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Want to invest in some art without parting with a fortune?

For the last word on good value and quality bedlinen, accessories and furniture, visit Whites of London. Woven wood and seagrass seats with inbuilt storage, laundry baskets, curtain panels, tablecloths, napkin rings and duvet sets all form part of the collection, with these Faux leather coasters (£12.50 for a set of six) an essential for those wishing to preserve the surface of their dining or living room tables.

Most people have updated to a flat screen TV now – lighter, less cumbersome and the picture is a world apart from the models of old. Finding the space on your TV stand for your DVD player or games consol though can be tricky, and the TV is far too heavy to simply plonk on top. Luckily the newly launched Flattvworld.co.uk is on hand to help with just this, offering a full range of solutions for flat screens.

A fabulous addition to your kitchen worktop, window sill or as a wall mounted accessory, this beech wood rack (£25.20) from Contemporary Living Solutions features five glass containers, especially designed for holding sweet herbs or flowers. Made from sustainable sourced hardwood, the rack is produced using oils and solvents derived from resins, linen and orange peel to ensure it is 100 per cent natural and environmentally friendly. Contemporarylivingsolutions.com

Belle by name, belle by nature, the aptly named Belle Maison Home Interiors Ltd is in a class of its own when it comes to hand finished furniture and accessories

Started in 2001 as an independent retail shop, Belle Maison has since expanded to form its own UK factory in St Helens Merseyside. Today it manufactures its much sought-after designs for many other companies, but you can still buy and view its collection from BelleMaison.com.

Getting you prepared for the doubtless glacial conditions that will arrive in the not too distant future is the Glacier bedlinen range at VirginVieathome.com. Made from an extra fine cotton mix set with hand embroidered detail, and with a cool white and blue colour scheme, this is ideal for winter. It’s not too pricey either at just £28.50 for a single duvet cover and laundry bag, and £9 for a pillow case. You can also save yourself £10 when you buy a double duvet (£40) and two standard pillow cases.

One good thing about the approaching winter is the end of the bikini season; out goes the diet and in come the delicious homebaked buns and bread. A colourful and stylish place to put those wheat-based delights, these quilted bread baskets (£9) from the newly launched BoutiqueProvencale.co.uk, bring a welcome flavour of France to the meal – and that’s before you get stuck into the baguettes. Matching sets of two tablemats and napkins available for £22.

If your inspiration for gifts grinds to a halt at The Sock Shop, Wheesh.com should be your new best friend. Filled with a plethora of goodies, helpfully arranged into Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Children Gifts and Baby Gifts, this is a great one to line-up in time for the Christmas shopping. A particularly inviting section of the website can be found under Wall Clocks where there is a huge choice available. The Aged Metal Wall Clocks are particularly fabulous, with models such as this La Poissonnerie priced at £37.95.

Today’s answer to yesterday’s beanbag, the newly launched LoJo is both portable, flexible and, above all, a comfortable seat. When zipped, it forms a sphere shape, useful as a stool or footrest; when unzipped, it forms a stylish and contemporary lounge chair. The seat is filled with beans for comfort, whilst the back is sculpted to support your lower back, and there are a variety of different colours, fabrics and finishes to choose from. All designs are priced at £99 and are available online at Lojoball.com

The collection of art at Adila is reason enough to visit and buy from this well-presented website. The fact that it is all good value and fair trade is an added bonus. Combining ethical production with innovative design, it offers a small but perfectly formed range of art and accessories. Ten per cent of profits made from painting such as this example (£520) by Altaf Kramer are donated to Bowy House, a care home for children and babies diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, and throughout the month of September its African Mohair throws are reduced from £85 to £63.

Grown ups don’t chuck cheap vodka shots back from sticky tumblers in the pub, they sip grown up digestifs such as Limoncello and Armagnac after dinner, and from tall, elegant shot glasses such as these colourful little numbers from Dwell. Each glass from this set of six is a different shape and colour and features a long, narrow stem. A set of six costs £14.95 from Dwell.co.uk; or call 0870 241 8653.

There’s no shortage of the unique and unusual at Origin,  The London Craft Fair which returns to Somerset House this October with over 300 contemporary craftspeople and their wares. Taking place from 2nd – 7th October and 9th – 14th October 07,  there's glass, ceramics, jewellery, metal, furniture, basketry, wood and textiles, with pieces such as this extravagantly shaped Chaise longue (£2,800) by Sixixis a particular favourite of mine. Tickets to the event cost £8 on the day, £7 in advance. Call ticketmaster on 0870 160 2853.

Find yourself turning those evening lights on earlier and earlier at the moment?

It’s a melting point of creativity at Paint Saints.co.uk, where you can browse and commission the work of over 500 artists, be they painters (PaintSaints), gardeners (GardenSaints), chefs (ChefSaints), fashion creators (ScissorSaints) and more. A free introductory service, Paint Saints works in everybody’s favour: the “Saint” gets a steady stream of commissions; and the customer has a useful and original source for birthday presents, special occasions and artistic inspiration.

I've just discovered The Wooden Gifts co.com and fallen in love with its range of charming hand-painted wooden boxes. Whilst sunflower patterned tissue boxes (£20.40) help mask the unsightly cardboard of a branded tissue box, the Rome Rose decorated business card boxes (£12.30) make an attractive table-top ornament and offer a handy way to keep track of good restaurants and bars around London and the world. There are many more florally designed boxes to be found here - for pencils, necklaces, sewing kits and more.

Fancy a cheeky mojito?

An excellent example of what Fair Trade is really all about, Tearcraft works with 19 producers in ten countries including Bangladesh, Thailand and Peru. The idea is to give advice and assistance in costing, design, employment practice, production and marketing with the long-term goal being for producers to become self-sufficient businesses. In the mean time, we the consumers can snap up hand-crafted, elegant tables such as this Strawberry Table – a small shesham wood table with a glass gemstone art panel (£35) - with a clear conscience.

