Is there anyone who doesn’t like to ring the changes with something new to sit and admire now and again? Ring the changes on your mantelpiece with an item of up-to-the-minute design. I love browsing etsy.com and similar craft sites for small home accessories and furnishing items. There’s a huge range of craft items being [...]

It’s good to know that energy efficiency isn’t just a hang-up of our current era. It seems very modern to care about saving energy, and a bit of a surprise therefore to find out that in the early 1800s the owner of an ironmongery store in Halstead created his very own design for an enclosed [...]

Black is the new black! Monochrome is a big look this year. I’ve seen whole textile collections based on black, relieved only a little with white or silver. So how can you use this effectively in your home without creating a space that’s simply dark? Black can add a dramatic effect to any room décor. A stylish black sideboard such as this one from Lombok adds an oriental touch. Dark colours show up dust really easily, so go for a modern smokeless fire such as the Kinder Jazz glass fronted “hole-in-the-wall” fire. This is an appropriately contemporary look and comes in a black finish, a silver finish for contrast, or with a stylish black glass fascia.

If you’re lucky enough to have a wood burning stove then you need somewhere to store the logs to feed your fire. Wood stores for the fireside come in nearly as many styles as the stoves themselves, and can be chosen to suit traditional or a contemporary décor. There are wooden and iron log stores, [...]