Save or Splurge? We try two metal garden furniture sets
Outdoor tables and chairs don't have to be wooden, faux-wicker, or awkward to move.
Lightweight metal tables and chairs are perfect for Ireland's changeable weather, being easy to pick up and bring indoors when the heavens open.
SAVE
Ikea's Sundso practical foldable table and chairs are easy to arrange outdoors and have a slight retro style to suit any space. Available in a variety of colours, including off-white and 70s-style green to blend with the outdoors; table €40m chairs €30 each, Ikea.
SPLURGE
Bo Concept introduces a lovely light green to the Cancún outdoor range for summer 2025. Compact for space-strapped balconies and patios, the inclusion of seat and back cushions adds comfort for evening relaxation; dining chair with cushions, €339, café table, €479, Bo Concept.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I live on UK's best council estate – I wake up to the sound of cockerels & views of rolling hills, there's no ASBOs here
OPENING my front door I breathe in the smell of red and pink roses as I watch the sun rise over our woodland-side crescent. The only sound comes from the neighbour's chicken coop as I hear a rooster calling out cock-a-doodle-do. 10 Erica Crompton says that Parksite is the best council estate in Britain Credit: Supplied 10 Her gorgeous home costs her just £380 a month Credit: Erica Crompton 10 She says that a morning stroll is like a scene from The Waltons Credit: Erica Crompton It's like stepping into a scene from However, it is not a family homestead I live on but rather a I live on Parksite, in North Staffordshire's While naysaying locals will be quick to tarnish its name, they're just being snobs, if they didn't know it was a council estate they would be fighting for a set of keys themselves. Read More on Real Lives Why do people look down on council estate tenants like me, I'll never know - who doesn't want a peaceful home surrounded by countryside? With cheap rent? And friendly neighbours? I live at the top of a steep hill on a long private drive in my shared ownership bungalow and pay my way with a little journalism, and state benefits like Universal Credit and PIP. It only costs me £380 a month and I boast two gardens to the front and back, with blossom trees and flowers, lovingly cared for & nurtured by myself and my boyfriend, an aspiring Capability Brown. It's not just our gardens that are green, floral and verdant with the neighbours pruning their rose bushes most mornings. Most read in Fabulous There isn't a tower block in sight as Parksite has Keele - a small countryside University village - next door. And Scot Hay - another country village with a farm - to the other side. I feel incredibly lucky to live on Parksite and pinch myself most days to check I'm not just living in a dream. You'd never know I live in a council house thanks to how good it looks - I shopped in IKEA & an Amazon tip saved me cash Aside from Parksite's abundant nature, it is the residents that make the place. Far from teaming with chavs and ABSO-slapped teens you find friendly families and people have time to stop and say hello when they're taking a stroll. I've even put a tangerine and fuchsia egg chair outside my front door so I can greet passersby as I smoke one of my 40-a-day ciggies. There's a 2.5K-strong community of local Silverdale residents on Facebook, who help each other out with missing pets, free household items, and lost bank cards and smartphones. Far from getting mugged, on our council estate residents make it their mission to keep your valuables with you. Not long ago, local campaigners, academics and MPs also clubbed together to get a nearby stinking landfill closed down. They finally won, and it was closed last year. Today the air is more fragrant and the streets much cleaner here than when I lived in cities like Birmingham and London, too. The bins are always emptied on time (Hackney Council take note!) I've lived on several estates in my time, here in Staffordshire and all over London and none of them are a patch on Parksite. 10 Erica has a view of rolling hills from her back garden Credit: Erica Crompton 10 She boasts two gardens with rolling hills as her view and the sound of the neighbour's roosters Credit: Supplied 10 Compared to previous council properties Erica says she has way more space Credit: Supplied 10 The surrounding streets are leafy and green Credit: Erica Crompton In London, I lived in a shared, one-bedroom council flat on the Roman Road in Bethnal Green which I rented for £75 a week. I enjoyed the fish market and cheap winkles. But not the community. Once a car was blown-up on the estate at 2am. It was terrifying to wake up to a bang and flames lighting up the entire estate. Another time, while a student, I lived on one of the high rises on Shepherd's Bush Green. While it was lovely to be in central London, the flat always stank of weed and I'd often hear next door arguing. When I returned to Staffordshire to help care for my mother in 2010, I lived on the Highfields estate in Stafford for a year. It was cheap, but the one-bedroom flat had no flooring down and I found the grey pebbledash facade of my Cul de Sac really depressing. It's different here on the Parksite estate. Visitors always notice how quiet it is: "It's so peaceful here" They'll coo. What It's Really Like Growing Up On A Council Estate Fabulous reporter, Leanne Hall, recalls what it's like growing up in social housing. As someone who grew up in a block of flats on a council estate, there are many wild stories I could tell. From seeing a neighbour throw dog poo at the caretaker for asking them to mow their lawn (best believe they ended up on the Jeremy Kyle show later in life) to blazing