COOL BEANS & COFFEE

Cool beans

While there are many espresso machines to choose from, Breville’s latest offering – the Express Impress makes drinking cafe-quality coffees at home extremely simple. Metropol’s over-caffeinated gadget guru Ian Knott goes without sleep for about a month.

Ispend too much on co ee. Long gone are the days when you could get a decent fi x for $3.50. Most are in the $7$10 range these days and it soon adds up if you’re grabbing even just one a day.

So when the chance to review the Breville Express Impress came up, my tastebuds, and more importantly my bank account, got excited.

The Express Impress takes a lot of the manual guesswork out of making a good co ee. It remembers the favoured dosage and grinds the beans from the hopper to suit. As any barista will tell you, there is an art to tamping the grinds down. The correct pressure and a slight seven degree twist is what’s required. A tamping arm on the side of the machine provides the perfect tamp, as easy as pulling the handle on a slot-machine.

A double extraction head then pours a single or double shot of perfect syrupy espresso into a shot glass or directly into your cup, which can be pre-warmed on the heated top of the machine.

You still need to do your milk manually with the provided milk jug, but I fi nd this all part of the fun. Do your milk just right and you feel like you’ve earned your co ee.

There are some fantastic milk and latte art tutorials on YouTube, be sure to check them out.

For a shade under $1000, the Express Impress will pay for itself in no time, even if you are a casual cafe customer. And it’s clever enough to remember just how you like your favourite brew.

BREVILLE EXPRESS IMPRESS ESPRESSO MACHINE

• Small footprint on your bench, but big enough to navigate around easily. • Remembers the correct dose of co ee grinds. • Tamping arm provides the perfect amount of pressure every time. • Large refi llable water tank. • Available in silver or black. • Comes with several accessories to make any co ee you like. • Drip tray prevents any accidental spillages.

WARM UP WITH wool rugs

The chilly months have arrived, and you may be dreading the feeling of walking on your cold, hard fl oors.

Warm your feet and add comfort by adding a beautiful wool area rug into your living or work spaces. There is no doubt that when those extra frosty days arrive, you and your household will be thanking you!

Released for the winter of 2022, Wools of New Zealand and Rugs for All have collaborated to create a collection of New Zealand Wool Area Rugs with a range of bindings. The area rug collections are available exclusively on the Rugs for All website. Their ethos is that all New Zealanders should be able to a ord a 100 percent New Zealand Wool Carpet Area Rug.

Wools of New Zealand is one hundred percent grower owned, and believes that wool carpet and rugs shouldn’t cost the earth. They are on a mission to reintroduce Kiwis to nature’s wonder fi bre and its many benefi ts.

Here are just a few of the benefi ts of having a wool area rug in your home:

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Wool adds warmth

Wool is an excellent thermal insulator and helps moderate temperature and humidity in the home by absorbing and releasing moisture as needed.

Wool stays clean

Naturally stain-resistant and cleanable, wool has a natural coating of lanolin, which keeps stains and dirt from penetrating the fi bres. These fi bres also mean that wool doesn’t need to be cleaned as often as other fabrics.

Wool pile is resilient

The natural crimp in each wool fi bre allows a wool rug to resist the compression of daily use, so you have fewer issues with furniture indentation than with other fabrics. It also has high wear and tear and is naturally very durable.

Wool stays dry

Wool is naturally waterresistant and can absorb water spills and still feel dry to the touch. It can absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in moisture, which helps to create a dry home and reduce heating costs.

Wool is hypoallergenic

The pockets in wool fi bre help it absorb dust. It also resists dust mites, mildew, and bacteria growth, and even absorbs many airborne contaminants. Wool is great for asthma su erers, as it absorbs indoor air toxins too.

Rugs for All is owned by Carpetbinders, a family-owned business based in Christchurch. They have a combined knowledge of over 100 years in binding and edging of carpets and the retailing rugs that are predominantly wool.

Find them at the Home Ideas Centre, 37 Mandeville Street, Riccarton, showcasing Wools of New Zealand wall to wall carpets and the Wools of New Zealand and Rugs for All Area Rug Initiative.

HOME

Showcasing the best homewares and gifts to beautify your home and spoil those closest to you.

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1. ‘Slinky’ Timber Armrests, available in natural and black at Any Excuse, 3/4 Eastfi eld Drive, Lincoln, 2. Capulet Boucle MidCentury Chaise, available at Housekeepers Design, www.housekeepersdesign.nz, 3. Crushed Velvet Cushion Range, available at Interior Warehouse, 136 Moorhouse Ave, 4. Artist Designed Blanket - Sketch 22 x Maja Maljević, available at Lala Lifestyle, 98 Victoria St or lalalinen-nz.com, 5. Two Door Custom-made Cabinet, available at Furniture Dimensions, 105 Coleridge St, 6. Black Edge Luna Table Lamp, fl oor and pendant lighting also available at www.form53.co.nz, 7. Brass Rae Insense Holder, available at www.seedheritage.com, 8. Magnolia Original Watercolour, available at www.charliejaneart.com, 9. Ribbed Metal Frame Velvet Chair, available in other colours at Interior Warehouse, 136 Moorhouse Ave.

