Illuminated LED Star Light – An Interior Delight from Maplin

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Fiona Martin

A star is not just for Christmas, particularly in the case of the Illuminated LED Star Light from Maplin that has recently taken centre stage on my hallway shelf. I’m rather fond of stars, if you hadn’t already noticed and this freestanding piece of home decor is suitable for anytime of the year or if you prefer just keeping it for the festive season then that’s fine.

Being battery operated means it’s super easy to set up and place in any location of your choice. Requiring two AA batteries in a little box which I have hid behind another item on my shelf, the light is simply operated with an on/off switch on the battery box. At 28cm tall and 27cm wide the light is a good size and the LED’s emit a warm bright light that gives a great glow in the evenings in my hallway. We don’t need the main light on as the glow is enough when passing room to room.

I absolutely adore this light and admire it every day. It looks good when it’s off during the day and even better when it’s glowing in the evening. It adds to the decor, ambiance and mood lighting for my hallway – a perfect choice!

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If you like gadgets then this next one is for you, a USB Clock Fan, also from Maplin. Who’d have thought but it is actually incredibly impressive. First off the chrome style finish gives it an edge over any white or cheap looking model. This is stylish and something I want to show off around my laptop. Secondly it works by USB which is amazing, don’t you hate endless products requiring batteries? Thirdly this actually works well in all aspects. The cord is bendy but stays put wherever you angle it to, the fan when on is effective, great for use in the warmer Summer months, to the point I’ve had to keep it switched off for now as it’s too damn chilly!

And the final feature of this fan is the clock which lights up when the blades go round. How cool does this look? Even my children were super impressed but I’ll be keeping this one for my laptop.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Gingersnap Lightbox & Extra Letter Packs

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Gingersnap lightboxes are one of the fun, new trends in interiors this year and sure to be a hit at Christmas as they would make the ideal gifts for many. Being able to customise and change the lettering, gives them a vast array of uses, from a simple slogan or quote to a fun message for friends and family.

With various styles of Gingersnap lightboxes available I received the A4 black lightbox to check out and review along with two extra letter packs. The lightbox is simple to use with a easy on/off switch on the side. You do need to add either 6AA batteries or you can use an adaptor (not included). I opted for batteries and it’s lasting well so far. The unit has three lines which you can slot in the transparent backed letter, numbers and symbols to create your unique message or quote. This lightbox comes with 85 black pieces to slot in and create a retro cinematic feel sign.

The extra letter packs that are available are in my opinion just brilliant! They really add to the variations and fun of the messages and quotes that you can write adding personality and colourful fun. I received the coloured letters, numbers and symbols pack as well as the emoji pack which each contain 120 pieces. I absolutely love them and there are so many that I can’t show you them all here but there really is something for everyone and every occasion. I couldn’t wait to start using them and enjoying seeing the messages around my house.

We’ve found lots of occasions to use the lightbox so far and try to change the message every few days. My little boy has even got stuck in and asked to put a message on the lightbox when I wasn’t looking. He then showed me and it said ‘I love you’ followed by all the emoji’s he felt represented that – so sweet.

Overall I love the lightbox, it looks on trend and modern around the house and adds a bit of light which attracts attention to it from guests. I love being able to change the message and can see it getting lots of use throughout the year. If you haven’t already got one then they would be a great little purchase but with Christmas coming up they would also make great gifts so check out Gingersnap to see which is your favourite and which you might buy as gifts this year!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Ottoman Beds from Sueno for all your Storage Needs

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Fiona Martin

Looking for more storage in your house? Then an ottoman bed from Sueno is the way to go. With January being the start of everyone’s New Year decluttering, optimising your storage spaced at home is crucial to becoming more organised and keeping clutter at bay. With a move to a new house last year, I found my main bedroom almost half the size of my old one – eek! By the time I had fitted my wardrobes and chests of drawers in the room, I had no space for my beloved blanket box at the end of my bed so had to find a new home for it downstairs. This left an overspill of bedding, towels and blankets without a home but that’s where Sueno came to the rescue with this stunning silver velvet covered ottoman bed and matching headboard.

Knowing we were on the lookout for a new mattress, I was also browsing beds and came across the relatively new idea of ottoman beds as opposed to just having drawers underneath which only give you a small storage area. Ottoman beds lift the whole upper lid of the divan up leaving you the entire inside of the divan for storage. This surely had to be the answer to my storage needs!

I found Sueno online with a wonderful selection of high quality hand made beds that seemed to be perfect for my needs. They also came with a stunning array of upholstered headboards that can be matched to the fabric used to cover the divan part of the bed. I knew I wanted a silver/grey colour and thought I saw the perfect fabric on the website but to be sure I phoned up and ordered a batch of swatches. This was late on a Friday afternoon and after a lovely chat with customer service checking out all my concerns of the beds ease of opening, sizes etc I was impressed to find the sample materials arrived in my post on Saturday morning!

Having selected ‘Silver Naples Velvet’ for my fabric choice, I was keen to place an order to allow enough time for the bed to be produced and delivered before Christmas. The website is user friendly and simple to use. I opted for a Sueno Ottoman Bed along with a Chesterfield Headboard. Delivery arrangements are by phone call allowing you to discuss a suitable date and although it’s an all day appointment they do give you an approximate idea of the time that they aim to arrive at your house. I also got a phone call within an hour before arrival from their in house delivery team. Being a long way from the production site my bed was the last delivery of the day and at approximately 6pm the lorry turned up.

