Will a robot vacuum cleaner add seasonal sparkle to my home?

Features we love include stain detection, mop-pad steam sterilisation and — wait for it! — Hair Grinder. No, this is not a dating app for tumbling tresses — it refers to patented tech that deftly dispenses with the short and curlies all dog and cat owners will be familiar with.

In fact, the Bespoke Jet Bot is a cool choice for pet parents. While it definitely sparks curiosity among canines — as all roaming robot vacs will — it also hums along with plenty of animal-friendly extras. These include extension packages for the app like dog monitoring. This feature potentially lets you find four-legged family members remotely when you’re out of town and they’re gone AWOL about the house (putting paid to any notions a party-loving pack may have of throwing a Home Alone-inspired shindig this New Year’s Eve, all pups in the hood invited).

You can also tell it to play soothing tunes to calm consternation among canines. That said, our pint-sized pom is far too cool for any of that and a short sharp bark is enough to put any bot back in its box.

As for the specs: The battery has a decent run-time of three hours, the water tank volume is 100ml and its dust bin volume is 2.5L. It is also self-emptying (we like!).

While the sizeable dock can look pretty imposing in a small space at first, this is offset by its super-sleek, minimalist design.

Samsung Bixby voice assistant is built in and the mic for detecting sound and controlling Bixby features at the front, as does the main camera.

Light indicators illuminate the murkiest of spaces and the robot is armed with cliff sensors and dirt detectors so it navigates your home and cleans intelligently without doing damage. The map function lets you choose specific settings for different rooms or zones.

After mopping, the base exerts high-pressure steam to clean the mop pads before drying them with hot air — very hygienic. Choose from four modes on the SmartThings app. Usefully, you can focus on a quickie clean (vacuum-and-mop together mode) or for a hygienic deep clean the mopping-after-vacuuming mode. Or just use the vacuum-only or mop-only modes.

It identifies different floor types and can zone in on dirtier spots, adjusting its settings accordingly.

Expect good suction, top-class mopping, excellent obstacle detection and superb onboard intelligence. The Bespoke Jet Bot is priced from €1,169.99 to €1,519.99 and is available from Samsung and other retailers like Harvey Norman.

• See Samsung or Harveynorman

WINTER WONDERLAND

Go big or go home — we adore the maximalist magnificence embraced by DIYer and interior design content creator Paul Kinsella.

Paul offers magical ideas when it comes to creating a winter wonderland at home — to get the vibe, check out his Instagram page @lifeatno2 or wander around Homesense on Cork city’s Grand Parade or in Blanchardstown in Dublin. Paul has teamed up with the company and there’s a bauble to beguile just about everyone in its Christmas aisles.

For the perfect tablescape, Paul advises: “Set the scene for a memorable Christmas feast with fabulous napkin rings, elegant table runners, and glistening glasses”.

BRANCH OUT

Spruce Springsteen and his Christmas cohorts Tree-na Turner, Morgan Tree-man and Keanu Treeves are in the yuletide limelight in Cork.

Business is brisk for the team at Pot Grown Christmas Trees. “We sell the best-shaped Christmas trees in Cork and our renting option is getting more popular where customers can rent a living Christmas tree in a pot and even rent the same tree again every Christmas,” says Colm Crowley of Cork Pot Grown Christmas Trees.

Customers love naming their purchases, he adds. “Popular names are Spruce Springsteen, Treena Turner, Morgan Treeman and Keanu Treeves,” says Colm. Cork Pot Grown Christmas Trees is open seven days at Mini Storage Mahon Industrial Park, Cork, T12K7CV.

• See Christmastree
  
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