Lovely Things

Amazon summer sale until 31st August

You'll have to be quick this bank holiday week to take advantage of Amazon's Summer Sale as it's only on for a few more days, ending on the 31st August. My pick is this 20cm Meyer non-stick French skillet frying pan in a lovely almond colour at just £4.99 (saving over 60% off the original price of £13.97). Perfect if you're going for a shabby chic or vintage style kitchen.

Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty

I wanted to post this as a heads up to all the bloggers who read Lovely Things as we'll be supporting Blog Action Day this year on 15th October 2008. It's an opportunity for blogs and bloggers to come together to focus on a single pressing issue for one day, and this year that issue will be poverty. Check out the Blog Action Day video below and their website for more information and to get involved.

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Wallpaper-style chinoiserie tiles from Fired Earth

Want a pretty wallpaper effect for your bathroom or kitchen? Take a look at Fired Earth's lovely handmade and hand decorated chinoiserie style tiles from tile maker Alice Gibbons and decorative artist Adam Calkin. Dragonfly, butterfly, bird, foliage and floral tiles are ordered individually or in small sets and can be combined to form panels of 4-36 tiles, which together create the full 72-tile decorative panel. The best bit? As this series is the Fired Earth product of the month for August, the tiles are currently 15% off. Prices range from £20.75 for the insect tiles, to £335 for the 12-tile panels.

Bank holiday sale & discount at WhereDidYouBuyThat.com

If you're hoping to bag some bank holiday sale bargains, check out WhereDidYouBuyThat.com for 10% off and free delivery with the discount code WD08BH. I have my eye on this fabulous brushed aluminium Armadillo breadbin. The promo code is valid until Tuesday 26th August 2008, so be quick!

John Lewis launches Eco Products page

Knowing that many shoppers these days want to improve their product choices to benefit the environment, John Lewis has launched an 'Eco Products' section of their website.

Here, green consumers can find all the energy efficient, fairly-traded, organic, recycled, sustainable or otherwise eco-friendly products stocked on the John Lewis website. The wide range of products include appliances and lighting, clothes, flowers, textiles, food and drink, garden items, baby products and nappies, knitting yarn, tableware and a load of other household items.

Shown here is the Fairtrade 'Rosy Glow' flower bouquet (£33 incl free delivery), recycled newspaper storage basket (medium £10), Rustic Collection recycled glass tumbler (set of six £12). 

Splashes of bright colour: Indian parasols for the garden

The colours of these beautiful 'Raj' jewel-toned parasols are so vibrant, they'd really make a splash in the garden this summer. Shown here are 'Haveil Blue' and 'Marigold' and there's also a 'Royal Purple' available too. Each parasol is 120cm in diameter and they have contrasting undersides and metal cutwork embellishments that would flutter and tinkle prettily in a breeze. They're handmade in India by the Indian Garden Company and are available from Gardeners-Word.net for £97.20 each including free UK mainland delivery.

Coveting a doormat: Orla Kiely at Heal's

I came across this doormat while writing the piece on the Heal's clearance sale last week and just have to share it. I'm a big fan of Orla Kiely's colourful leaves print and think it works really well with a coir doormat. It'll set you back £30, but just think how it'll cheer you up when you're coming in from the cold and rain next season.

Drama, texture, metallic: Autumn at Zara Home

Zara Home's Autumn/Winter 2008 collection has come over all dramatic - there's loads of architectural shapes, dark gold and glossy black. Continue reading below for details of the items featured here...

Cute, colourful tea towels from Kitty & Polly & a special Lovely Things discount code

Regular readers will be used to my tea towel obsession by now (new readers, you have SO much to look forward to!), and it's been a while since I've featured some dishcloth lovelies, so take a look at the latest to catch my eye.

'Nelly' the elephant, 'Milky' in yellow polka dot and 'Milk & Two Sugars' all £7.50 each. The lovely Paula of Kitty and Polly sent us a 'Milky' one to try and it's just gorgeous. They're made of a rather lightweight cotton, so probably better for cleaning glasses or for decoration rather than mopping up your dishes.

Paula has also been very generous to Lovely Things readers and is offering an exclusive discount code for 20% off everything across the store! What's more, it will last right until the end of the year (31/12/08). Perfect for Christmas shopping or just buying  gift for yourself. Just visit the Kitty & Polly site and enter LOVELY at the checkout.

Reader question: I Love Toast retro toaster

Lovely Things reader Evelien from Holland wants the retro I Love Toast toaster we featured near Christmas in 2006. I don't blame her, it's very cute! Unfortunately it's no longer stocked at ASOS or available in blue, but we've found it in other colours and you can still buy online. Continue reading below to find out which colours and where...