Decor

Decor: Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter

September 23, 2016 · Leave a Comment

This is a hand blown artisan glass water decanter. It has a vibrant, opaque infusion of color. I chose the blue to match the decor of my office. My office is very arid to forced heat and air conditioning, as well as the environment of the computers and equipment. My eyes and skin feel dry quickly. I got this decanter to remind myself to drink enough water during the day and thought it would be nice to have something stylish on my desk for some artistic flare that coordinates with my office decor, which has accents of cobalt and lapis blue as well as other artisan glass pieces.

Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter

The decanter itself is heavy enough to not accidentally knock over (as I have accidentally done from time to time with Perrier bottles) yet not so heavy that it is hard to lift. The lip on the mouth makes for easy pouring, and it does not splash

Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter

It does not come with the drinking glass; those are sold separately. However, plain or coordinating artisan glassware (such as the one I have in the picture) is easy enough to obtain on websites such as Etsy. They are also easy to paint yourself with glass painting kits. There are some bubbles in the colored glass that show it is hand made; they are not imperfections or blemishes.

Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter

The decanter comes in a gift-worthy white box with company Bib&Sola logo; it is very suitable for gift giving, especially if you know someone’s colors for their kitchen, bar or dining area. At 1.2 liters it is suitable for use when serving dinner to guests as well. If giving as a gift, I might wash it first as it looked much nicer after rinsing it off. There seems to be some residual surface dust that washes off quickly, revealing more beautiful, quality piece.

It is nice to have a clear container on my desk that prompts me to drink the recommended 1.2 Liters a day, and generally, I prefer when my supervisor comes by, to have something more adult and professional on my desk such as this piece instead of plastic bottles that look sloppy.

Makes for a beautiful gift, I believe my photos are true to the color blue, a mid-blue that is not as dark as a lapis.

CONCLUSION: Nice artisan style piece that matches with several decors and is suitable for use in a kitchen, barware, dining room, or office setting.

Find the lovely Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter here.

Bib&Sola Hand Blown Glass Water Decanter

I received this product at a discount for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!

Vanity Table: Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb

August 24, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Ever thought your makeup was perfectly natural looking at home, only to be shocked at how garish it looks in the bathroom mirror at the office?

Me too.

To prevent such shocks and actually know how you will look during the day, it is good to check your makeup in different kinds of lighting. Hopefully, you will be in more flattering lighting, you will likely be in worse lighting sometime during the day, but your vanity lighting is likely a more flattering light than you will encounter during the day. So an adjustable light is a great thing to have on a makeup table.

I like Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb for this purpose. As the name would indicate, it is a LED Light Bulb with Bluetooth connectivity. Better yet, it can be used in any standard socket – I’m able to use it in my great-grandmother’s table lamp that is already on my vanity table.

Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb

The features of the bulb are controlled by the Smarson App, which is available for both iOS and Android. It is a free download, and it is both easy to set up and highly intuitive.

I have the Phillips Hue system, but there is so much more flexibility with the Smarson Light Bulb system. Additionally, the quality of the light is much better: with the Smarson system, the colors are deep and rich, and can be subtly tweaked to whatever lighting scheme you are seeking.

First, you can pick the color from a color wheel of 16 million colors, and then change the brightness of the colors. There are pre-programmed functions like cross-fade for dynamic color shows.

Smarson Bluetooth LED Light Bulb

Second, there is a programmable timer feature. Want to fall asleep to a certain soothing color? Want to have a bright light in the house when you get home from work? You can program all of that quickly right from the app.

Third, this is an energy saving bulb. I am amazed that so many features and such powerful lighting are built into an energy efficient device!

I adore the camera feature, which allows you to take a picture of an object, and the light will match it. It is great if you are looking to coordinate your outfit, or you want to check how you will look in a particular light.

I am impressed by the amount of deeply saturated light that the one bulb produced. For events such as a wedding, consider purchasing enough of these bulbs to illuminate your venue if you can decorate the space yourself. Find a friend with a good eye to control the lights throughout the event. Since each light can be controlled individually from the app, you can create different lighting schemes for different areas, or change them all at once (the app can control five lights at a time.) You can change the lights through the night, with various colors for the meal, dancing, cake, etc. A professional lighting team would cost thousands, and you can use these bulbs yourself after the event. You can even sync the lighting to your music, which is a great feature.

Find this handy lightbulb at Amazon.

I received this product for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!

Squinting isn’t Pretty: BenQ E-Reading Lamp

August 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment

BenQ E-Reading Lamp

Thanks to my Amazon Kindle, I’m an avid reader of ebooks. My e-reading falls into two categories: books or PDFs I read for work and pleasure reading. Either way, I want my reading to be a pleasant experience that doesn’t strain my eyes. Think of all the other ways that screens have permeated our lives: watching a Netflix movie on a tablet, late night browsing, or the infamous middle of the night Instagram check.

