Children’s Low Loft Beds: The Perfect Transition
The transition from a crib to a bed is never an easy one. Every parent wonders what the best bed option is for their toddler, and what they can buy that will last beyond the toddler years. Children’s low loft beds are a perfect answer to these questions. They allow children to easily transition from the crib to the bed, they ensure safety, and they are cost-effective, as they grow with the child. Children’s low loft beds remove the need for a transitional toddler bed and they allow children to feel grown up, while still guaranteeing safety.
While many people associate loft beds with teenagers, college dorms, and single living, children’s low loft beds are a brilliant choice for toddlers and young children as well. They are low enough to the ground to prevent injury should they fall, and they have easy access for those nighttime bathroom runs. In addition, they are compact enough to fit two beds without taking up a large amount of space in the bedroom.
Similarly, with these beds, children won’t have to be afraid to sleep by themselves. Many such loft beds come with two beds that snuggly fit together. This allows for more sleeping space in the room without taking up extra floor space. For single children, this arrangement allows children to enjoy social time; the extra bed can be used for sleepovers and for out of town guests.
Convenient and compact, children’s low loft beds
leave ample room for daytime play or work and can also be configured in numerous ways to occupy the least amount of space. This creates flexibility, as the beds can be moved to different rooms, or reconfigured to fit the necessary floor layout.
Another benefit to children’s low loft beds is that, unlike a toddler or junior bed which is short and can only be used for a few years, children’s loft beds accommodate extra long mattresses of 80”. This creates a cost-effective bed and lengthens its life in your home - children won’t grow out of these beds quickly, as they do toddler beds. Furthermore, as children grow and become less afraid of heights, loft beds can be height adjusted. This allows the bed to grow with the child, and creates more storage space.
With children’s low loft beds, little ones will feel secure and important as they safely and soundlessly sleep through the night in their “grown-up” loft beds. Parents will sleep confidently knowing that their children are protected and far from harm’s way. Loft beds are truly the perfect solution for children of all ages.



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Stately Elegance With Antique Type Desks
Interior designers and home decorators believe that classic never goes out of style and antiques are universal. While this is undoubtedly true, and many of us would love to own small antique writing desks, this is not a reality for many consumers. Not everyone can afford to pay thousands of dollars for real antique furniture. Furthermore, most of us don’t have a display area roped off in our house; if we are going to own antique type desks, then we will need to use them for our office and computer work. Who can afford to purchase such a beautiful antique and then risk ruining it with our work?
Let’s say that you would love to have an antique type desk. There are a number of obstacles to overcome before acquiring such a fantastic purchase. First, you have to find an antique writing desk that is in good shape and that can be used for practical purposes. Once you’ve found it, you’ll be amazed to discover that this desk can cost you anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000! Who can afford to do anything with small antique writing desks except have them on display?
Rather than spending a fortune on a true antique, you can search for antique type desks at modern prices. Such desks are made to look antique, while offering modern amenities. They include large work spaces, room for a keyboard, and ample drawer space. At less than a tenth of the price, you can purchase the same classical elegant antique design; and, these desks are fully functional. This means that even children and teenagers can work and study on desks that are inexpensive, yet durable, well-designed, and attractive. And you can enjoy the delicate, sophisticated look of antique type desks without spending a fortune to do so or worrying every second that it will get ruined.
The rich dark wood in these classic antique writing desks radiates warmth and stately sophistication. Ideal for any home or office, these desks will give a plain area an entirely different look that speaks of grace and style. Antique type desks at modern prices are the perfect combination – they beautifully satisfy the modern needs of an office while offering a look of timeless sophistication.


Antique Clocks
Horological Life
Man who knows the value of time
ROY Clements antique clock business began as a hobby more than 30 years ago but now draws customers from all over the world, including members of the Royal Family. As a partner in his company Coppelia Antiques, he employs 11 people at the Cheshire workshop and the company's prestigious shop in London's Mayfair.

