an exciting chapter for me, not only as a creative base for my own growing portfolio, but also as a hub in the city for businesses wanting support in reimagining their spaces,” says Celene.

The designer’s work during her 20 years in the industry has spanned high-end private homes, boutique hotels, cafés, restaurants, and workplaces.

Celene Collins.

To celebrate her recent relocation, Celene is inviting homeowners, renovators, and design enthusiasts to a panel discussion focused on planning a successful home build or renovation. “This event is about giving people real, practical guidance before they start a project,” she says. 

“So often, the biggest challenges come from decisions made too late or without the right advice. I want people to feel more confident, more informed, and ultimately more excited about creating a space that truly works for them.”

Joining the conversation at this free event is building engineer and Property & Home columnist Kieran McCarthy.

Kieran McCarthy.

Kieran, founder of KMC Homes and presenter of RTÉ’s Heat My Home, together with Celene, will share practical insights on everything from budgeting and early-stage planning to the design and construction decisions that can ultimately make or break a project.

Celene Collins.

Whether you’re renovating, retrofitting or simply want to perk up your property, it’s a conversation that’s bound to pique your interest. It takes place from 5.30pm-7pm on Thursday, April 16, at The Fifth Quarter. The event is free to attend with optional donations on the evening to Pieta House. Registration is required; see Celenecollinsstudiolaunch.eventbrite.com.

Plant power

Did you know plants have superpowers — think about the role they play in supplying food, boosting our health and supporting pollinators do their work, as well as filling our lives with colour and beauty.

That’s the message behind Woodie’s plant-a-pot competition, as it calls on families and schools to help it spark a love of gardening in young minds.

Woodie’s Budding Gardeners campaign encourages children to explore all the fun, wonders, and power of nature while discovering the important role plants play in our world. You don’t even have to have a garden to enter — register at Woodies.ie to discover more about plants’ superpowers.

Whether it’s a fun classroom project with recycled planted pots, an old pot reimagined at home, or a one-of-a-kind creation, the possibilities are endless. The winner receives a cash prize of €1,000, while five runners-up get a €500 Woodie’s gift card.

Gardening pro Brian Burke, who returns as judge for the sixth year, says the website offers plenty of resources for “learning and growing”: “ I’m looking out for projects that harness all the power of nature and, most importantly, show that loads of fun was had by everyone along the way.”

See Woodies.ie.

Botanical brew

Botanicals are flavour of the month even if you don’t have green fingers. Hand-foraged sea aster from the shores of Strangford Lough in Co Down is the hero ingredient in a new craft-distilled, zero-alcohol spirit.

Tracey and Joe Jeffery, who created the new artisan gin, live in an 18th-century cottage in Killinchy on the shores of the lough and have been involved in hospitality for several years with the successful Tracey’s Farmhouse Kitchen business. “Visitors come to make and taste traditional Irish breads and local artisan produce, and they can also take part in paddle-boarding and kayaking on the lough,” says Tracey.

Tracey and Joe Jeffery.

“We’ve been harvesting sea vegetables for many years for our bakery. It’s something we’ve been considering for years and fits in with our longstanding focus on preserving and protecting the precious local environment of the lough and its environs.

“Creating an artisan gin using the abundant sea vegetables from the lough is, in many ways, a natural development for us.”

Strangford Zero Gin.

Juniper adds structure, citrus brings brightness, and sea aster adds a gentle, mineral depth. “Our new spirit uses many of the traditional ingredients for flavour, including juniper berries,” says Tracey. “What’s different is the use of sea aster, which we harvest from the shoreline in the summer months and then freeze until it is needed.”

Sea aster thrives in the salty marshes and shorelines of Strangford Lough, which is a special area of conservation.

It grows particularly well around areas like Reagh Island. “Sea aster gives a salty-sweet flavour, and it is rich in antioxidants and A, C, and D vitamins as well as minerals such as iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iodine,” says Tracey. Strangford Zero Gin, €30.95, is not only alcohol-free but also contains no artificial colourings, flavourings or chemical additives.

For more details, see Spiritofstrangfordlough.com.

Sun savvy

More spring sunshine means more focus on skin protection.

Not that we’re not all about the SPF50 all year round, right? Moving from indoor heating to outdoors can compromise the skin barrier and lead to dryness, sensitivity, and flare-ups across all skin types, says dermatologist Dr Clare Kiely.

Dr Clare Kiely.

Dr Kiely, from Co Mayo, created The Skin Diary’s Age Defence Moisturising Day Cream (€110) and the multi-award-winning Night Repair Therapy Cream (€150), which offer targeted year-round support to all ages and even the most sensitive skin.

By day, the Age Defence Moisturising Day Cream helps protect against UV exposure and environmental stress while delivering lightweight, lasting hydration.

By night, the Night Repair Therapy Cream supports skin repair and collagen renewal using a gentler retinyl ester system, making it suitable when skin is more reactive.

Drawing on years of dermatology experience, Dr Kiely says sunscreen should “never be skipped”, adding: “UV rays are present all year round and continue to contribute to skin ageing and barrier damage, even in colder months ... applied every morning, it helps protect skin from ongoing UV exposure while also delivering hydration and comfort, supporting healthier-looking skin.”

The Skin Diary products are available at select clinics and at Theskindiary.com; Instagram: @theskindiary.