Better known for its range of exquisite, hand-made personalized gifts, Aspen & Brown has recently unveiled a new Home & Garden Collection. Decorative ironware to delicate glassware, smart storage to vintage enamel – the collection is highly eclectic with prices starting from as little as £2.95. This Botanical Metal Wall sconce brings an unusual decorative touch to the home. Featuring delicate flowers and leaves, it holds two candles and is easily wall mounted – and it costs just £19.95.

With all the rain we’ve had this year, it’s good to be prepared before you leave the house. A classy and attractive way to keep your brolly ready to grab as you leave the house (or a place to put wet brollies in as you come in), this umbrella stand (ref. 16890) from Natural Collection has been hand-painted by a fairly traded cooperative in Kashmir and is priced at a reasonable £34.95. Call 0845 3677 001 to request a catalogue.

I spent quite some time browsing around Essentialbits.co.uk. A temple to all things useful, it offers a wide range of handy homeware gadgets for all areas of the home and garden. Whilst the Garden Tool Mobile (£13) offers an aesthetically pleasing way to hang all your garden tools in one place; pretty gauze food covers (£5) help keep flies off your lunch this summer. Meanwhile, these folding coat hangers (£5, now £3 per hanger) help prevent stretch t-shirt or dress collars, and are ideal for taking on holiday.

With the British weather living up to its reputation this summer, snuggling up on the sofa with a DVD has never been so appealing – particularly when the thing you’re snuggling up  to  is this luxury Mongolian cashmere throw from BLACK. As part of a July promotion, BLACK is offering its Grey & Ivory basket weave throw and its Cream & Taupe throw for £119 instead of the usual £170. Great for the sofa, brilliant for the bed – and utter bliss as a travel blanket on those long haul flights.

This handy and attractive ottoman is more than just a seat or footstool for your front room. Made to order by Sue Bensassi in a choice of two sizes, the smaller one being £195 plus fabric and the larger (double the length) priced at £310 plus fabric, each ottoman opens to reveal a suspended filing system – perfect for keeping track of all those household bills and documents. Fabric swatches can be requested by phone or email, or customers can supply their own fabric. Just call Sue on 020 8964 4920 or email suebensassi@talktalk.net

If you like to shop, shop online and shop ethically, Swallow Tail Hill.com will be right up your street. The site offers a wealth of fair trade, recycled, organic and sustainable products sourced from around the globe including wooden photo albums (£15) handmade in Klungkung, handcrafted wooden toothbrush holders (£7.50) made from reclaimed birchwood, and colourful recycled glass bottle stoppers (£5 each) – perfect for those unfinished bottles of wine fresh for the next day.

There are few who can resist a good quality fabric, and even fewer that can pass up a fabric sale. Those nodding their heads in agreement should then make their way down to the Ian Mankin summer sale where a wide selection of its fabrics has been reduced by up to 50 per cent. Ticking 18 for example is down from £16.50 to £8.25 and don’t forget to check out the cushions and vintage fabrics which are down by a not-to-be-sniffed at 10 per cent. Sale ends 28th July 2007.

If your average happy snap just doesn’t do you justice, why not commission a funky modern portrait from YouAreArt.co.uk?

Browsing through the attractive collection of home and kitchenware at Un-usual.com, this Hommage modular Candelabra caught my eye as a fun idea for the kitchen table this summer.

For a rug that is unique to you, as well as environmentally friendly, visit The Natural Rug Store. The first online rug store company in the UK to offer customers the facility to build bespoke rugs from scratch, its Rug Builder allows you to choose from a massive range of natural materials and colours, then have your rug bordered, piped or double bordered with cotton, leather, suede, wool, linen, tapestry, picallo and more – in whichever size you would like.

An independent family-run business, Knots has been working in the trade of rugs for three generations now, and offers a wide range of both traditional and contemporary styles. And to make way for its new and world exclusive Florence Broadhurst rugs, it is holding a massive sale with 10 per sent off everything in store, and savings of up to 40 per cent on a huge range of Missoni Home, Art Deco and plain modern rugs, as well as traditionals such as Persians, Kilims and hand-made silk and wool Tibetan rugs by Tashi Murik.

Following a rather unusual email I received this week from a lady searching for cheap and tartan (!) lampshades, I found the handy Frolic Lighting. A comprehensive site specialising in all manner of lamp, candles, shades and accessories, it also has excellent prices. Its special offers section sees hand-stencilled candle shades reduced from 27 to just 4 and many other sizeable discounts. There’s a huge choice of designs and styles to choose from - and yes, there’s even tartan.

With a well-deserved name for good quality, design-led lighting, furniture and homeware accessories, The Conran Shop more than makes the cut when it comes to summer sales. It is offering up to 75 per cent off over 1000 lines available to buy in store and online ,  with pieces such as this Balance Shelving unit reduced from £ 245 to £150.; its Strips Four Seat Sofa down from £2,385 to £1,015 and its Barcelona Chair from £1695 to £1,269. But quick, the sale ends 8th July.

There are few who can resist a big bunch of flowers, but creating a striking arrangement is not as easy as you might think. A highly specialised craft, it’s worth popping along to Clifton Nurseries on Wednesday 11th July, 5.30pm-8pm where Stephen Davies (Clifton’s Creative Director) will be doing a demonstration on bespoke orchid arrangements in the greenhouse. As orchids are so fragile they are particularly tricky to arrange – not to mention costly if you get it wrong – but Stephen makes it look easy.

Wallace Sacks announces the start of its seasonal sale (1 July) and whopping discounts of up to 75 per cent off selected items.