Contemporary Heaven Division

Umbra is a company based in Toronto that designs and manufactures housewares and was founded in 1978 by Les Mandelbaum and Paul Rowan who had been friends since childhood. The company today produces over 2,000 products and has 25,000 distributors in 120 countries. In 2007 the company opened its first retail store in Toronto and now has it own retail outlets in several countries across the globe. One of Umbra’s most famous designs was the Garbo trash can, named after the actress, as the design mimicked the shape of her body. It was designed by Karim Rashid and sold over two million units in the first two years after the 1996 launch. It still sells well today, along with the Garbino, which is a smaller version. Among its’ many products, the company produces a range of Umbra curtain poles , many of which are extendable so that they can fit windows of different sizes. Umbra curtain poles include the Cappa curtain rod which was designed by Mauricio Affonso and featur...

The company Kartell was founded in Italy in 1949 by Giulio Castelli, and is today run by Claudio Luti, and has become an international success story in the fields of lighting, furniture, furnishings, and home accessories. The company collaborates with many international designers to produce goods for the home that are both artistic and functional. The great designs combine both of these so that Kartell has become a name that is revered around the world. Kartell is forever experimenting with the use of plastics and new technologies to improve functional performance and the aesthetics of everything that the company produces. Nowhere is this more true than in its’ range of lighting which has to be seen to be believed. Kartell now has representation in over 130 countries with 130 single-brand flagship stores, 250 “shop within shops”, and no fewer than 2,500 independent retailers. Kartell lighting includes some incredible designs which have turned traditional ...

One of the problems that we all have in the UK is that it rains. In fact, it rains quite a lot, depending where you are. The wind also blows. When it gets cold in the winter it snows too. Even in the summer we can have hailstorms. That means that most of us who have any common sense have hats and coats so that we can venture out down to the shops, or take the dog for a walk, the kids to nursery school, or even just protect ourselves from a huge downpour when we go from the front door to the car: it may only be a few seconds, but you can get really wet. And there are many occasions when it has to be done, no matter what the weather is doing. The designs of these wall hat and coat hooks are nothing short of amazing, such as the Umbra Sticks Multi Hook which is available in white, grey, black, and espresso colours. Very cleverly designed, it looks like a piece of wall art but contains five flip down hooks for use which are concealed in the body of the hanger. Just flip them d...

If you are like many men today and have your own man cave, you no doubt have a home bar included in it as well. You may not even have a man cave, but many homes today choose to have a bar, which might be where there was once a dining room, since a lot of families today eat in the kitchen.  If you have a bar, there is on thing that is certain and that is that you will need some modern barware to go with it. Modern barware includes all those things that you need to pour and mix dinks, open bottles, and so on, and most of it is inexpensive. One thing that is indispensable is a rotary bar dispenser which holds up to four one litre bottles of whatever your favourite tipples may be. You can just pop it on the bar – it is made of a light aluminium with a polished chrome finish and sturdy base – and you just rotate it to select the drink of choice and push the glass up under the optic in the same way as in the pub. It pours a perfect 1.5 oz shot every time, and...

It is often said that there are only two things in life which are absolutely certain, and they are death and taxes. However, whoever said that missed something out: that is that everyone, without exception, needs to be able to tell what time it is – and often many times a day or night. This is why there is such a huge range of modern clocks available in all sorts of designs to cater for every taste. Modern clocks include wall clocks, mantel clocks, illuminated clocks, world time zone clocks, alarm clocks, digital clocks, mirror wall clocks, pendulum clocks, large clocks, small clocks – the list is almost endless.  For instance, in mantel clocks, the manufacturer Kare produces a vintage Roman wood mantel clock which is square and comprised of a sheesham wood surround with brass fittings and Roman numerals. Arti & Mestieri have the Robin mantel clock in a silver metal which is described as funky and unusual. It is most certainly both of those and has to be s...

At Contemporary Heaven we stock a vast range of different photo frames. In this digital age we all like to take photographs on our phones, although some people still use cameras as well. Professional photographers, obviously, still use highly technical cameras, but it has to be said that the cameras in phones that are available today, such as the iPhone XR and the Samsung Galaxy S10, can produce pretty stunning pictures.  Not so many years ago, the only way to take photos was on a camera using film, which you then sent off to be developed, so you didn’t see your photos until you received the prints back. Now you can see your photos instantly and if you don’t like one you can simply delete it. The rest you can share with friends on Facebook or from one phone to another. Then comes the choice of a frame, and here we have spoilt you for choice. We have many single photo frames, such as the  Umbra Prisma Photo Frame  which is a minimalist frame where your photo ...

Modern homes all have bathrooms, quite often more than one, and there are a lot of bathroom accessories that have been designed for the 21st century to give the bathroom an up to date – and in some cases even futuristic – look. Some of these bathroom accessories are quite simple pieces such as the Norbert sponge holder. This little gadget looks like a cartoon horse and sports a large suction cup at the rear so that you can stick it to the shower wall, the bath, or even the mirror. You simply squeeze out your sponge and push it into the holder, which is red, so that next time you come to use it you don’t have a wet and soggy sponge. It’s a very simple idea, but then some of the best ideas are simple. To Read More Visit: Bathroom Accessories