8 brilliant home innovations

This year's National Homebuilding and Renovating Show was packed with pioneering products, innovative technology and clever designs for homes and gardens. Lara Page checks out the shiney new developments you may not be able to live without!

The garden must-have: Oxfordshire-based luxury garden product specialists Julian Christian Designs, who recently created a building for the Queen's private gardens as Windsor Castle, were showcasing an eye-catching design at the show. Their 3.4m round garden building (pictured) has dual entrances, a centre table, rattan chairs and thatched roof, to create the perfect garden space to relax or entertain in.nextpage

The 'modern art' radiator: Radiators don't have to be boring. In fact, manufacturer Thermar's new Stylus range looks more like a modern art piece, fusing Italian design with a high-spec heat output. The eye-catching Tubo Rad, pictured above, is a free-standing radiator that uses patented heat transmitting tubes which can be arranged in different ways and produce up to 2643 watts of heat.nextpage

The luxury floor accessory: Floor lights from Optic Lighting create a gorgeous glow and a luxury feel. They come in simple kits and can be easily installed in a variety of surfaces and environments. You can spot-light any floor in your home with almost any colour, while the aqua lighting kits add coloured light to garden water features and even your bathtub. nextpage

The inside, outside: Patio doors are a highly desirable feature in most homes, but the standard sliding door means limited exterior access. Folding sliding patio doors like these from Apropos Tectonics create the feeling of wide open space, merging the divide between home and garden. The folding design means the doors can be stacked and folded in any direction, and can be built to fit any height and space.nextpage

The carbon-saving heater: The rising cost of heating coupled with increasing environmental awareness means we're all looking for cheaper, more eco-friendly ways to heat our home. Baxi's clever contraption, the Ground Source Heat Pump, extracts heat from the earth and transfers it into fluid which vapourises to create a gas. It can emit a constant temperature of 40 degrees, and because it produces four times more energy than it uses, the heat pump can save around two tonnes of carbon every year.nextpage

The smart technology: As home technology becomes ever more sophisticated, smart living partner firms Morban and Cytech have come up with an innovative integrated home control system which links voice-prompted security with all aspects of smart home technology. The entire house can be controlled through this clever LED wall panel, allowing you to regulate everything from heating to household media servers.

The modern chandelier: Forget the traditional, high-maintenance chandelier. Optic Lighting's contemporary version uses fibre optic strands which can be trimmed to any shape or length to create a bold design statement in any room. The simple yet elaborate Cristallo Chandelier (above) requires only one lamp (per 1m squared) and doesn't conduct heat, so the fibres are safe to touch.

The heat-emitting floorboards: An ever-chilly English climate means underfloor heating has become big business in recent years. Kidderminster-based heating specialists Royalle have developed five innovative underfloor systems, which emit heat from a large surface area requiring much lower temperatures than conventional radiators. The systems also come with Komfort controls so you can set your preferred programe and control the heat output.

Click here for more info on the Homebuilding and Renovating Show