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CHOOSING FURNITURE AND fittings is only half the battle when decorating. The finishing touches are what really make a house feel homely and put an individual spin on the space.
One way to achieve this is to tackle those empty walls – which makes for the perfect weekend project.
This week, we searched high and low on Instagram to find six alternatives to art that are as effective as they are inexpensive.
Pick ‘n’ mix: One look at this arrangement and it’s clear that @thelittlewhitefarmhouse’s taste is a little on the eclectic side. A mish-mash of old signs, empty vintage frames, candelabras and mirrors make this wall you could spend some time standing in front of and studying for inspiration.
Look to Industry and Co for a collection of tarnished, industrial and vintage look pieces that will help you achieve a similar look.
Plate expectations: @drivenbydecor embraces a classic look that’s gained popularity again in recent years. This one lets your scout charity shops and your favourite homewares stores to search for a collection you want to show off. Keep it uniform or mix ‘n’ match, have fun experimenting with designs and configurations.
Take a look at Arnotts’ range of crockery to get started.
Hats off: Ideal for an empty wall in a bedroom or a walk-in closet, a hat display adds a fun element as well as lets you see what’s on offer. @staybycorisamuel goes summery with a collection of straw hats in various shades that tie in with the woven baskets and colour scheme, effortlessly.
Check out high street stores like & other stories to get your collection started – it would help if you like to wear them, too!
Tray chic: @themysighome’s collection of wicker trays look right at home here. Breaking the space up with a touch of artwork is a clever move and we love how the blackboard takes the attention away from the tech.
Check out Next for a collection of trays that might be of service.
Let’s face it: This is a fun one if you’re into crafts and want to let the kids in on the action. @abigailbrownart shows the beauty of combining papier-mâché and paint with this personality-filled wall of masks
Don’t fancy the make and do? Why not set the theme with a store bought mask similar to this one on Trouva.
Return of the mac: Wall hangings are a wonderful alternative to artwork as they add a tactile feel to a blank space. @atelier_bo_m adds some cool blue and natural wood with a macrame wall hanging that draws in the other tones used in their space.
Find similar on Not on the Highstreet.
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Who makes this kinda stuff up? I really don’t understand the mentality of the type of people who would go out of their way to play on people’s fears with a view to stealing from them (information, bank details, whatever).
@lambda sensor: I agree, but if it is a text message it should have a source number so the telephone operators should be able to pass on the information to the gardai. I assume it is an offence to impersonate a government or state (or any) organisation.
Jail without access to the internet for the duration to these scam individuals. If coming from abroad then block the foriegn operators numbers from all texts and calls to Ireland
The telecom operators can be very quick to protect themselves but are lacking in protecting it’s customs. Bet they could stop all texts with the link in it and other scams but for some reason they seem slow to act. Yet social media platforms can stop the spread and remove stuff if needed.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: There are many SIM card providers out there now so it would be very difficult to track things back to the source. With GSM cards being so cheap and easy to use plus the availability of GSM application SIM cards it is a very simple thing to setup a PC controlled system which will spit out messages all day. Those messages are not even sent from a standard off the shelf phone.
@David Corrigan:
If it is a foreign network, block the whole network and tell them to figure it out…
@David Corrigan: I have no doubt that they are almost certainly run from a device and not single composed messages in most cases and might be hard to trace back – ISP logs could help. But even if the guys could not be stopped the mobile operators could stop messages based upon content unless they have now encrypted plain text messages. We can then go to the ISP to block access to that link. Or do what they did in the USA, do a DNS redirected.
When telecom sites were replicated and phishing sites created to mimic them these sites were blocked or unhosted within 30 minutes – so it is possible to block access and prevent too much harm being done.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: it can be configured in a way that you only see the name of the sender (the name they give themselves) like when you get a text message from your bank with a one time password to login. The sender in turn can be located abroad.
@Niall Ó Cofaigh: the whole world is seeing cyber theft and scams it is not unique to telcos that you allege ( wrongly ) that are sitting back and not taking action – there is an enormous amount of money and effort and resources spent by operators to try shut down scams – unfortunately once the the internet has been opened to all the smartfones then these challenges get more and more difficult – it is not as straight forward as blocking a call ( I work in this field )
Surely the network operators can block this fake information from circulating .
@Eug J Cummins: Would be next to impossible to do this.
@David Corrigan: block mass commercial texts that use the term HSE that are not from an authorised sender
@Eug J Cummins: They can (and used to many years ago) but wont now.
It would actually be straightforward, but would block advertising companies. These are sent by international SMS relays, and it would take 5 seconds to turn on a block if no number or name present.
Ah any close contact of a positive case would know this is fake . 24 days not one call from HSE. Luckily I contacted my contacts myself . Everybody in same circumstances should do it . If you know you’ve been exposed , contact the people you were with and tell them to quarantine and call their GP. Same if you’re a positive case . Otherwise it’s “ waiting for Godot”.
Those f@#£ers should be shot with balls of there own s#%T
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