Lenehan & Co

Very friendly staff and knowledgeable about their products. The woman was explaining the product to me while the other staff member skipped off to get it for me off the shelf!
Of course we had the prerequisite chat about the weather… «Oh my god, can you believe it’s snowing outside… it’s March already… this time last year you could wear a tee shirt in the sunshine… back in 1980, it was scorching at 29 degrees!!!»

I needed varnish, white spirits and a brush.
I went to the counter and the lovely lady said to me,
«You know you can get a cheaper brush that will do the job grand?»
«Oh, thanks.»
«And you can use a water based varnish which means you don’t need the spirits.»
«Oh — wow!»
Where these days do you find a store that asks you what need the product for and goes out of the way to get you the best value?
I saved over € 20. Also her knowledge was fantastic.

this is my favorite hardware store in city centre. in fact, i’m not really aware of any other hardware stores in city centre that are anywhere near as good. ok, there’s that weird one down at the end of talbot street, but it’s not the most *accessible* place in the world. go there and see and you’ll know what i’m saying.
but back to lenehan’s…
being from the states and the land of home depot where you can find anything you can dream of (and things you might see in your nightmares), it’s been a challenge finding what i need in dublin (without a car, without a 3 hour trip out to the burbs). when i discovered lenehan’s i was very happy.
sure it’s a bit of a trek from my house, but most of the time, it’s totally worth it. they’re well organized, have what ya need, and like Kelly said, brightly lit and open which is really nice when you’re a girl and you don’t wanna have to shower after going to the hardware store… just maybe after installing a new shower head from there ;)

To me a hardware shop is always kind of bit dirty and dark and filled with tall shelves of nuts and bolts. It’s not that they’re not welcoming, they’re just purpose built. Lenehan’s totally breaks away from this stereotype. It’s got a bright coloured carpet and bright lighting and an open space. For the most part the shop focuses on the paint on offer (housepaint not artist paint — well I guess they’re all artists in the end aren’t they?).
They also have a big push for their greenhouses right now (as evidenced by the big sign in their window). Cleverly they’re directing you to head to their website to check it out. I mean honestly I wouldn’t want to be seen carrying a big greenhouse up Capel Street, and they didn’t think you would either, so they’ll deliver it right to your home!