This however has changed somewhat since a few years back when the whole of South Africa was subject to rolling black outs. Thank you Eskom. Anyway, the point is that now, not only are emergency lights necessary but owning emergency lighting is damned near trendy!

Eurolux have an extensive range of emergency lighting products and they are pretty much guaranteed to have an emergency lighting product to suit your needs specifically but for a general idea of the products they carry, here are their top recommended emergency light products.

Eurolux’s FS44 is like the big daddy of emergency lighting! It has 2 fluorescent bulbs and is completely portable but can be mounted on walls or ceilings too! The FS44 can be set up to go on automatically with power failure, or manually, to use one or both of the bulbs at the same time, and has a back up power supply that can be charged from the wall. The FS44 can even be charged from the car lighter in the event of extended black outs.

If you are looking for something smaller and more permanent you should consider Eurolux’s Stick ‘N Click lights or Stick Up bulbs! Both emergency light products install in seconds are completely wireless, provide excellent light and run on batteries!

Eurolux’s range of camping lanterns can also double up perfectly for emergency lighting purposes. Much like the FS44 they are portable, can be charged via mains or the car lighter and have back up power for 4 hours!

For all your emergency lighting needs, or for any information or advice you may require regarding the purchase of your emergency light, or of course to simply purchase from their extensive range, you can contact Eurolux via their website.

Philips is one of South Africa’s leading high end household electronics and home automation product suppliers. They produce everything from toasters to televisions, Sound systems to steamers, PC’s to light bulbs. You could literally fit out your entire house with household electronics from Philips!

They offer a wide range of Home automation appliances including home sound and entertainment systems. If you are looking for speaker systems, multimedia systems and the like Philips are well known for their exceptional quality. Then there entire range of small kitchen appliances like kettles, toasters coffee machines, juicers, grills and steamers. Philips offer everything but the kitchen sink for kitting out your kitchen.

As if that were not enough, over and above the kitchen and entertainment household products. Philips also offers an excellent range of electronic grooming and personal care products ranging from electric toothbrushes to shavers and hair clippers.

For more information about Philips and its vast portfolio of household electronic and home automation products you can go directly to the Philips website.

From stunning cast iron to beautiful stoneware to fabulous silicon, Le Creuset has not only the most lasting and hard wearing cook ware in the world but also the most stylish!

And the new stoneware Strawberry Tea Collection is yet another asset to their portfolio! I’m not sure whether it was designed to coincide with Valentines Day, but since it’s the month of February I’m just going to pretend it was! The entire Strawberry Tea Collection concept was designed around creating cookware and kitchen utensils that can be used for morning or afternoon tea!

The Strawberry Tea Collection consists of everything you would need to have and host a delicious tea party. From beautiful 3 tier cake stands to gorgeous tea plates and preserve jars the Strawberry Tea Collection has all the cookware you could possibly need for a tea time occasion. But the best item has to be the miniature heart shaped ramekins! These stunning little pots come with lids and can be used for anything from chocolate fondant to cup cakes.

The Strawberry Tea Collection is a stoneware range which means,a s pre Le Creuset standard, all items are oven microwave, grill, freezer and dishwasher safe and come with a 5 year guarantee, so while they might come in really girly colours, there is nothing girly about this little tea collection’s ability to perform and last!

For more information about the various new products and offers available through Le Creuset, including their gorgeous new Strawberry Tea Collection you can go directly to the Le Creuset website.

Nouwens custom weave have been manufacturing high quality custom designed Axminster carpets for the South African commercial hospitality industry for quite some time now. Their custom weave carpets have swiftly become known as well within in internationally accepted standards for Axminster quality.

Being one of South Africa’s leading carpet suppliers, Nouwens ensure that their custom weave Axminster technologies are absolutely up to date as to best ensure the continued quality and service for which they are so well known. Combining modern technology with this time honoured tradition means that Nouwens benefit in terms of the design and durability of their Axminster Carpets.

Nouwens custom weave ensure that they use only the finest custom dyed wools in the creation of their Axminster yarns. A 20/80 ratio blend of Nylon to wool means that Nouwens custom weave carpets are soft, luxurious and pliable while still being extremely durable and hard wearing which makes them perfect for the hospitality industry!

For more information about Nouwens Custom weave Axminster carpets, their production, design, or to simply look through their gallery you can go directly to the Nouwens website.

These two collections are a complete contrast, demonstrating the duality of Pierre Frey’s Fabric Collections in bold terms.

The signature Collection, Pierre Frey epitomises everything that the Pierre Frey Fabric House is. Fabrics are contemporary, Parisian Chic, classically elegant and wildly eclectic. Pierre Frey has used stylised patterns and a wide kaleidoscope of textures to create this signature collection. Although the offering is predominantly made up of soft and elegant neutrals, monochromatic prints and quietly patterned prints there are one or two vivid surprises with in the collection, particularly with in the ethnic influenced ranges.

Boussac on the other hand is delightfully child-like and fun! Boussac is made up of funky geometric patterns, bright colours and wild textures. The collection is cheerful and modern, creative and playful. Boussac toys with current trends and blends this with technicality and exoticism to create fun, affordable, happy and coordinated patterns

Both the Pierre Frey and Boussac fabric collections are ideal for residential and hospitality décor. They can be used for upholstery, curtaining and accessories in each instance.

For more information about the gorgeous fabric collections created by Pierre Frey Fabric House and available through Mavromac, including the Pierre Frey and Boussac collections, or to have an extended look at their beautiful catalogues, you can go directly to the Mavromac website

Every piece of outdoor furniture Soleil produces has been designed and manufactured right out of their very own Johannesburg studio from a high quality synthetic cane fibre that not only looks attractive but is exceptionally durable too! But not satisfied to simply be leading the pack, Soleil continue to innovate and have now released a second synthetic fibre that is bound to have clients doing a double take!

