Why shutters are a great alternative to blinds and curtains

You’ve just moved in, and it may be an automatic choice to adorn your windows with curtains and blinds in the conventional manner. However, there is another, less commonly considered option that you should think seriously about. Shutters offer a whole host of benefits, including great privacy, light and temperature control, in addition to gracing your home with a feature that is unique.

To help you decide if shutters could benefit you and your new home, we’ve put together this guide to why shutters are a great alternative to blinds and curtains.

Waste not, want not

One of the primary concerns for all homeowners is how to keep bills down to affordable levels, but still ensure that everyone in the house is comfortable. Historically, shutters have been favoured in warmer climates for their insulating properties, keeping the temperature warm in winter but cool in summer. Shutters also offer great user control, allowing the homeowner to adjust slats to fully or partially open to alter the airflow through a room. This makes shutters an energy efficient option, potentially allowing you to save on your energy bills.

Strong and silent

Durable and solid, shutters are more long-lasting than blinds and curtains, and can withstand more wear and tear. In addition, shutters are fixed in place, so do not flap in the wind like fabric window dressings, making them a quieter option on windy days.

Bar the brightness

Like temperature, light levels can be controlled with ease using shutters, protecting you from the glaring summer sun and your new furniture from UV rays. Whilst blinds also offer this protection, along with user control, the tailored fit of shutters prevents gaps appearing, and, therefore, light from leaking into the room.

Privacy matters

Unlike curtains which do not grant you privacy and sunlight simultaneously, shutters do provide this feature, stopping outsiders from looking in but allowing sunlight to permeate through.  However, if you do want a better look at the view outside, then shutters can be folded back from the windows.

Add value to your home

Unlike blinds and curtains, which may need replacing every few years, shutters are more durable and long-lasting, becoming a permanent fixture of your house that should never need replacing. Shutters can also add value to your home, making them a worthwhile investment and a capital improvement to your home.

Keeping it clean

Dust tends to cling to curtains and blinds more readily than on shutters, and is therefore, a better option for those who suffer from allergies. Cleaning just takes one quick flick of the duster, leaving you with more time to enjoy your new home.

Safe and sound

Cords, ropes and strings can potentially be dangerous if children get hold of them. Shutters don’t have this problem, and are entirely cordless, making them a safer option.

Appealing aesthetic

One of the most stressful aspects of moving into a new home is deciding on the decor. Timeless and homely, shutters are aesthetically appealing and neutral in appearance, available in wood or PVC to suit the majority of interiors. Not only that, their design means that shutters can be fitted to any window shape.

Angel Blinds and Shutters are a friendly, family run business, that have been serving Newcastle and surrounding areas for 15 years. They provide quality blinds and shutters to both domestic and commercial clients, offering excellent customer service, made to measure products and free home visits.

The post Why shutters are a great alternative to blinds and curtains appeared first on UK Home Improvement Blog.

from UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.ukhomeimprovement.co.uk/why-shutters-are-a-great-alternative-to-blinds-and-curtains/

Mint tea anyone? We put an infusion tea pot to the test

A while back we reviewed a food dehydrator from online homeware retailer Andrew James. The company was so pleased with out verdict (we liked it a lot) that they recently got in touch to see if we wanted to review anything else from their shelves of kitcheny trinkets.

At the precise moment the email shuffled into my inbox queue I was supping on a mug of hot mint tea, flavour squeezed from a shabby tea bag, making me yearn for a proper fresh mint tea like the ones I enjoyed in Morocco a few years ago. It’s not all home grown booze for us. Oh no. We’re just as happy brewing up our garden goodies for a few non-alcoholic drinks too.

After a quick scroll through the Andrew James website, followed by a polite email reply and a few days waiting, the postman* delivered a shiny new tea infuser. And here’s the review…

Brew’ve got the looks

While I like the utilitarian rounded stainless steel look of this tea infusing vessel, my wife was less impressed by its appearance**, wishing I’d picked out something more in keeping with her arty ceramic kitchenware. A brief survey of visitors to the house found most people on my side.

Potting up

The tea infuser’s working mechanisms are all very straightforward. Beneath the lid is a snuggly fitting fine mesh metal basket with an arced handle for easy removal. Simply place your infusion ingredients within the basket and fill the pot with boiling water. It’ll take any type of loose leaf tea or, like me, you can stuff it with herbs and things from the garden. If you want to try a mint tea give the leaves a gentle scrunch first to set them on their way, and if you want to Moroccan-ise it, add some green tea as well.***

Works to a tea

Everyone knows the most important aspect of any tea pot is how well it pours. I wouldn’t take a mis-pouring, spilly-drink spout for all the tea in China. Thankfully, this one pours to perfection, even allowing for fancy lifting of pot mid-pour for an extended aerating stream of steamy brew. And being made of steal and well sealed it has excellent heat retention. The shallow basket in my 1.5 litre pot shallow means you have to fill with a lot of water to allow for a proper submerged infusion – but this also has its advantages: if it’s a single cup of tea you’re after then simply ignore the pot and dunk the basket in your mug instead. And there’s also an 800ml pot available for those who regularly make smaller brews.

The verdict

We reckon this is a great infusion tea pot for the price, making perfect cups of tea every time. But check to see if the rest of the family likes the look of it first.