rows over packages going missing, I've seen it all. While there were many times things kicked off, I really do believe most of the time it's because families living on council estates get to know each other so well, they forget they're neighbours and not family. Yes, things can go from zero to 100 quickly, but you know no matter what you can rely on your neighbour to borrow some milk or watch all of the kids playing outside. And if you ask me, it's much nicer being in a tight community where boundaries can get crossed than never even knowing your neighbour's name while living on a fancy street. Thanks to support from the local council, Aspire, I'm able to afford the rent and upkeep of the property. But the real difference from the pokey flats I once afforded is that it's the first time I've had my own garden, and my own drive. As I write this, the sun is rising over the council housing rooftops - all red-orange glow, and also rising over the green parkland and bushy trees of Silverdale. It's so peaceful. My favourite memories here include sitting outside when the sun's out on my secondhand sunlounger. I'll be in the back garden, surrounded by green and just soak it all up. I so enjoy all the forest, all the nature, all the woodland sounds like a sparrow or the breeze among the grasses and buttercups. The only other sound's the tiny waterfall in the pond we've built to the left, overlooked by a red, Japanese Acer tree and a big silver Buddha head I bought from TK Maxx some years ago. My boyfriend also bought a TV when he moved in but we tend to just watch the wildlife in the forest over the bank, from the bifold windows that frame our sitting room - squirrels, nuthatches, woodpeckers. We have a birdfeeder here and can sometimes hear an owl in the dead of night. I believe I'll be here until I retire now and - after decades of struggling with shambolic, overpriced rentals in inferior council flats and dilapidated terraces - I finally feel complete and at peace. 10 Erica can sleep peacefully as there are no noisy neighbours nearby Credit: Erica Crompton 10 She has created a sanctuary in her enormous back garden Credit: Erica Crompton 10 Erica says that her home is the perfect place to enjoy her 40 ciggies a day Credit: Supplied
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Save or Splurge? We try two metal garden furniture sets
Outdoor tables and chairs don't have to be wooden, faux-wicker, or awkward to move. Lightweight metal tables and chairs are perfect for Ireland's changeable weather, being easy to pick up and bring indoors when the heavens open. SAVE Ikea's Sundso practical foldable table and chairs are easy to arrange outdoors and have a slight retro style to suit any space. Available in a variety of colours, including off-white and 70s-style green to blend with the outdoors; table €40m chairs €30 each, Ikea. SPLURGE Bo Concept introduces a lovely light green to the Cancún outdoor range for summer 2025. Compact for space-strapped balconies and patios, the inclusion of seat and back cushions adds comfort for evening relaxation; dining chair with cushions, €339, café table, €479, Bo Concept.
The Irish Sun
18-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
I gave my house a designer makeover using Shein for just £270 – but there's a catch they don't tell you about
GIVING your home a designer makeover – but with a bargain price tag – sounds like an impossible task. But while Janine Santos was browsing the Chinese retail website, Shein – known for selling clothes super cheaply – she suddenly spotted a 'Home & Kitchen' category. 8 Janine Santos transformed her Cardiff home for just £269 using Shein's homeware Credit: Huw Evans 8 She bought these two single curtains for just £21.75 each Credit: Huw Evans 8 She ordered these £3 and £7 prints to decorate the walls as well as dried pampas grass for £4.19 Credit: Huw Evans There, on her screen, appeared to be the solution to her problem. Attractive-looking curtains, cushions, tapestries, bedding, storage baskets and much more were being offered at rock bottom prices. It seemed too good to be true. One thing led to another and soon Janine had bought around 50 items to give her Cardiff home a stylish new 'boho' look that has transformed it from top to bottom. The bill for her haul came in at just £269. 'I wasn't sure about it, as it was so cheap,' says Janine, a 47-year-old cruise fleet manager. 'But the quality looked good. 'Even if I'd gone somewhere else which is considered good value, like Ikea, I would have spent over £1000, easy.' Before she discovered Shein homeware, Janine had a weakness for splurging on high end, expensive items. 'I used to use brands like Andrew Martin, Osborne & Little and Farrow & Ball,' says Janine, who is mum to Keanau, 26, and married to Damon, 53, a tiler. 'I also used to love Flamant, a high-end Belgian brand. They were my go-to for timeless pieces.' But when she decided to give her three-bedroom semi a refresh last December, Janine was looking to economise. 'I spend six months away at sea each year with work and when I come home, all I want is a space to relax,' she says. You'd never know I live in a council house thanks to how good it looks - I shopped in IKEA & an Amazon tip saved me cash 'I'd been meaning to do this for a while and make it feel more homely. But I wanted to tighten my belt. I prefer to spend my money on experiences these days, like holidays, and thought: 'How can I do this affordably?'' Janine was shopping for clothing on Shein last December when she noticed they also sell homeware. The China-based retailer's popularity is currently soaring in the UK, with sales jumping by nearly 40 per cent to £1.5bn last year. It is expected to become Britain's sixth largest clothing retailer by 2027. For Janine, the prices seemed too good to ignore, so she ordered two photographic prints and some pampas grass to test the waters. 