Soleil are thrilled to announce the development and release of their brand new synthetic water hyacinth fibre. This new outdoor furniture fibre will bring an entirely different texture into the mix for Soleil, broadening their product catalogue extensively. Designed to the same exacting standards of Soleil’s other outdoor furniture products, the new synthetic water hyacinth fibre is completely weatherproof and comes in both a wonderful natural colour and a more dynamic black for that ultra modern look.

Soleil’s synthetic water hyacinth fibre lends an entirely more organic look to the range of outdoor furniture produced by the company, which will double the Soleil range and benefit their clients with greater choice!

For more information about Soleil’s brand new outdoor furniture fibre, or to take a look at the actual synthetic water hyacinth fibre products available from Soleil, you can go directly to the Soleil website.

Suffice it to say, I listen to a lot of music, but there is nothing worse that listening to music on a sound system that is well, inadequate. You know, scratchy, muffled, poorly balanced, the sort of sound system that doesn’t do the music you are listening to any justice.

Fortunately Harman Kardon Feel the same way, which is why they produce such exceptional quality sound systems, and have done for the last 60 odd years for your home audio! In the early 1950’s Harmon Kardon’s founders decided that they were going to produce high quality sound systems that would give everyone the gift of beautiful sound right in their homes! And so they did!

Harmon Kardon have since been the leading innovators in sound system development in the world, coming up with many of the worlds home audio firsts as well as making leaps in the development of audio visual technologies. There various home audio and audio visual products not only produce crystal clear sound, but are also beautifully designed aesthetically, so, pretty to look at and listen to!

For more information about the wide variety of sound systems, home audio and audio visual products that Harman Kardon produces and supplies, or to find one of their local distributors you can go directly to the Harman Kardon Website.

We are, however, become avid fans of the gas braai now too. All that yummy braai-ness without all that smoke! Yes our fascination with grilling meat over a fire is epic. Of course, during winter we enjoy a good fire too, even if it doesn’t involve a braai, most South African houses are equipped with some sort of braai, braai pit, fire pit or fire place!

Syam is one of South Africa’s leading suppliers of indoor and outdoor fire systems and braais. Which means that this is the perfect place to look for all your fire place or braai needs. And what;s more, they received top accolades recently when one of the Syam gas braais was featured on Top Billing being used by none other than Schalk Burger!

Syam offer a very comprehensive range of traditional charcoal braais, mobile and built in gas braais, and Braai accessories. They also produce both indoor and outdoor fireplaces, both traditional and gas, as well as external gas fire pits, bio fuel fires, ceramic fire pots and fire tables, flueless fireplaces and designer gas fire grates.

For more information about Syam’s wide range of indoor and outdoor fire systems, braais and braai accessories you can go to the Syam website.

When it came to Clifton Contemporary the brief was anything but simple! Mint Designer Renovations were asked to convert a small, damp store room cum jacuzzi room snuggled in the heart of Clifton into the into a beautiful, contemporary guest bedroom and en-suite which would better take advantage of the spectacular Atlantic views the “store room” already owned!

Not that bad, until you consider that the store room in question was tucked UNDER the neighbour’s swimming pool, which leaked by the way! And just to add more of a challenge, it was necessary that this high end, luxury guest room still had to discretely house a working swimming pool pump which required easy access and an ensuite bathroom, complete with full plumbing and steam room. Of course this is the point at which the Mint Designer Renovations engineer expressly forbade any cutting into existing walls to hide pipes etcetera because of the pool above! Right!

But rest assured, Mint Designer Renovations got it right! After some serious mental gymnastics on the part of their engineer, draftsman, plumber and designer, the inventive use of ever inch of available space, yards of insulation and one very deceptive “Narnia-like” cupboard, Mint Designer Renovations presented a beautiful, functional, high end guest suite to it’s ecstatic owners!

For the full details about how Mint Designer Renovations converted this leaky jacuzzi room into metres of prime Clifton real estate you can navigate to Mint Designer Renovations website and check out Clifton Contemporary on the Mint Designer Renovations Portfolio Page!

But what is the point of owning a beautiful artwork if you don’t display it well? There is an art to hanging and displaying artworks, and this involves effective lighting. Eurolux is one of South Africa’s largest distributors of lights, light fittings and lighting products so naturally they make it their business to know a thing or two about effective lighting techniques.

Here are Eurolux‘s tips for creating effective lighting for Artwork in your home or business:

Your artwork should be the main feature or focal point of the room. You achieve this by create and eclipse of light around the artwork which takes in the artwork and frame, but as little of the backing wall as possible.

You have two choices when it comes to the actual lights you use to create effective lighting for your artwork. You can use either mains voltage halogen, candle or strip lighting or you can use low voltage halogen lights. Low Voltage halogen lights are generally preferred because they offer a whiter light that is less likely to distort the artwork’s colours but using mains voltage lighting can work to your benefit in the case of ultra-modern art as the warmer light will enhance the warmer tones in the Artwork.

How you position your light fittings and lighting is extremely important because light will bounce of your artwork at the same angle as it shines onto it. The bean degree as well as light angle need to be considered. Generally a 24degree beam is beast for artworks, but the 38degree beam is more common in stores so remember to ask specifically for the 24degree beam.

How large or small your artwork is will determine how near it you need to place your light source. The larger the artwork, the further back you will need to place your light fittings to achieve full light coverage and even intensity.

The size of your artwork also dictates how intense your light needs to be. So bigger artworks need to use larger light bulbs and possibly two light sources to create even light intensity while smaller artworks require only one.

For more information about the lighting products that Eurolux has on offer to help you create effective lighting for your artwork you can go to the Eurolux website