Roy, 65, was a senior engineer jetting all around the world with Pilkingtons until he took a six month holiday after building the Viking cycle factory for the British Government in Northern Ireland. "I used to restore my own clocks and those of other dealers, as a hobby, and my wife Valerie said why not do clocks full-time?" Roy explains. "After giving up a high profile job, company car and pension we have not looked back."
His firm, Coppelia Antiques has been based in Plumley near Knutsford since 1974. In 1995 they approached the Queen's jewellers, Aspreys (now Asprey-Garrards), offering to take over their antique clock business, RA Lee. In its place Roy set up a new London company, Pendulum of Mayfair, and bought the former Fred Perry tennis shop in Maddox Street, off New Bond Street. Two of Roys three sons, Duncan and Daniel, are involved in the business, which came from a family fascination with clocks. My father was a very practical man, from an early age he let me look inside the clock mechanisms to see what made them tick, says Roy. I had a five year apprenticeship with the UK Atomic Energy Authority using all different machine tools, lathes and other mechanical devices, so I am part of the engineering world. Roy, a chartered engineer, has a boyish enthusiasm for the timepieces lovingly restored at the Plumley workshop, and is eager to explain the history and influence of British clock making. In the 18th century the best craftsmen were usually found in port cities such as Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bristol and Hull where mahogany could be found on the quaysides, carried as ballast in ships bringing cotton in exchange for slaves. Each city had a distinctive style of clock but all this variety came to an end in the first decade of the 19th century, with the introduction of mass produced clock faces and movements(mechanisms) in Birmingham. I stop at 1810, says Roy, consultant clocks editor of Millers Antiques Price Guide. He has amassed one of the finest collections of 18th century clocks in the world. But never again will it be possible to collect the clocks I've got, he says, mourning the loss of craft skills and the values which created objects still in use more than 300 years later. They are special, my clocks, not like things with a battery that you buy today and then throw away when the battery runs out.

At the Cheshire workshop, where clocks stand eight deep waiting for restoration, staff serve a minimum apprenticeship of five years or more, preparing them to work on some of the finest antiques in the world. We completely dismember the movement, which can contain 20 pivots, and refit the wheels. For the cases, we only restore with wood of the same period, so we may buy an antique table for 1,500 and hand-saw it into veneers to replace the wood on a damaged clocks case ‑ we are very much into recycling ! Coppelia Antiques only work on clocks in sleepy original condition, with a minimum of parts changed. All their clocks have their correct movements and original bases, unlike many for sale in auction houses, known as marriages, in which the movements do not belong to the case. We do not buy these type of clocks, says Roy. We never apologise for spending three or four weeks in restoring or bringing back to life an old tired clock, so long as it has not been butchered in the past. After we have finished the restoration and we are happy, all our staff admire the piece and it gives us all a lot of satisfaction. We have transformed something thats not been touched for over a hundred years sometimes, into something that you want to hold and cuddle. Roys personal clock collection includes one once owned by Rudyard Kipling, bought for 13 guineas in 1934, a brass lantern clock from the 1600s, made by one of the first clockmakers in Lancashire, and one of the first Cumberland clocks, made by Aaron Cheeseborough. Many clocks come with their own stories, such as the one bought from an old lady who remembered how, as a young girl, she had to curtsey every time it chimed. Roy also collects music boxes and other automata, such as a 19th century French music box featuring a monkey that smokes cigarettes, blows smoke rings and wafts the smoke away with its paw. The monkey was featured in an episode of the Sherlock Holmes TV series and smoked so many cigarettes that one of its tubes was blocked with tar and had to be replaced ‑ proof that smoking is bad for monkeys. Some customers, aware that time is money, buy antique clocks as tax-efficient investments, as they are exempt from capital gains and inheritance tax. One 90-year-old lady approached Roy to invest more than 3 million in clocks recently. Another tax rule exempts the clocks from VAT if they are exported, which explains the sad statistic that 87pc of sales go to the US, says Roy. As he talks about his love for clocks, an orchestra of chimes, bongs, rings and tings builds to a crescendo as the hour approaches. Roy has a simple explanation for the fascination of clocks, particularly grandfather clocks. Each tick is at a frequency of one per second, which is very similar to the first sound we hear, our mothers heartbeat in the womb. Its very soothing if you are in a room alone with a grandfather clock.
www.pendulumofmayfair.co.uk