Sleep right, sleep tight

A good night’s sleep is vital for humans to function properly, and given most of us spend one third of our lives in bed, it is essential to invest in the very best.

An average person sleeps for eight hours in a day. That means that on average they will sleep for 229,961 hours (one third of the average life span) in their lifetime. Having a quality bed makes sleeping more relaxing, more enjoyable and is better for the body, says David Henderson of Dreamwool Beds. “A bed is the most important piece of furniture in the house. It doesn’t matter what age or stage you’re at - engaged, married, single, you still need a good night’s sleep. Think of it as a long-term investment.” His advice is to buy a buy a decent bed as soon as you can. Satisfi ed client Pam agrees. She and her husband have slept on a Dreamwool Bed for several years now and can’t speak highly enough of them. They’ve recommended them to friends who also agree. “Previously we’d always bought other brand quality beds which proved no good at all. We’d wake up hot, sweaty and out of sorts,” she explains. Once they decided to buy a Dreamwool bed there was no going back. “We noticed the di erence straight away. We were well supported, comfortable and didn’t get up the next morning folded up like a half-shut pocket knife. We also love that it is New Zealand made, using natural products.” Her advice: “Don’t go for price over quality.”

PICK YOUR MATTRESS

Key to a good sleep is having the right bed and mattress which is where Dreamwool Beds can help. David says there is no better way to spend nights than sleeping soundly on a mattress fi lled with generous layers of soft, luxurious Merino wool sourced directly from select South Island farms. “Dreamwool mattresses provide optimum comfort and temperature control, enabling you to get to a deeper sleep, faster.” It is the combination of pure Merino wool, natural latex infused with activated charcoal, thousands of delicate microcoils and supportive pocket-springs that provides sleepers with the perfect microclimate for any season: cool, moisturewicking confi dence in summer and warm, luxurious comfort in winter. “It’s like sleeping on a cloud,” David adds. To sort your perfect bed and mattress, visit the Dreamwool Beds showroom at 96 Disraeli Street, Sydenham or call 0800 753 754.

www.dreamwool.com

Bathroom design and fl air

Renovating a bathroom takes teamwork and know-how.

While Kiwis are renowned for their DIY abilities, sometimes it pays to have experts on the job. Bathroom revamping is one area where specialist expertise will save time, money and stress. Leading the fi eld in Christchurch, with more than 40 years’ experience in the business, is family owned and operated Butterfi eld Bathrooms. A specialist bathroom renovation company, it o ers a complete Christchurch bathroom renovation service, from initial consultation and design through to the installation process, and a comprehensive follow up. “We are responsible for project management and full renovation, so you can be assured that we are always in control,” explains Guy Butterfi eld. “We are highly experienced in all matters related to bathrooms. That means we are happy to assist with all your renovation and maintenance requirements, from water damaged rotten fl oors through to shower and vanity replacement. Excelling in e ciency and design fl air, the company works independently for clients. Guy’s background in process engineering proves invaluable for design input. Project managing is a key component of any job, he adds. “Bathrooms are a complicated renovation, with up to seven trades in a small space. You need to be incredibly systemised.

A team effort

Many a Kiwi business has started in a garage, as did Butterfi eld Bathrooms. After working with his father Neil, a builder with 40 years experience, and his brother Mark, Guy saw a niche opportunity for bathroom renovations and the company was born. Neil and Mark are still part of the company, working in their respective fi elds of expertise. Also on board is design consultant Martin Lodge, who has partnered with Guy since the beginning. They’ve moved out of the garage and now operate from premises at 223a Annex Road, in Middleton. Martin, who hails from Cornwall, will discuss each client’s vision, do a full scope, detailed design and elevation with 3D drawings, then pull it all together. “He’s incredibly passionate about colours and styles, and expert in fi xtures and fi ttings - which really make a bathroom. Our designs come without the cost of an architect’s plan, as it’s part of our package. Project manager Nathan Tunnah is expert at juggling multiple assignments. “He’s a qualifi ed builder and passionate colour consultant,” says Guy. The team also includes four builders, a plasterer, and a painter, and a work partnership with RJ Plumbing. “Our locked-in e cient weekly system has all our tradesmen pre-booked. We can get wall linings and timber promptly, as suppliers always have our required amounts. Three weeks to complete a vinyl bathroom is realistic,” says Guy. “We provide real comparative costs, and explain our full package from design right the way through, with no obligation.”