Lovely Things

Haier compact pink refrigerator

One of our most popular features on Lovely Things is the piece on pink kitchen appliances. Here's a little something for our pink-crazy US readers: the Haier pink refrigerator. The Haier 'Color Cube' is a mini fridge with just 1.7 cubic foot capacity and a tiny freezer section. At under 20 inches tall, it's perfect as a drinks fridge, for the office or as a personal fridge if you're in a shared house or dorm, or if you just have a teeny tiny apartment and don't have a lot of room for electrical appliances! The best prices I've found to buy online are at Provantage for $81.46 in pink, green or black, or just $76.32 in blue. According to the Haier US website, it's also available in orange and red.

Colour and pattern - Next wallpaper

Sumptuous, vintage-style wallpaper is still really popular and there are some well-priced options available at Next. Several of the styles we featured last year are still available, and they've expanded their range into new colours and patterns and upped the price point slightly. Above is 'Elizabeth' in turquoise (£17), also available in bronze/brown, and 'Midsummer' in black (£17). More Next wallpaper via the link below...

Gorgeous autumn-coloured bedding on sale at Argos

The recent rain's been making me think about cooler nights and autumn colours and now is a great time to take advantage of the sales to stock up on bedding for the coming season. Argos isn't the first place I think of for bedding, but they currently have a range of sale duvet sets and bedspreads in great autumnal colours at bargain prices. Click below for the details...

Discounted solar power garden lights at Woolworths

Now that the evenings are starting to get a little darker, it's a good time to think about lighting in your garden. Woolworths has a range of garden products in their summer sale, and these attractive stainless steel solar-powered outdoor lights are a bargain at £19.99 for a set of ten, saving you a huge £60 on the original price of £79.99. Even better, Woollies is offering an extra 10% off Big Red Book sale purchases (including these lights), until 9th Sept so enter ISOAugust07 at the checkout to save.

Heal's up to 70% off bank holiday warehouse sale

Brace yourselves people! Heal's is having a bank holiday weekend, up to 70% off, warehouse sale. It starts at 9am on Saturday 25th and finishes at 4pm on Monday 27th August at the Heal's distribution centre in Edmonton, London (N9, near the A406 and the Brent Cross Ikea). Discounted items include this nickel and acrylic Malabar lamp reduced from £100 to just £30, and the Louis black lacquer console table by John Reeves (we featured the outdoor range in June), half price at just £248. 

Vitamin's funky urban gnomes at Onedeko

Looking for a garden ornament that's a bit outside the norm? How about a gnome? Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. Forget your kitschy (and faintly creepy - you know they're watching you) jolly-red-hat brigade and check out these funky urban gnomes by Vitamin. The bone china gnomes stand at 21cm high and come with a variety of patterns from a cute-yet-menacing skull to something more gardeny like a pretty dandelion print or 'undergrowth' (pictured). Available from Onedeko for £48.50 each.

Cute camper van tea-towels from Kitty & Polly

Regular readers will know that I do have a bit of a thing for nice tea-towels (blame my mother, she's more obsessed than I and clearly passed on the gene). They're an inexpensive way to brighten up your kitchen, and make, let's face it, a rather boring chore that little bit more interesting. This summery duo from newly-opened online gifts and accessories store Kitty & Polly combines the iconic, charmingly hippy VW Kombi van with a traditional beach scene of beach huts (that very sought-after summer commodity, now out of the price range of mere mortals). Available in baby blue and pink, the towels are 100% cotton, designed and produced right here in Blighty and cost just £4.50 each. As opening specials, Kitty & Polly is offering free shipping on orders over £40, and 10% off your next order when you register for their newsletter.

Wallace Sacks sale: lovely silk lampshades

We've hit the season of summer sales and there are some great homeware and interiors bargains to be had. Everyone I know seems to be looking for new lighting at the moment (including me), so I've been perusing the lighting clearance at Wallace Sacks. These pretty silk shades are available in soft green with a fuchsia leaf print, and brown with a gold print and can be hung from a pendant fitting or fixed to a lamp base. They're just £35 each.

Grand Designs Live show 8-10th June 2007

Today sees the opening of the Grand Designs Live show at London's Excel centre, billing itself as the UK's top consumer show for design and innovation. The exhibitions within the show include: interiors, build, kitchens, bathrooms, gardens and shopping, and feature free seminars and advice such as overcoming planning problems, garden design, restoration and conservation, environmental sustainability, lighting and financing self-build projects. Tickets can still be purchased in advance for collection at the show (at a discount), or on the door, and the show runs until Sunday.

Pretty printed tea-towels

In my new flat I have a brand new kitchen, and so I don't want to spoil it with old tea-towels that, frankly, have seen better days. So I'm on a tea-towel mission at the moment and want something pretty but a bit different to the usual range of kitchen-themed motifs. The three towels above all have lovely subdued colouring and interesting patterns (and lots of green, which, as you know, is my colour of the moment), and look lovely and fresh for summer. Read on to find out more...