A survey conducted by the Eyecare Trust in 2011 revealed that the average person in the UK now spends a staggering 3 and a half months per year looking at a screen. As a result of prolonged computer use, “screen fatigue”, ie: sore, itchy, irritated eyes or temporary blurring of vision affects 9 out of 10 computer users

Watching an image on a screen is very absorbing. When you concentrate on the screen for long periods, your blink rate slows and your eyes tend to dry out. This problem is made even worse by the drying effect of the atmosphere in centrally heated homes and air-conditioned offices.

If you regularly come home from work and watch TV or sit at a computer screen in the evenings you may experience particular problems of screen fatigue, as the eyes tend to dry out over the course of  the day.

So what can be done to reduce screen fatigue?

The Moisture Chamber glasses sold by Eyewear Accessories can help to reduce the rate at which your eyes dry out and reduce symptoms of sore, itchy eyes. They have a foam seal that insulates your eyes from the drying atmosphere.

Visit the Eyewear Accessories website on moisture chamber glasses

See the Eyecare Trust’s tips on avoiding screen fatigue

Property experts reckon that the entrance door is a vital feature when selling your home as well as being one of the most important aesthetic and security features.

Whereas there are many websites offering replacement windows or conservatories, there are very few that offer customers seeking to upgrade their front door a good range of quality products and styles.

Steve Thorogood, Managing Director of Admiral Homespace, the award winning Cambridgeshire window and door installers comments:

‘Many prospective clients are no longer turned on by plastic or basic panelled composite doors of the type offered by the large house builders and double glazing companies. It is realised that your front door is one of the most important features of your home. After all you touch it several times every day!’

New website has all the inspiration and technical details you need

To meet the need, Admiral have launched a dedicated website at NewFrontDoors.co.uk to give customers the information they need to make an effective choice of replacement door. Visitors to NewFrontDoors.co.uk will find technical details, gallery ideas and many options to choose from.

The products offered range from basic styles at around £1000 fitted right up to £5000 plus models in hand built Oak designs. A couple of the styles from the gallery on the website are illustrated here:

Supply-only or installation service

Admiral offer a supply-only service nationwide and can fit your new front door if you live in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northants Bucks or Herts. Details are available on the website as well as an online E-Quote facility.

Admiral Homespace are committed to providing excellent information online to support clients in their home improvement projects and will soon be launching a website with all you need to know about choosing a bi-fold door.

For more information, visit

www.newfrontdoors.co.uk

www.admiralhomespace.com

Covering the whole of Hertfordshire and Bedford plus Milton Keynes, a new Double Glazing Design Studio has just opened in Stotfold near Hitchin.

The design studio concept is one pioneered by Admiral Homespace. Occupying an old dairy farm building, it is perfectly suited to the display of home improvement products supplied by Admiral Homespace throughout the East of England.

By visiting the studio, you can find out about Timber Windows, Double Glazing, and Bi-folding doors along with information for projects such as Garden Room and Orangeries or Conservatory extensions.

Benefits of the Design Studio concept to customers

Admiral Homespace is a true home improvement company, designing all types of home modifications from flat roofing to loft conversions. The Design Studio concept is a new one that enables potential clients to phone and arrange a studio visit at their convenience and park right outside the door.

Customers can discuss options with our designers over a cup of coffee

Window designs on display at the studio

Steve Thorogood, the Managing Director of Admiral explains:

‘We, like many other companies used to display our products via high street showrooms. With the advent of internet marketing, which accounts for some 90% of our budget these days, clients do not wish to traipse around the high street looking for window showrooms, paying for parking and invariably being disappointed with the variety of products on display.

The normal procedure these days is that prospective clients research our website, call or e mail to arrange a visit, put the postcode into their Sat Nav and on arrival take their time to discuss options with our designers over a cup of coffee. Any products that are not physically available at the studio can be viewed on our in house audio-visual displays”.

“It is all about providing what the client wants” says Steve. “That is one thing that has never changed”.

How to find the Hitchin design studio

The Hertfordshire Design Studio can be found at:

Unit 8 Arc Progress, Stotfold, Hitchin, Herfordshire SG5 4NY

Tel: 01462 730600

www.admiralhomespace.com

Orangeries, Conservatories and Garden rooms

Orangeries , Conservatories and Garden rooms can be viewed at the main Cambridgeshire Show Centre should further information be required.

Cambridgeshire Show Centre location:

Ermine Street, Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambs, PE28 4FL

Plastic, aluminium and new composite materials are all the rage for replacing windows and doors, but for authenticity, you cannot beat timber windows and doors. They may be more expensive but they make a home look amazing and with certain properties they really are a must, otherwise you could detract from their value.

The reputation of the average wood window and door took a battering during the 80s and 90s

Wooden windows of old were well made, well treated against the elements and often made of oak, particularly the sliding sash windows seen in Victorian style properties. Unfortunately the reputation of the average wood window and door took a battering during the 80s and 90s, in particular due to the cheap materials used and the sloppy installation of the products, particularly in new homes. This led to a surge in the use of Plastic or PVCu as being regarded as the window of choice for both new build and replacement applications.

The problem with the plastic replacement window market at that time was that it was dominated by unscrupulous companies with an aggressive approach to sales. This meant that the pricing was inconsistent and double glazing design was influenced more by competition for unique selling points than benefits to the consumer or aesthetics.

Many streets have been blighted by poorly-designed replacement windows and doors

The results of two decades of poor quality window installations and price wars between suppliers can be seen in many streets throughout the UK that have been blighted by ill fitting and unsuitable replacement windows and doors.

It is no wonder that English Heritage will refuse to specify plastic windows for older or listed properties.