'I used to buy my prints from King & McGaw, which specialises in fine art prints,' says Janine. 'I paid £300 each for two prints years ago. 'But these 50cm x 70cm Shein prints were £3 and £7. I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. They were delivered eight days later, in a cardboard box, and were printed on high quality cardboard. They also came rolled up, so there were no creases. 'They didn't come with frames, so I got some from Amazon, at £50 for three.' A couple of weeks later, Janine placed a second, bigger order, then a third. She bought, among other items, a rug to go in front of the fire (£5.24), a king size duvet cover set with pillows (£26.48), two single curtains (£21.75 each), a beige woven wall tapestry (£2.29), dried pampas grass (£4.19), two artificial ivy plants (£1.85 each), three white woven storage baskets (£6.12 each), a wall sticker (£1.30) and a cute ornament of someone reading (£1.10). 8 Janine's house looks very boho chic thanks to this beige woven wall tapestry, £2.29, from Shein Credit: Jam Press 8 She also paid £25 for a king size polycotton white duvet cover and two matching pillowcases Credit: Jam Press 'Cushion crazy' 'When I told my husband how much everything cost, he said: 'There's no way, you're lying to me.' 'And one friend who came round couldn't believe it when I told her so much of my stuff was from Shein – she literally screamed. I think she was expecting me to say some fancy, overpriced designer brand. 'She went straight to the website and started filling her basket. People have this idea that Shein is only for clothes – but the home stuff is genuinely stylish and surprisingly good quality. Nothing I ordered felt below par.' When I told my husband how much everything cost, he said: 'There's no way, you're lying to me' Janine's star buy was a pair of cream curtains for the bedroom. Curtains are sold individually on Shein and Janine bought two for £21.75 each. 'In the past I've paid over a thousand pounds for a pair of curtains,' she says. 'They were handmade, very thick, like quilts. I don't feel I need that sort of thing any more.'They're my favourite - they're lined and they've got this lace overlay – they're really drapey and beautiful. I bought the pole off Shein as well for £11.44.' Janine is also impressed with the bedding she bought from the retailer. She paid £25 for a king size polycotton white duvet cover and two matching pillowcases. And the cushions were so cheap – just £3 each – that Janine went 'cushion crazy'. 'I've got them all over the house,' she says. 'One is a tan leather look, the others are like the tapestry on the wall, with tassels on them. Damon loves the new look . The only thing he has said is: 'Please, no more cushions'.' 'Boho with a designer twist' Another big hit was the pampas grass. 'I ordered the large size,' says Janine. I thought: 'It's going to be limp, but I can try it.' Luckily, it's really full.' Janine's method is to spend more money on big-ticket items – she recently bought a bed and chest of drawers from Freemans for about £1000 and a sofa from DFS for around £2,000 – and save on the accessories that finish off a room. She describes her style as 'boho with a designer twist', mixing budget buys with statement pieces. 'Spending so little is great, because if I want to do a different theme, I can buy a load more stuff from Shein,' she says. 'I will give these to charity, then I can buy new things. I'm just layering on to make a new theme. The foundations stay, they are good quality.' Shipping is free, too, if you spend more than £35. And there are other incentives, says Janine. 'They give you vouchers. They say: add another item to your basket to receive a bigger discount. 'Then when I look at it, it's as if I've got those curtains free.' But Shein is not popular with everyone. The brand has been criticised for its sustainability practices, with concerns raised about textile waste and excessive carbon emissions. I'm not here trying to impress anyone, I'm creating a space that feels like me Last August, Janine says: 'I know there are conversations around sustainability with brands like Shein and it's something I do think about. 'When I was decorating, I made sure to choose pieces I actually love and knew I'd keep – not something trendy for a quick fix. I've never been sent the wrong product, or had to return anything, either. 'I think sustainability is also about how you use things and how long you keep them, not just where they come from.' 'I've mixed and matched, like I would with clothes. I might buy a designer outfit, but wear a T-shirt from Primark. 'I'll change a few things in winter, like adding a fluffy rug and throws. I like that I can switch things up without spending a fortune.' Janine has converted the garage in her house, adding an upstairs level and separate entrance to create an Airbnb. She also has an Airbnb property in Egypt. Both are decorated with Shein homeware. 'I love my 'Shein house',' she says. 'It feels warm, modern and personal – and that's what matters, not that I've had any negative comments – quite the reverse. 'I'm not here trying to impress anyone, I'm creating a space that feels like me. It's like I've curated a little Pinterest board in real life .' 8 She choses to spend more money on big-ticket item such as this sofa from DFS for £2,000, and instead save on the accessories that finish off a room Credit: Huw Evans 8 I love my 'Shein house', says Janine Credit: Huw Evans 8 Janine's husband couldn't believe she had only spent £269 on their house transformation Credit: Huw Evans
