A review of Iconic Light's "Steam Punk" table lamp

August 31, 2015

I was sent this chrome traditional 'Steam Punk' table lamp to review by Iconic Lights as one of their approved blogging ambassadors. As soon as I unboxed it I knew it would look great on one of our oak block side tables in front of our almost ceiling height radiator.

And I wasn't wrong.

I don't think you can beat table lamps to provide an ambient light source in any room, and in our main living space it's much welcomed. That's probably why we already have one or two in the space - we don't have a light problem, honest!

If you haven't heard of Iconic Lights, they're a relatively new company at just three years old who offer high quality Iconic, stylish, innovative, classic & cutting edge lighting designs at affordable prices. I mean this stylish table lamp sells at just £18, which I don't think is bad at all.

When switched on there's ample light too, and I love the simplicity of this picture.

At just under 30cms high, it doesn't dominate the room either.

And while this lamp's title on the website says traditional, that makes me think of more classic table lamps you know the sort with shades - so personally I'd class this more as a contemporary table lamp. It's roots though stem back to the fictional industrial Victorian Steam Punk era of the 19th century.

For me the best part about this light is the antique style matched perfectly alongside its contemporary design.

And don't forget when you're buying any lamp it's important to use the correct bulb. Even more important is to check that you have some so you can use your new lamp straightaway.

There's nothing worse is there than finding out you don't have the right bulb. I can't tell you how many times I've been scuppered by light bulbs! Luckily I found a bulb from a long departed lamp that was perfect for this. Phew.

What do you think of my new light?

I received this light free of charge for the purposes of this review, all views and opinions are my own.

A tree visit, and it's flourishing

August 13, 2015

When I last wrote about the tree in April there had been shocking news and it had been severely pollarded. Such drastic action had left me quite literally stumped for words and it's been a while since I've walked that way into Blackheath.

However yesterday when I misjudged my timings and unbelievably managed to leave home earlier than planned (it doesn't happen often so I should note it down) I decided it was time to pay the tree a visit.

Unsure of what I would find I headed down the path and saw this:

It certainly is a plucky thing - I was going to say little, but it's far from little! I know that when you cut a plant that encourages growth, but I hadn't thought it would grow quite so much, so quickly. And now I'm kicking myself for not visiting before.

The size of its leaves still amaze me.

Huge aren't they?

And it still amuses me that it's behind railings, and you know how much I like some ironwork.

I left pleased to see that the tree was making a go of it and wondering how long it would be before it was cut again. As I wandered along the path towards the village and the station I spotted this mystery plant. I'd not seen it before and it was quite striking, does anyone know what it is?

The rich berry-like colour did seem to signal something though, along with the blackberries ripening everywhere I think we can safely say that Autumn is approaching.

A review of Order Blinds' Made to Measure Venetian Blinds

August 12, 2015

We have recently finally started to redecorate our second spare bedroom. During Phase 1 of our building work it was the room where almost all of our belongings were stored and to be honest it was looking a bit tired.

At the window, the curtains that we hung when we moved in some thirteen years ago - and the ones that had already provided good service in my bedroom in my previous house, were due for replacement. The relatively large window is right in the corner of the room and I knew I wanted to avoid blocking the window with new curtains. So when Order Blinds offered me the chance to review one of their made to measure blinds, I was keen to discover what they could offer.

Choosing our blind

Looking at the Order Blinds site, I quickly decided that a wooden venetian blind would suit the room, and help solve my problem where the curtains obscure too much of the window. As we were hoping to expose the floorboards in the bedroom, to match almost every other room in the house I was keen to choose a real wood blind.

Now all I had to do was choose a colour and measure the window.

There were ten colours to choose from, onscreen I narrowed it down to Oak, Beech and Maple and used the sample service to narrow it down further. The samples arrived promptly and both MOH and I preferred the Oak swatch, so that was settled.

Measuring the window

Being a bit of a blind novice, I checked the site to see where I should measure from. I had two choices - a recessed blind or one that would cover the window and its frame (or as much as I wanted). I thought a recessed blind would look good, but was unsure of the depth of the pelmet and if this would work, so I emailed Order Blinds and asked them.

I was glad I did. I had 3cm to fit the recessed blind to, but Matthew quickly replied to let me know the plinth was 4.7cm so it was unlikely to work and helpfully suggested alternate solutions. In the end I decided to fit a batten above the window frame and hang the blind from there. My next question for Matthew was if there was an optimum height to place the batten. Once he knew the drop of the window he calculated the stacking height of the blind to be approximately 20cm so for the blind to clear the window frame completely I would need to take account of this. How useful was that?

Hanging our blind

It took ten days from ordering for our blind to be despatched, and I thought that was pretty good going. It arrived and we excitedly unwrapped it - and you know what, it looked like a blind!

The step-by-step instructions provided are clear and once we'd identified each of the end brackets and centre support brackets and the screws to go with them we, well MOH set about drilling holes in the batten.

As our window frame is right in the corner of the room we needed to adapt the placement of the brackets, ideally they should be placed 0.6mm either side of the window frame, but that didn't work for us.

Unusually there were more screws in the packet provided than the instructions said, so that was a refreshing change. And it meant no scrabbling around to find a component that was missing.

Our blind had two centre support brackets and the instructions said to equally space them along the headrail and keep clear of the ladder positions.

That threw us initially but we soon worked out that the ladders were the blind's cords. Now the blind is up, it's obvious as they do look like ladders.

And where we had to place the end brackets, doesn't look odd at all.

With the brackets fitted, it was time to lift the blind onto them and snap the end brackets shut. This too was easier than I expected it to be, but it did involve me standing on tiptoes with arms at full stretch holding the blind while MOH moved the steps to secure both ends. A comedy moment I'm sure for any neighbours that happened to be watching.

To finish the blind off neatly it comes with a matching wooden valance, which in effect hides the more functional header rail. We added the optional valance clips, which means it easily hooks onto the header rail and completes the blind. I'm really pleased with the results as it's given this room, which has never really had much time spent on it a real boost.

It's the little touches, like the matte nickel cord pulls that for me, set it apart from blinds I've had in the past.

I think the blind looks as good up as it does down. It has the usual tilt options that you'd expect from a venetian blind and this will come into its own for those balmy hot days (if they ever return!) and help block the sun out and keep the room cool.

One thing I hadn't appreciated was the safety features that are built in as standard. The cord condenser (which you can see in the top right corner in the picture below) holds the cords to lower and raise the blind, if pressure is placed on this it breaks open so it's hard for anything, or anyone to get caught up in the cords. Clever hey?

In fact I'm so pleased with this blind, how smart it looks, how easy it was to put up and the helpful advice from Order Blinds, that I'm considering another one for our porch. So watch this space!

Disclosure: I received a voucher to purchase this blind for the purposes of this review, however all words and opinions are my own.