This is where purchasing from an established independent family run company really shines through. Not only is the bed delivered to your house, but the delivery team carry the bed to the room of your choice, remove and take away all the packaging and then build the bed in front of you, leaving you with a fully set up ottoman bed ready for you to apply fresh bed linen onto. That extra bit of service is really worth it and makes the whole experience a lot more pleasurable. We probably wouldn’t have built the bed that evening if it’d been left in the hallway covered in packaging whereas we had the novelty of sleeping on our new bed that night. The team even kindly unpackaged and placed our new mattress upon the divan which we had purchased from Wayfair a few weeks prior, and I’m so grateful for that as it is incredibly heavy!

So what can I say about my new ottoman bed?

The bed is amazing, everything I expected and more. It looks stunning, feels stunning and the bit you’ve all been waiting to see is the storage which is fantastic and incredibly spacious. The structure of the bed is well made and the quality is high. The base lifts up using two fabric loops on the side with the help of the sturdy gas struts to ease the weight. When the gas struts are fully opened they hold the weight of the top of the bed and mattress in place allowing you to reach in and organise your belongings inside with both hands.

I’m so pleased with this storage space and managed to fill the ottoman bed in no time at all. It does need organising though which I’ll do in my Spring declutter and I need to also invest in some vacuum storage bags to shrink down a spare duvet I keep in there. The whole thing looks amazing and you’d never know that it held the vast amount of storage inside that it does.

The whole look of the bed and headboard is stylish and modern which has given my bedroom a higher quality feel and image. We still have a few finishing touches to go such as curtains and carpet but hopefully these will be achieved this year for a whole bedroom makeover – a complete turn around look from the fitted wardrobes and flowery wallpaper that adorned the walls when we moved in.

All in all I’ve achieved my goal of more storage in a stylish way thanks to Sueno. I can’t fault the quality or customer service, both of which have been outstanding and a company I’d highly recommend and would use again (should I ever need a new bed!).

Why not check out Sueno for ottoman beds to give you the ultimate bedroom storage solution that keeps all your belongings hidden away but easily accessible?

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received a discounted product in order to write an honest review.

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Magazine.co.uk subscriptions – great gift ideas!

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Fiona Martin

Magazine.co.uk is the UK’s leading magazine subscription website and it’s easy to see why. They have a huge range of magazines available full of celebrity gossip, health, fitness, cooking, lifestyle, kids interests and much more. There really is something for everyone as I found out when browsing the website.

I’ve been lucky to try out a few annual subscriptions for me and my family and you can catch up with my posts on the magazine.co.uk blog.

For me I love a bit of celebrity gossip and OK! magazine is just the thing that I can pick up and down inbetween dealing with the children. I’m also a fan of Red magazine, with real life stories, fashion and beauty, something I can enjoy when I’m on my own and can relax and read.

With an imminent house move I also love to read home magazines such as House Beautiful, Period Living and Ideal Home, in fact you are spoilt for choice with the selection of interior magazines.

There are some fun looking magazines for children, I know Miss M would love Animals & You and Mister B would enjoy Adventure Time or Batman.

Not forgetting the husband, I’m sure he’d love a subscription to something like Top Gear or Men’s Fitness.

What I like about magazine.co.uk is that you can get a whole year’s subscription to a magazine for cheaper than buying the magazines individually and also they get delivered direct to your door!

Why not check out the great selection today and take out a subscription – they make great gift ideas especially for birthday or Christmas, but also why not treat yourself?

Check out Magazine.co.uk

The link is an affiliate link

Radwraps Radiator Covers – Review

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Fiona Martin

Radwraps are a new alternative to the traditional style wooden radiator covers, and give a more modern look, keep the radiator slimline and come in a multitude of styles, you can even use your own image or photo!

So what exactly is a Radwrap? It’s basically a magnetic sheet that’s cut to size to fit your radiator and printed with a design of your choice. They turn a plain, ordinary radiator into something a bit more decorative that fits in with your interior.

Below on the left is a radiator in my front room, on the right you can see how it is transformed by a Radwrap.

The Radwraps are ordered online through a simple process where you input the height and width measurements of your radiator and then choose a design, or if you fancy you add a design of your own or even use a photo!

Your chosen cover is then rolled up and sent in a secure cardboard tube ready for you to install. When I first unwrapped it, I did wonder how easy it would be to put on the radiator, would it go on straight?, would it be easy to do myself?

Well it took me less than a minute to apply this, I was really impressed with the ease at which is stuck to the radiator, quite firmly but not too much that I couldn’t adjust it if needed. To be honest if you put it on straight across the top, it just falls into place naturally down the radiator, no wrinkles, no creases, no crookedness.

So what do I think of my Radwrap? I love it! It is just my kind of pattern, fits perfectly with my decor, and hides that unsightly radiator that had become a little scratched and in need of a respray. I’ve had compliments from visitors, and I would definitely use these again on other radiators. What a great but simple invention!

Radwraps say there is no heat loss by having one of these on, they are so easy to apply and require nothing extra to fit with and give your radiator and room a transformation. With the array of different designs to choose from there really is something for everyone.

Here are a couple of the more modern designs on offer, ideal for children’s bedrooms: