Archive for Things For The House

| 12 February, 2013
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Double Futon from Comfy Living

Comfy Living Double FutonA while back we bought a single futon from Comfy-Living  . It’s been a brilliant addition to our house as along with being a really comfy chair, it’s also a fold-out single bed for unexpected overnight visitors.

Anyway I digress ….. over Christmas our house went from a virtually empty nest to an overflowing ‘guest house’ as various offspring came back from Uni or work with boyfriends in tow. One of our daughters   has had her bed since Year Dot and as she has now joined the world of work, working as an engineer for Jee , it seemed a reasonable time to make her room a more ‘grown-up’ and useful space by putting a double sofa bed in there. It meant that when she came home with her boyfriend, they didn’t have to squish up in a single bed.

To be honest we didn’t even bother googling or looking around as we were so happy with the single futon from Comfy-Living that we went straight there and ordered a double futon  from them! They are incredibly fast at delivering and once again, the futon arrived less than 24 hours after we ordered it and we didn’t have to pay a penny for delivery.

We paid a couple of pounds extra for the luxury mattress and once again went for the natural colour as although it might sound a bit boring, it goes with everything and can be tarted up with a few cushions in whatever shade you want.

We are genuinely pleased with this new addition to our household and I can’t recommend Comfy-Living  highly enough. Incredible value for money and amazing customer service!

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Category: Things For The House | Tags: , , ,
| 15 January, 2013
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LED Lights from LED Hut

Directional GU10 LED SpotlightI’ve been a devout believer in the merits of LED lighting since its early days but my first few attempts to convert weren’t too successful.

The lamps I bought weren’t bright enough, had a horrible colour and were generally disappointing overall.  That was a couple of years ago when they were just emerging onto the UK market and whatsmore they were also pretty expensive at the time.

We’re now on round two and having got some great new G10 lamps from LED Hut to replace our power-hungry halogens things are finally looking up.  We have two types: the directional beam ones for our kitchen, where the light is directed to specific areas and wider beam ones to illuminate our office.

Running 4 x 6-watt units in the kitchen takes a little getting used to at first.  These lamps are very ‘white’.  It’s a different kind of light to what we were used to with our old halogens but we have both commented since that, even though it’s not as warm as filamented lamps, it is an excellent light for reading the newspaper or close work.  Combined with some other traditional lighting around the room it is a great compromise and we are now able to dim them if we want something a little more atmospheric.

LED Trailing Edge Technology DimmerOn the subject of dimming…  LED lamps can be dimmed, but not with conventional dimmers that you might already have around the house.  If you try using these, in the best case they’ll buzz like crazy, but in the worst case you’ll have little or no control over them.  With LEDs you need to use a specific type of ‘trailing edge technology’ dimmer, which can handle the very low power demands of the LED lamps.  We now use a Varilight V-Pro model (around £15 – £20) which has cured all the problems and offers a smooth and progressive dimming action.  Again LED Hut offer a selection of compatible dimmers.

LED Hut offer a fantastic range of LED lamps and accessories at prices way below those seen on the shelves anywhere on the high street.  Their prompt delivery and excellent service means we’ll certainly go back there for more (not to replace those we’ve just put in, as they claim to have phenomenal life-spans, but to replace other fittings around the house and office as time goes on).

I just asked Mrs C what she thought and her comment…

‘They’re just lights! ( :) ) ‘ – what more can I add?

TheThumbsUp to LED Hut !  See more at www.ledhut.co.uk

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Category: Techie Stuff, Things For The House |
| 7 December, 2012
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Joseph Joseph Elevate Knives Carousel

Joseph Joseph KnivesHow lovely are Joseph Joseph kitchen accessories!

I’m not the kind of person who would generally ‘rave’ about kitcheny stuff but I think I can make an exception for Joseph Joseph. Last week on an incredibly long drive up to Aberdeen to Cardiff we went into Westmorland Services (which has got to be the Best Motorway Services in the Uk and deserves a blog all of its own really.) Anyway I digress….Tebay/Westmorland Services happens to have an absolutely brilliant Gift Shop. I swear there were actually people there who had come out of their way to go Christmas Shopping – yup you read that correctly. Not only that but people were there doing their weekly fruit/veg/meat shop from the Farm Store there!

Joseph Joseph were one of the high-end brands represented in the shop and I spent ages looking at and salivating over the stunning selection of worktop savers amongst other things. Is that ‘sad’?   Joseph Joseph manage to make kitchen utensils look desirable and trendy and let’s be fair it’s not often you see the words desirable and spatula in the same sentence.