Our 1.5l infusion tea pot is available to buy here, and the smaller 800ml pot can be purchased here.

*”Not booze?” asked the Postie? He has delivered so much alcohol to my door that I’ve occasionally crossed his palms with bottles of beer. But now he’s getting cheeky, asking if I can get hold of some of his favourite “Carlsberg Elephant beer because I can’t find it anywhere.” If someone wants to send me some I know someone who will give it a favourable review.

**And it’s very tricky to photograph. Witness reflection of knees in photo above.

***’Proper’ Moroccan mint tea making involves a much-argued about process of steeping, rinsing, more steeping and pouring to precise timings. I can’t ever be bothered with that.

The post Mint tea anyone? We put an infusion tea pot to the test appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/08/mint-tea-infusion-tea-pot-test-review/

Beer of the week #86: St Austell Brewery, Italian Job

Sorrento lemons are, perhaps, the world’s greatest lemons. Only lemons grown in the Italian town of Sorrento are allowed to be given the name and they’re the traditional flavouring for the world’s greatest lemony booze: limoncello.*

But now there’s a new Sorrento lemon kid on the boozy block. The Cornish brewing aces at St Austell Brewery have prized some Sorrento lemons from under the nasi of the Italians and chucked them into a steaming wort of beer. So we had to get hold of some. We’ve already reviewed St Austell’s ‘Proper Job‘, one of my favourite English IPAs, and their good taste has been proved further by their recent acquisition of one of our local breweries, the excellent Bath Ales.**

I’ve had a few lemon infused beers before and they’ve largely been unimpressive. Citrus fruits work well in beer but they need to be handled with care: their acidity can easily dominate and upset the beer’s balance. An intriguing first lemony swig can soon become overwhelming, making the beer hard to finish and wrecking the palette for subsequent beers. I was hoping for better from St Austell. They didn’t let me down.

The beer pours with a deep golden honey colour and has a proper whiff of beer to it: malty and yeasty in equally good measure with a welcoming hint of fruity hop. The initial clean taste is soon engulfed by a refreshing bitter bite. Strong hops with an extra tang. With every other mouthful I detected some of that lemon essence, but it wasn’t obvious. Carrying on through the glass and, as some of the other strong flavours began to recede, a definite lemony bitterness lacquered the mouth. By the end of the bottle it was quite obvious a fair amount of lemon had passed my lips.

This is exactly the kind of beer I like: a fully flavoured ale which has artfully used another ingredient to shift it into new territory and, for the first time with a lemon beer, left me wanting more.

The lowdown

Brewery: St Austell Brewery, Cornwall
Beer name: Italian Job
Strength: 5%
Hops used: Mount Hood, Waimea, Dr Rudi, Pacific Jade

We were invited to sample this on draft at a St Austell party. Unfortunately we were unable to attend so drank the bottled version instead. We have it on good authority that the draft Italian Job is EVEN BETTER.

*We’ve got a recipe for limoncello in our book, Brew it Yourself. We don’t mind what lemons you use…

**We’ll give one of theirs a Beer of the Week soon – we’ve drank enough of them

The post Beer of the week #86: St Austell Brewery, Italian Job appeared first on Two Thirsty Gardeners.

from Two Thirsty Gardeners http://twothirstygardeners.co.uk/2016/08/beer-review-st-austell-italian-job-sorrento-lemon/

Pubs chance to be crowned ‘Britain’s Best Beer Garden 2016’

A nationwide search is underway to discover the most vibrant and picturesque pub gardens across the UK. We like beer. And we like gardens. So you won’t be that surprised to hear we’ve muscled our way onto the judging panel.

With just one week to go until the deadline for entries the competition already looks like being a fierce battle, but there’s still time for to suggest your favourite beer garden in the hope it scoops the top prize.

The ace competition has been organised by SME Insurance Services Limited (SMEi), which specialises in providing business insurance to the pub and hospitality sector, and figured it was high time to champion the great British pub and the wealth of fantastic beer gardens available.

Publicans, breweries and pub goers alike can all enter by simply submitting images of their beer garden via: smeinsurance.com/britains-best-beer-garden with the best ones being judged by criteria such as the most picturesque, best atmosphere and most family friendly. Whether it’s a city centre bar with a modern, alfresco drinking area to attract revellers or a classic traditional country pub, the campaign is open to beer gardens and pubs of all shapes and sizes.

Entries must be received before 31st August 2016, with those shortlisted (by a crack team of beer garden regulars, including us) put to a public vote on Facebook – giving pub goers, customers and local communities the chance to provide their support and vote for their favourite local.

As well as having the bragging rights of being awarded the title of “Britain’s Best Beer Garden 2016” by SMEi, the top three pubs will all receive prizes with first place being awarded a £500 gift card which they can use towards treating their team. In addition, a professional photographer will also be commissioned to photograph the winning pub and garden in all its glory.

So saunter down to your favourite local boozer this bank holiday weekend, take some snaps with your mobile and send them in. Go on. It would be foolish not to…

The Mill, Butcombe Brewery’s newly refurbished pub at Rode, near Nick’s home town of Frome, Somerset.

The main image is an entry from Edinburgh