Because of these poorly executed double glazing installations, many discerning home owners have chosen once again to look at genuine wooden frames when replacing their windows.

Admiral Windows and Conservatories Ltd based in Cambridgeshire, install replacement windows throughout Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and most of East Anglia.

Bespoke timber windows with period detailing

Admiral offer Flush Casement, Storm Proof and Sliding Sash windows in hardwood, softwood and even oak frames.  All of the timber windows range is bespoke and period detailing and ironmongery is available to match any age of property. The Urbane Range offers a stunning contemporary look to complete the range of products offered.

Admiral  Timber Windows Division now accounts for almost a quarter of the company’s business  and is currently the fastest growing enquiry source, even though timber windows can cost three or four times the price of an equivalent plastic framed product.

Visit Handmadewindows.co.uk to see for yourself why many home improvers admit that when fitting windows or doors to your home it definitely should be wood!

Timber sash window

Admiral Homespace

Man wearing Solarclips Rectangle clip on sunglasses

Clip on sunglasses are back in demand, reports Eyewear Accessories, with new spring-fit designs and improved flip up models that not only look much better, but also offer greater comfort and performance compared with the clipons of the past.

Eyewear Accessories report that many people are finding their clip on sunglasses the best alternative to buying costly prescription eyewear.

Read the full article on their blog: The Budget busting alternative to prescription sunglasses

A customer wearing Solarclips Almond clip on sunglasses

Eyewear Accessories, the UK outlet for Solarclips spring-fit clip on sunglasses is delighted to announce that an even wider range of models is being added to its extensive range.

Solarclips attach neatly to the wearer’s prescription spectacles with four discreet clips and are held in place by the tension of a spring-loaded bridge.

They are available through Eyewear Accessories in 20 different size/shape combinations and most models are available in a choice of polarized tints, including category 3 smoke grey, category 3 brown, and category 2 copper.

Virtually indistinguishable from a pair of prescription sunglasses

By selecting a shape/size of Solarclips that corresponds accurately to the lens dimensions of your glasses, they look virtually indistinguishable from a pair of prescription sunglasses.

An excellent, cost-effective alternative to prescription sunglasses

Spring-fit clip on sunglasses provide an excellent, cost-effective alternative to prescription sunglasses and, with the increasing popularity of varifocals, many people are choosing them rather than having a separate pair of tinted prescription glasses made.

Solarclips have a high build quality, with light frames made from stainless steel and quality polarized lenses.

They are available online from Eyewear Accessories at £18.99 including a hard protective, velvet lined case. They ship orders worldwide (except US and Canada) for just £2.95 and in the UK, delivery is normally the next working day. .

For more details, visit www.clipon-sunglasses.co.uk

Some of the striking new Italian-designed contemporary plant containers

Plantforce, the Docklands-based office plants supplier have introduced an exciting new range of contemporary plant containers by Italian designers 21^st Century Living Art.

The innovative designs are the result of combining materials, colours, shapes, images and densities in new and striking ways. Featuring these containers in your office plant displays will bring vibrant colour and interest to your interior environment.

Visit this link on the Plantforce website to see pictures of their wide range of contemporary plant containers.

They are profiled for Office Plants on Top 100.

Plantforce
41 Cannon Workshops
Cannon Drive
London
E14 4AS
View map
Tel: 020 7538 2141
Fax: 020 7538 2374
Email: sales@plant-force.co.uk

Specialist healthcare equipment supplier Newstyle Healthcare furniture has introduced an innovative new breastfeeding chair to allow mothers to feed their baby in communal areas in comfort and provide innovative modern reception seating with a contemporary design and ergonomic comfort for all.

The breastfeeding chair provides excellent support and comfort

The breastfeeding armchair is made of soft polyurethane, coated in expanded PVC-artificial leather sheets with textile backing.

The seat has a particular shape offering good support to the new mother avoiding pressure and pains to the perineal body. The painted aluminium base is equipped with footrest. Two small castors on its back let the armchair move easly while it is reclining.

Visit Newstyle Healthcare Furniture for more details of their innovative range of solutions for hospitals and surgeries.

With Valentines Day only 2 weeks away now is the time to buy that special romantic gift for your loved one.

Jewellery gifts are ideally suited to this occasion and the range of contemporary silver jewellery at Something Elegant includes styles for all tastes and budgets.

D for Diamond silver hearts pendant

Popular choices for Valentines gifts are pendants and bracelets with hearts or roses on them. For example, this attractive silver heart pendant from the D for Diamond range.

Also popular romantic gifts are charm bracelets with the initials of the person or couple on them. Select from the wide range of charm jewellery in the store to build up a personalised and unique bracelet. Illustrated here for example is a letter charm in the Truth range.

Letter charm from the Truth charms range

So don’t delay – take a look for that special gift in the Something Elegant store in time for delivery by 14 February!

Something Elegant is profiled in Top 100 for contemporary jewellery.

Artist's impression of the Double Helix sculpture

Christophe Gordon-Brown has unveiled plans for the Double-Helix, an exciting and innovative new sculpture for an exterior wall in the new Varsity Hotel in Cambridge.

This artist’s impression shows how the concept of the sculpture will appear from the street. Weighing around 4 tons, it is in the form of a giant gold spiral, coning into the front wall of the hotel, and will be installed at street level to be visible to passers-by.

The Spiral will have pure carat golf leaf. It will sit in a large wall of Portland concrete. The setting, also designed by Christophe, involves the sculpture being lit from behind by two solar-tubes that collect the sun, and beam the light down through reflecting tubes, to illuminate the sculpture from behind.

Christophe won the commission for this prestigious public work in an international competition against other leading contemporary sculptors.

For more information on his work, visit cgb-sculpture.co.uk or see his profile for Top 100 contemporary sculpture.