Wish list: Coos over candles and swoons over storage

Esther N McCarthy coos over candles and swoons over storage this week.

A silver lining to all this stormy weather is not having to constantly defend the frankly ridiculous amounts of candles in the house. A new launch has caught my eye, Co Tyrone lady, Laura McNamee’s range of luxury, eco-friendly candles and diffusers. Sure, you’re no-one if you don’t have a diffuser these days. The newest addition is a two-wick candle called Incense — Citrus Intense. It’s got an impressive burn time of 60 hours and each candle is individually hand poured and left to cure for a minimum of three weeks. They cost €33 and are available from selected stockists, like Kahlo & Apfel in Farren Village, Cork, Lime Boutique in Douglas, and online at www.sassandboho.com

Storage — can we ever really have enough? Not in my house. I spotted this Keter Madison bench in the Argos catalogue. It’s durable, weather resistant, and combines as a seating area outside — or inside if you have the room — as well as a neat way of disguising all the extra STUFF from Christmas. I think it’s a neat idea for the kids’ outdoor toys. Or you could use if for gardening tools. Even better, it’s billed as low maintenance and easy to assemble. €149.99 from www.argos.ie