Impress your neighbours this summer: Top 10 genius home and garden tips for a picture perfect transformation

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A home is never fully finished - at least not for those who are passionate about gardening and interiors. 

Whether you're looking to lighten your homes dark corners or brighten up your flowerbeds, here are Checklist's top tips for home and garden this season.

Brighten your interiors with a rooflight

Natural light is important in a home, and summers are best spent making the most of it - whether you're inside or out. Rooflights & Roof Lanterns offer premium quality rooflights and roof lanterns at trade prices, helping you invite in the sunshine.

A very popular rooflight, flat rooflights (pictured) help let vast amounts of light in to any room during the day and look striking at night, whilst providing a traditional and contemporary design to complement a broad range of home styles and designs.

As with all Rooflights & Roof Lanterns products, flat rooflights are designed for fast and easy fitting with a step by step installation guide included. And if you're unsure about what to opt for, they offer a bespoke service so should you need information on any of their products, they're happy to help answer your questions.

Each product is built to last as Rooflights & Roof Lanterns have invested in quality, meaning they offer an impressive 20-year warranty with every product. And with nation-wide delivery across the UK, brightening up your home can be simple and straightforward. 

The info: Click here to find out more.

Explore alternative home ownership

A recent survey from leading first-time buyer property portal, Share to Buy, has revealed that two thirds of first time buyers believe they cannot afford to purchase a home on the open market.*

Getting on the property ladder could be easier than you think with Share to Buy –country’s leading property portal dedicated to alternative housing options and first time buyer developments. Schemes such as Shared Ownership can offer buyers a more affordable route onto the property ladder, allowing buyers to purchase a percentage share in a property, renting the unowned share at a subsided rent level.

Share to Buy offers visitors everything they need to know about getting onto the property ladder alongside thousands of listings of Shared Ownership homes, and other Government-backed schemes and affordable rental options.

Their website is a one stop shop for first time buyers, offering the country’s largest listing of Shared Ownership homes for sale, as well as a wealth of guides, tools and free-to-use affordability calculators to help potential buyers understand their housing options.

For the first time, Share to Buy are taking the Home Show on the road with the very first Bristol Home Show, which will take place on Saturday 29th June 2024. 

The info: Click here to find out more.

*Completed by over 2,600 prospective purchasers on sharetobuy.com.

Home coffee brewing made for summer

How that spring has breathed new life into our homes, it's time to upgrade our daily essentials with innovations that simplify and enhance. Upgrade your morning routine and embrace the simplicity of great taste with the Instant Cold Brewer.

An innovative product and currently the only one in the UK market, the Instant Cold Brewer eliminates the traditional 24-hour wait of cold brew coffee with unique FlashExtract technology for a true cold brew coffee in under 20 minutes, with maximum flavour!

Why drink cold brew coffee instead of iced coffee? Well, it has a more mellow taste, less acidic and bolder flavours without the dilution from ice. It also has a higher caffeine concentration.

The brewer can be used not only for coffee, but for tea too - choose your favourite ground coffee for refreshing cold brew or opt for your preferred loose tea leaves for iced tea. The customisable brew strength with 5-to-30-minute time options also allows you to enjoy your favourite drink to your preferred taste. Easy to use and easy to clean with dishwasher safe glass pitcher, lid and brewing basket, the Instant Cold Brewer is sure to be your new kitchen favourite.

The info: Click here to shop now.

Get growing in your garden 

If you haven’t sown any seeds this year, there’s still time to enjoy a harvest over the summer. Sweetcorn, Beans, Beetroot, carrots can all be planted now, alongside quick growing crops such as loose leaf lettuce mix or radishes.

Premier Seeds Direct boast a selection of over 2,000 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs, sourced directly from the highest quality commercial growers bringing together the best varieties so every customer can find what they are looking for.

Renowned for quality, the seeds are stored in climatically controlled conditions, regularly tested and delivered directly, to ensure the highest viability and give the best chance to grow the best.

And, by supplying customers directly, Premier Seeds Direct are able to minimise costs and offer fantastic value. Every packet gives generous quantities of seeds so you always get your money's worth.

The info: Click here to save 10% on your first offer with code 'GET10OFF'.*

*Offer ends 31st July 2024. 

Transform your home with IT and AV solutions 

Are you and your home making the most of the latest modern conveniences? Or are you still toiling away with wires and faulty connections? 

Inlink Systems design and install high-end yet simple home networks and AV solutions. Their systems range from something as essential as a fully fledged internal data network or as simple as a few wall-mounted TVs. They can also help with more advanced asks like home cinemas and door entry solutions. If it connects to the internet, they probably support and install it. 

The Smart Home systems are designed to make life easier by enhancing your everyday, enabling you to control various aspects of your home, such as lighting or heat, from the touch of a button and were necessary, remotely. If your home struggles with WiFi coverage, their bespoke data networks can help get you the connection and coverage required for a modern day home.