That is why I am thrilled with the BenQ E-Reading Lamp. This lamp is sizable enough to cover a large area with light but has a slim line to it. The sleek design is adjustable, so if you are doing intricate work (like beading or digital editing), you can focus the light on your work.

With just a tap on the ring, the lamp switches between warm white light and cool white light. Much like the Night Setting on tablets, this adjusts the light for the time of day and the activity in which you are engaging. This is a really nice feature, as most lamps just have one setting, but this lamp takes in the “human factor”. It also responds to the ambient light and adjusts accordingly.

Some might question the price of this lamp. Considering how much computing affects vision, I think the price is quite reasonable compared to worsening vision and the associated risks of long hours at the computer, including headaches due to flicker or glare. Additionally, lack of proper lighting when using computers or tablets can lead to bad posture, which can cause a whole slew of health issues. So this lamp is priced quite reasonably when you consider the cost to health. Additionally, the price is competitive with other lamps with such a sleek design.

I plan on buying another one to put in my office on my desk. I really am thrilled to have discovered this lamp.

Find it at Amazon.com.

I received this product in exchange for testing and review purposes. If you have any questions about my experience with it, leave it in the comments section below, and Iâ€™ll do my best to answer it!

Infinity Instruments The Arcadian 31 Inch Rustic Wall Clock

July 10, 2016 · 3 Comments

Infinity Instruments The Arcadian 31 Inch Rustic Wall Clock

A well-made, common element, when found in an expected shape, form, or size can lend character to the decor of an otherwise classic or traditionally designed space. That is why I liked this Infinity Instruments Arcadian oversized clock.

At 31 inches, it holds the design weight of focal point pieces, such as a colorful mid-size painting. As such, the clock can be used above a couch or headboard, or lend some character to a restaurant or store, an office or cubicle, or it can be placed positioned with a grouping of hanging frames or mirrors. It would be suitable for use on a long wall, such as a high or cathedral ceiling side wall or staircase wall.

It is very well packaged, in an inner and outer box, with styrofoam padding and a dedicated full-size packing piece along the length of the clock to protect the golden hands. There is also a piece to hold the two hands apart during transit to avoid scratches. This is important because, despite its heavy metallic appearance, the minute hand seems delicate.

The patina is attractive and can be part of a masculine or feminine decor depending on what other decorative items are situated with it. The clock also could look great in steampunk, industrial or urban-themed office. Paired with some softer elements of the period, it could pass for a Victorian looking piece as well and have a more feminine look.

There is a long, well-secured bracketing hook to hang it on the top just off of one or two strong nails and alternate hardware options for hanging. It runs on one battery. It is not as heavy as it looks, so it is easy to move and hang yourself, but the nail should be as strong as you might use for a 2 to 3-foot painting or framed picture.

I especially like how the patina picks up the light, as the sun moves through the room, it takes on a lovely plum to copper glow on the patina.

No complaints, nice statement piece, be careful with the hands of the clock, they look heavy, but they are delicate.

Decor: Esco-Lite Globe Patio Lights

June 30, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Esco-Lite Globe Patio Lights

I love the look of strung lights on a porch, patio, deck of al fresco eating area of a home or cafe. It evokes the feel of a summer night at a cozy coffeehouse and casts just enough light to create a festive mood. This set is far more substantial than those typically found at the local drugstore; they are high enough quality for use in a restaurant or venue space. If you are thinking of getting these for decorating for a wedding or outdoor party, don’t hesitate, they give a lovely glow and are high-quality.

LIGHT
This particular string of globe lights have a lovely warm white-golden light but not so yellow that they are an orangey-saffron glow. It is very much like candlelight, especially when used indoors or in enclosed spaces. Outdoors they give off a bit of a vintage-light look. They have a streamlined, clean metal look and evoke a trendy, industrial, hipster urban neighborhood restaurant kind of vibe. At twenty-five feet, they are perfect for stringing up for outdoor entertaining, or weddings, holidays, summer parties, or for stringing them on the porch for a bit of light at an entryway. They would also be pretty strung indoors along a full-length mirror in a bedroom; these are sturdy and attractive. They come with sturdy hooks on each bulb socket, so you don’t have to fiddle with plastic hanger type of hooks, and with individual hooks, you can get the exact look you want to the drape of your light string.

They are warm after being on for a while but so far they have not run hot on me. I also like the size of these bulbs – they are large enough to give a soft light to the surroundings and be noticeable, but they are not gimmicky in their shape or size.

This string has a nice thick wire and looks like an expensive set. They can be plugged together with other sets for a total of three strings, which gives you 75 total feet of globe bulbs, which is more than plenty for most design spaces.

PACKAGING
They come packaged very well in a box with inner cardboard holding each bulb, although I could not figure out how to remove the internal packaging around each bulb, so I need to use some bubble wrap to carefully re-pack them since they are glass.

CONCLUSION: I love them! So happy to have these, they are a much nicer quality than any festive or fairy lights I have from drugstore stores. They blend in nicely with various decors and give off a lovely glow. Recommended!

Esco-Lite Globe Patio Lights