Light up your life – or just your lounge room – with these fantastic lights from John Lewis:

A: John Lewis Knife and Fork Ceiling Shade,* £40.00 GBP

B: John Lewis Tuska Floor Lamp,* £110.00 GBP

C: John Lewis Imani Table Lamp,* £50.00 GBP

D: John Lewis Lexie Ceiling Shade,* £25.00 GBP

E: John Lewis Melody Shade,* £55.00 GBP

F: John Lewis Flexagon Ceiling Shade,* £80.00 GBP

It’s not often you discover a good quality furnishing brand online, as most of them are either very well known brands that are on the high-street or are selling second-rate products not worth your time.  This is certainly not the case with BMH Living – we’ve browsed through their range and picked out several lovely items we think would suit a modern, stylish home:

A: Earth Furniture Natura Rustic Oak Dressing Stool, £70.84 GBP

B: Earth Furniture Pacific Shaker 5′ Low Foot End King Size Bed, £430.79 GBP

C: Baumhaus Kudos Dark Ash ‘G’ Lamp Table, £175.19 GBP

D: Baumhaus Kudos Dark Ash Three Door One Drawer Sideboard, £389.53 GBP

E: Earth Furniture Tuscany Leather Chair, £112.70 GBP

F: Baumhaus Kudos Dark Ash Glazed Cabinet One Drawer, £193.79 GBP

G: GillmoreSPACE Stanza Occasional Chair, £399.34 GBP

Running out of space for that new pair of boots, your twentieth pair of stilettos or your uggs?  Me too.  Rather than lining my shoes up along my bedroom walls or throwing them into the bottom of my wardrobe, I’ve decided to take a pro-active approach:

A: Shoe Rack, £7.50 GBP at John Lewis

B: 10 Stackable Ladies Clear Shoe Storage Boxes, £11.99 GBP at Amazon

C: Stamford Shoe Bench, £288.00 GBP at John Lewis (Pre-Order Now)

D: Portis Shoe Rack, £19.99 GBP at IKEA

E: Bigso House Laban Shoe Box,* £12.00 GBP at Heal’s

F: Perigot Cedar Stackable Shoe Rack,* £40.00 GBP at Heal’s

G: Dottie 6 Pocket Shoe Organiser, £2.99 GBP at Dunelm Mill

H: Shoe Hanger, £15.00 GBP at Habitat

Dear readers.  Please don’t get the wrong idea.  I fully support responsible drinking habits and I only drink Cosmos once a month (why cosmos? Partially because they’re lower in calories than other cocktails and partially because I love the colour, I’m easily pleased).  All this being said, I have to confess – I do love a good bottle of wine, and I do have quite a few bottles waiting to be drunk (see, proof that I don’t drink them the second I get them – responsible drinking folks, everything in moderation).  This prompts quite a serious problem – how to store said wine bottles in a stylish, sturdy and practical way.  I have a few ideas…