If you consider yourself an at-home film buff, why not opt for a state-of-the-art viewing experience that's truly immersive. Their Home Cinema systems can help you step up your viewing whether it's films, sports or gaming. Inlink Stystems' technical design team can make your ideas a reality with equipment that works best for your unique space.

The info: Click here to arrange your free home survey.

Win your dream house! 

Omaze runs a UK prize draw called the Omaze Million Pound House Draw, offering you the chance to win a multi-million pound house every month, all while supporting incredible UK charities. 

Previous winners have bagged a Chelsea Townhouse worth £5,000,000 or a coastal retreat in Norfolk worth £4,500,000. Winners are free to do with the house as they choose. They can move in, rent the house out for a supplementary income or sell up and walk away a multi-millionaire.

Previous charity partners include: British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the NSPCC, Marie Curie, the RSPCA and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Omaze has raised over £40,000,000 to date for UK charities.

Entering the draw early also offers the opportunity to win additional prizes, such as luxury cars and life-changing cash prizes. Paid entries start at £10. There is also a no purchase necessary postal entry route. Entrants can subscribe to receive more entries into every Omaze House Draw. and £20+ subscribers are also eligible to win £50,000 in cash in Omaze’s exclusive Monthly Subscriber Cash Draw.

The info: Click here to enter now.*

*Over 18s and UK residents only. No purchase necessary. Visit omaze.co.uk for full terms and to enter. House closes 30/06/2024. 

Redefine outdoor living with porcelain 

Could it be time to re-imagine your space, from indoor to outdoor? If you're seeking surfaces that work hard inside – in the kitchen and living area, where durability, functionality and style are key – and that transform outdoor spaces into an extension of our living areas, in which to relax, entertain and unwind, then it's time to explore ceramics.

RAK Ceramics porcelain tiles and surfaces are available in a range of styles, colours and sizes. The company is a pioneer in introducing high-tech innovations that represent breakthroughs in the industry, including big slabs press system, digital printing, and anti-bacterial glazing. 

Their Outdoor Collection features weather-resistant materials that create a seamless transition between inside and outside - ideal for the open-plan living concept. Sustainable and adaptable porcelain tiles are the ideal choice to revamp gardens, patios, terraces and driveways. The sundry of installation possibilities allows the material to perfectly blend in with its surrounding landscape.

The info: Click here to find out more.

Sow seeds in kind, quality soil 

When it comes to gardening, more than diligent watering is needed to get more from your seeds. Just like us, plants need the right nutrition in order to grow and flourish.

Introducing Coco & Coir® - one of the best peat-free compost for gardeners in terms of sustainability, space saving, ease of use, and amazing results. The multi-award-winning range boasts products that cater to most plant types and stages of plant growth.

The range includes products made for Seed & Cutting, All Purpose, House Plant, Cactus, Orchid, Citrus, Mulch and unfertilized coir for bulking. It's All-Purpose Compost recently was chosen as a Which? Best Buy for Young Plants and Seeds in 2024.

So whether you're taking the first steps to help your garden bloom, or are preparing for another season of specialist growing, Coco & Coir® provides all the essential nutrients your seedlings need while being kinder on the planet.

The info: Click here to shop now.

Save with energy storage systems 

Home energy storage systems from LuxpowerTek and Hanchu ESS are designed to save you money on your energy bills, with or without solar power. But, how do they work? 

By using a LuxPower controller and a Hanchu ESS battery storage system, your home can benefit from cheaper energy at night, variable tariffs from Octopus Energy, or free energy harnessed from a new or existing solar installation. You can even combine these options for the best results.

The system simply charges up using the cheaper and greener energy at night and re-distributes that cheaper stored energy to your home when the demand arises. it can do this in multiple ways adding a layer of customisability and automation.

When combined with solar, you can choose how much cheaper grid energy you want the system to harness, depending on the next day’s weather. Moreover, you can export your excess stored energy to the grid, further lowering your bills... while helping reduce your carbon footprint!

The info: Click here to find out more.

Add curves to your garden

Straightcurve® is the UK’s only high-end modular steel landscaping range. 

Manufactured from high-quality weathering steel, which forms a protective rusted patina once exposed to the elements, this innovative range of garden edging, raised beds, and planters is easy to install, requiring no special skills and only basic tools.

Totally customisable and configurable to suit an almost infinite number of layout possibilities, from straight lines, gentle curves, or even flowing organic shapes, this striking range offers unparalleled adaptability while providing a durable and functional border for your landscaping.

The system comes in three distinct styles – Flex, ideal for creating smooth, flowing curves, Rigid, for achieving crisp, straight lines or gentle curves, and Zero-Flex, designed for perfectly straight, immovable borders.

Unlike the majority of garden edging on the market today which comes with fixed spikes, the Straightcurve® garden edging range has variable spike positions, making it remarkably adaptable, allowing you to avoid obstructions, particularly on rocky or stony ground, making installation a breeze.

The info: Click here to save 10% off your first order with offer code 'STRAMAIL10'.*

*Minimum spend of £100. Terms and conditions apply. Free delivery when you spend over £180 Straightcurve.

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