I loved the look of the Joseph Joseph Elevate range. How ingenious and why didn’t anyone else think of this before?! A kitchen tool which doesn’t land dirty-side down and muck up your work-top every time you stir the casserole or turn your sausages. They even have knives in the range and they come in a really neat and compact carousel – a trendy, nifty-looking set to say the least.

Joseph Joseph Elevate KnivesI had a look at the Joseph Joseph website when I got back home and saw that the Elevate range of kitchen knives/tools/utensils were all designed to ‘improve hygiene and minimise mess in the kitchen’. So the knives etc all have innovative, weighed handles with an integrated tool rest ensuring that when the Elevate knife is put down, its blade is always raised off the work surface. Brilliant!

The knives also have non-stick, silicone-coated stainless steel blades and they have really ‘comfy’, ergonomic handles. The rotating carousel has been cleverely designed so that any of the Elevate knives fit in any slot. No more faffing around in the kitchen trying to find out which hole the bread knife fits in!

Even if you never use another knife again, buy this Joseph Joseph Elevate Knives Carousel just to look at! It’s a work of art in itself!

It’s worth noting that you can’t buy knives in the UK inless you’re over 18 so if you’re a teenager thinking an Elevate knife would be perfect for your Wannabe Jamie Oliver Dad, then get your Mum to buy it for you!

Category: Christmas Blogs, Gifts, Things For The House | Tags: , , ,
| 5 November, 2012
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Remote Control Candles

Remote Control CandlesRemote Control Candles – Well, whatever next?

But hold on a minute, this ain’t such a bad idea after all, what with conventional candles being the greatest cause of house fires in the UK and me having kittens every time Mrs C mentions the presence of a strange smell in the house.  I’ve found burning candles between two wooden bookshelves on a couple of occasions and had to hold back my anger each time.  But an LED, battery-operated remote control candle set has no flame, produces virtually no heat and will therefore cause no threat whatsoever to our house and home.

So, having embraced the concept, they were loaded with the appropriate batteries, given pride of place inthe lounge and then switched on.  There’s the choice of steady or flickering, bright or dim, timed switch off – and more.

We sat and marvelled at the way home illumination as come on leaps and bounds by now trying to authenticate a historic inconvenience with a technological mimicry of those old times.  But, hang on a minute, every time we change channel on the TV, one or more of said candles decides to switch on (or is it off?) or stops flickering, so we reach for the candle remote and what we ask that one candle to do, the other two seem to do the opposite. Hours of fun!  What were we watching on th TV again???

No, jokes aside, these are a handy, attractive and in my mind most imortantly, safe little piece of room decor.  Full marks for innovation and if what’s on the telly is rubbish, these offer a suitable diversion.

Christmas Gift Guide at Paramount Zone

Love Helena’s review of the Remote Control Candles over at Helena’s Blog!

 

Category: Gifts, Things For The House | Tags: , , ,
| 11 October, 2012
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Method Hand Wash

Method Hand WashLook at the new Method Hand Wash I have in my loo! It’s stylish & contemporary-looking but it only costs the same as bog-standard ones.

Method products are proof that you don’t have to charge an arm and a leg to get your products looking cute and funky.

I had a look at their website to find out a bit more about Method and they have a really interesting back-story. If you look at all the various soaps in the soap aisle in your average supermarket, it’s like the world’s gone anti-bacterial mad. As Method say, soap’s job is to clean not kill!

Antibacterial cleaners  often contain harsh chemicals that are dangerous around children. And apparently, “..if used excessively they may actually promote the development of super-bacteria that ordinary cleaners can’t kill”. A frightening thought!

Method Hand Wash is Triclosan-free and looks pretty stunning too.

Buy Method Hand Wash from Amazon

Category: Health and Beauty, Things For The House | Tags: , , ,
| 7 August, 2012
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A Comfy Living Futon

Comfy-Living FutonWhen is a bed not a bed?

You see so many people cussing and cursing their recently-purchased flat-pack furniture that you’d think manufacturers would have by now found the magic formula to keep furniture both easy to assemble and sufficiently well-built to stand the test of time.

What then, were we to make of our new Comfy Living futon which was delivered a couple of days ago (within 24 hours of ordering!!)?  Mrs C had visions of a complex, meccano-esque puzzle confronting us when we finally opened and spilled the contents onto our spare-room floor.  However we were both very pleasantly surprised: firstly by the fact that there were only 5 components in the box – one of these was the instructions and nuts and bolts and secondly by how incredibly easy it was to assemble.  It doesn’t require the use of any tools either other than a finger and thumb.  All was done within 5 minutes and we have to say it looks really nice.  The natural cotton finish of the mattress blends nicely with the pine of the framework and it wouldn’t look out of place in virtually any room due to its neutral finish and unobtrusive design.