A: Wooden 12 Bottle Wine Rack,* £40.00 GBP at Debenhams

B: 12 Bottle Wine Rack, £14.50 GBP at John Lewis

C: Grape Winerack, £70.00 GBP by Robert Bronwasser at Conran Shop

D: Cactus Wine Rack, £75.00 GBP at Design My World

E: Black Bottle Rack,* £22.00 GBP by Koziol at Heal’s

F: Wine Knot, £95.00 GBP by Mint at Lifestyle Bazaar

G: Wine Rack in silver, £49.95 GBP by Menu at Purves

H: Bachus Bottle Rack, £608.00 GBP at Made in Design

I: Perfekt Wine Shelf, £65.00 GBP at IKEA

J: Atelier du Vin City Rack, £25.00 GBP by Millesimes at Amara

K: Stainless Steel Wave Wine Rack, £10.99 GBP at Amazon.co.uk

L: Define Wooden Wine Rack, £28.00 GBP at My Living Space

Coming from a sub-tropical climate (Brisbane, my home town in Australia) to a very cold northern climate (Edinburgh) has been tough, especially as the days get shorter and shorter and the sun seems to completely avoid our little patch of the sky.  That’s why over the last few weeks I’ve been trying a 10,000 lux lamp, otherwise known as a S.A.D. lamp that treats Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Although a lot of people scoff, S.A.D is a clinical problem that has been proven through psychological and medical studies (I know, I was a sceptic too, but it is an actual disorder) whereby people suffer from depression, lethargy, moodiness and a general lack of pizazz in the darker months of the year.  Fortunately there are easy ways to treat the problem, the simplest being to invest in a dawn simulation lamp that is programmed to switch on and gradually increase the levels of light until it’s shining brightly – this helps your body clock to stay in a summer rhythm.  The other option, which I’ve gone for, is to use a lamp that shines at the same intensity as bright daylight; you can leave it on during the day or you can sit with it on your desk for an hour or two to get a more concentrated burst of light.  My energy levels have soared and I’ve been full of beans – whether this is as a result of the actual effects of the lamp or just the placebo effect, who knows!

Anyway, since I’ve begun using the lamp it’s made me a lot more conscious of light sources – having lamps on in an otherwise dark room lit only by the telly or computer screen, keeping the curtains open at night so that I can be woken by the sunshine, and so forth.  It also got me thinking – what other light products are there out there that can not only give you light but also help to cheer up your day?

A: Magic Apartment Light, £24.99 GBP at Lazybone.

B: Skeleton Dog Lamp, £44.99 GBP at Lazybone.

C: Floodlamp,* £69.99 GBP at iWoot.

D: Lapin Lamp,* £49.00 GBP by Lapin & Me at NotOnTheHighStreet.com.

E: Large Recycled Lentil Design Lamp,* £200.00 GBP at Biome Lifestyle (Eco Friendly Product!).

F: Romantic Flower Lamp,* £295.00 GBP at Oliver Bonas.

G: Chrysanthemum White Round Table Lamp,* £275.00 GBP at Heal’s.

H: Lighthouse Table Lamp,* £160.00 GBP by Innermost at House of Fraser.

I: White Cherry Blossom Wall Lights,* £44.00 GBP at Graham & Green.

We stumbled across Occa Home yesterday and have been in major lust ever since – almost to the point of carving our names on a tree surrounded by a love heart.  We love that you can shop their store by ‘look’ too – as well as the traditional way of browsing (by room or by item category) you can choose to look at items that are ‘fancy’, ‘funky’ or ‘comfy’!  Brilliant idea!  The website also allows you to compile your own wishlists, has an outlet shop, and stocks items that vary from very affordable to eye-wateringly expensive – there’s definitely something for everyone:

A: Zaha Hadid Niche Centerpiece, £109.25 GBP

B: Missoni Bianco Nero Dinner Plate, £43.50 GBP each

C: Anton Candle Holder, £18.40 GBP

D: Jan Constantine Scottish Lion Grey Cushion, £69.00 GBP

E: Miss K T Table Lamp in Red, £156.00 GBP

F: Chisel Vase, £37.93 GBP

G: Romi Tealight, £11.04 GBP

H: Bling Pendant Lamp, £759.00 GBP

I was once obsessed with being punctual to the point that I would get into a cold sweat if I thought I didn’t have enough time to get from A to B.  Then I met my boyfriend and realized that he was running on his own timezone – if people wanted to see him, they would wait.  Needless to say I have had to adjust.  This doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the beautiful design of timepieces for the home, like the below:

A: John Lewis Spider Wall Clock,* £35.00 GBP at John Lewis

B: Around the Clock (in white), £17.95 GBP at Conran Shop (this one does ‘approximate’ time – perfect for the boyfriend!)

C: Contemporary Cuckoo Clock by Diamantini & Domeniconi at Aria, £153-£336 GBP (depending on colour)

D: Steel Utensils Clock, £45.00 GBP at Dwell

E: Newgate Bullit Alarm Clock* in Red, £35.00 GBP at Heal’s

F: Colour Wheel Clock, £26.50 GBP at Hidden Art

G: Green On-Off Alarm Clock, £29.00 GBP at Conran Shop (to switch off the alarm you knock it onto it’s other ‘leg’!)

H: Puzzle Wall Clock, £45.00 GBP at Dutch by Design (you can piece the puzzle together however you like)

I: Grandpa Canvas Clock, £49.50 GBP at Dutch by Design