Comfy-Living Futon rear viewConverting the Comfy Living Futon from seat to bed and vice-versa is literally a 5-second job and can be carried out by anyone!  It doesn’t require any particular strength or great dexterity, it simply hinges down to lie flat on the floor.  The mattress is nicely padded and comfy, yet remains light and easy enough to handle single-handedly.  It folds and rolls effortlessly.

As a word of caution though, don’t open the zip on the mattress.  It isn’t a cover, but more a way into the filling!

What a quick and easy addition to any room.  Perfect for kids rooms and those inevitable impromptu sleepovers or even to go in the corner of the study for those rare occasions where an extra spare bed is needed

Have a look on www.comfy-living.co.uk

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Category: Things For The House | Tags: ,
| 7 June, 2012
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EcoForce Competition Winner

EcoForce-pegsThe Random Lucky Winner of the EcoForce Competition is Hazel Rea aka @BeachRambler on Twitter.

Hazel wins a Year’s Supply of Fab EcoForce Products . Congratulations Hazel! You should receive your prize soon. Enjoy!

Category: Things For The House | Tags: , , ,
| 22 May, 2012
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EcoForce Competition

EcoForce PegsEcoForce is one of those companies I happily give TheThumbsUp to! What’s not to love when it comes to green household products?!

I have a Fab EcoForce Giveaway for you. EcoForce & TheThumbsUp are offering you the chance to Win A Year’s Supply of ‘Green’ Spring Cleaning Products Worth £50!  This  will include lots of the full EcoForce range of sponges, scourers, cloths, dusters, pegs, peg basket, clothes line plus Dishmatic and refills.

All you need to do to enter the EcoForce Competition is ….

Comment below with a cleaning tip and also tell me your Twitter Name and Retweet the following tweet ….. Competition to Win a Year’s Supply of EcoForce Products. Comment here http://www.thethumbsup.co.uk/ecoforce-competition/ , RT & Follow @TheThumbsUp

(By the way, EcoForce have also said they’ll give an extra entry to anyone who likes the EcoForce Facebook Page.

You can read my post about EcoForce Here.

Category: Things For The House | Tags: , , , , ,
| 22 May, 2012
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EcoForce

EcoForceI’m not really a Monica or even an Aggie or a Kim but I do like my house to be cleanish & definitely tidy.

Wherever possible I try to ‘do the green thing’ and am always on the look-out for greener options when it comes to buying cleaning products and the other paraphernalia associated with keeping a clean house.

It’s so much easier to find ‘green’ products today than it was say even a few years ago and I always like to try out new ones when I come across them even if they are a tad more expensive than their environment-unfriendly peers. Shopping ethically is all the more sweeter when it doesn’t cost you any more than going the unethical route.

EcoForce have a range of really effective and very practical household products made from recycled materials (always a winner with me!), that are greener, more sustainable and more eco-friendly than say the alternatives on the shop shelves.

Their eco-friendly range includes stuff like recycled sponges, scourers, ‘green’ cloths and dusters, recycled pegs,  peg-basket and clothes line & even recycled food baDishmaticg grips for storing leftovers.    EcoForce have won all sorts of awards and judging by the bits & bobs I have, they certainly don’t compromise on price or quality. I’ve found that usually one of the two has to give. And, all EcoForce products are made from at least 90% recycled  waste here in the UK, which has got to be a good thing in itself!

We all need to clean (some of us more than others granted) so why not do it the green way and use recycled, ethical products that don’t harm the environment?

Look out for my EcoForce Giveaway coming soon……

 

Category: Things For The House | Tags: , , , , ,
| 18 January, 2012
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MUNIO CANDELA Soy Wax Candles

Munio Candela CandlesI love a nice candle I do and would happily buy a new one every time I went shopping if I could. My cinammon-scented Christmassy candle has just died so it was time last night to light a new one.

Recently I’ve become really conscious about avoiding sooty candles and so the MUNIO CANDELA soy wax candle (which has quite literally been poured into a paint can) is right up my street. I have the Relaxation candle and according to the MyPure website it is fragranced with 100% pure essential oils. I’m not sure what relaxation is meant to smell like and I’d hazard a guess that we all have our different ideas. My candle certainly smells nice but it dosn’t have the spa-like scent I’d envisaged.

So many aromatherapy-type candles produce a nasty, toxic, black soot which can contain carcinogens. Read this article here – Candle Soot: An Air Quality Issue – for a real shock!

MUNIO CANDELA soy wax candles are much better for you, tons better for the environment and burn for 50% longer than traditional candles (which is just as well as they are pretty expensive!).

PS: Heyland & Whittle do nice candles too!

Category: Things For The House |
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