Home Zone is all about interior design for the kind of person that knows what they are looking for,…read moreand doesn't need to leave it all to a designer, (although I bet that interior designers use Home Zone just as much as we do, for both inspiration and ideas, as well as purchasing their products and services). Home Zone have only been around for five years, but have established themselves really quickly, and are generally considered to offer us a benchmark of what is both tasteful and innovative. In addition, Directors Jayne Bishop and Sean Kerr offer a full and attentive service, which has also gone a long way to augment their standing. Specialising in made to measure curtains and soft-furnishings, upholstery, blinds, and tracking with a comprehensive measuring and fitting service, they draw on their combined 40 years of experience, which puts them in the enviable position of being able to work with trusted people that they have had regular dealings with over the years. These days they have a dedicated, highly experienced team of sewers, upholsterers and fitters who work alongside them, as well as a network of crafts people who can be commissioned to make accessories when required. Some of the beautiful things that the crafts people make are amazing, and prove that everything is possible! Using every material imaginable, and every technique available, they are able to produce practically anything you could dream of for the house and home. Home Zone can do conventional as easy as falling off a log, but where they excel is when they are pushing creative boundaries and coming up with unique solutions for clients that have a real appreciation of what is possible.

From the owner: We are a small, local, team of specialist curtain makers, upholsterers and fitters and we offer a…read morefabulous service, providing you with made to measure soft-furnishings, upholstery, blinds, shutters and tracking along with a comprehensive measuring and fitting service, to make the whole process a bit easier for you!

this is a fabulous lighting shop. it has a friendly…read moreenvironment and the sales staff don't jump on you as soon as you enter the store. they have everything i have bought my 3 light fittings from there and i am so pleased with what i have purchased. they are reasonably priced they have amazing chandeliers if thats what your after. lamps of shapes and sizes they even give you a coffee and sweets for the kids its easy parking im going back there soon for my bedroom fittings.the best!

Brilliant service from a small local business. Rented a property out with these guys, very…read morefriendly people. Had small problem with heating which was sorted within 24 hours. Would let out another property with them again

From the owner: Hensons Homes are a letting agent in Cardiff offering professional and student accommodation, with…read moreproperties to rent in Cardiff, Cathays and Roath areas.

Keymaster Security is one of those kinds of shops that you don't pay the slightest bit of attention…read moreto until you really need them. Prior to this, you don't know their name, where they are exactly, (even though you walk pass them every day), and you certainly don't know what they do. That is, until you need a key cutting, and you summon some vague recollection that the blue and white shop on Penylan Road has a big key icon above it, and you decide to pay them a visit. There are also other scenarios... you lock yourself out, and come to the same realization, or worse still, you are burgled and the police advise you to contact them. That's when you realise that the shop is called Keymaster Security, and within their four walls they stock a whole world of devices that could turn your house into Fort Knox! Although independent, these guys match the big boys in domestic and commercial security. Members of MLA (Master Locksmith Association) and approved members of the ELF (European Locksmith Federation), they provide total bespoke security solutions to nationwide customers. Founded in Cardiff over 50 years ago, they have kept themselves at the cutting edge of technological advancements, and now offer digital security systems alongside analogue and mechanical security devices. Their services are also fully mobile.

Aberconway Hall is a halls of residence for postgraduate students at Cardiff University…read more It's located next to Cardiff Business School, so very handy for postgrad business students - but it's also only a short walk away from the main Humanities Building and Library, Cardiff Law School, and the main campus. The halls are self catered and split up into flats for between three and six students, all of them with shared bathroom facilities and shared kitchen/dining areas. Each flat also comes with a kettle, iron, toaster, some crockery and cutlery, cooking utensils, and a colour television with the licence already paid - so it's ideal for foreign students who don't want to have to bring over or buy a load of household goods to kit out their flat. It's not a particularly large hall (housing 72 students), but since most postgrads are keen to find somewhere a bit quieter to live than the majority of undergraduates, this makes sense. The site has its own laundry facilities, car parking for 15 cars, and some wheelchair accessible accommodation - with Lidl supermarket nearby on Maindy Road.

Abraham Estates has a range of professional services for rentals in the professional and student…read moreareas. This estate agent has no really unique features, there role is to find rental properties whether they do a better job than Keylet, Pinnacle or Taylorsimpson really would make a difference in the confidence in the services they provide to students. From past experience I wouldn't have much confidence in their ability to get repairs done in reasonable time.

As students looking to rent a house for the first time we couldn't have had a better experience…read morewith Abraham Estates. They were very helpful and informative! Everything was made simple and easy, communication through emails were professional and punctual. Any problems or issues with the house were seen to straight away. A well run company and lovely people working there.

I rented a flat through Knights Estate agents for a couple of years through their Cardiff office…read more(im not 100% sure its still there but I know they have another branch in Barry if it isnt) I liked that they would let us pay our rent in cash monthly in the office and they seemed to carry out inspections, gas safety certs at the correct time. Unfortunately we found them hard to get hold of sometimes as they didnt always pick up the phone or if they did you would get the sales office and they couldnt help and had to await a call back -there seemed to be no out of hours number which caused us a problem when we got burgled and needed advice, but they gave us our deposit back no problem when we left (although we did probably leave the flat cleaner than when we moved in) so no problems there!

I don't know what it is about the men who work in key-cutters and cobblers that makes them so…read morefriendly. Brownings is no exception. I had to get two spare keys cut for my new house, so on a trip to Albany Road I dropped them in here first thinking that I could pick them up on the way back. There was no need, however, as he stopped whatever else he was doing to cut them there and then, chatting happily to me about Cardiff and the weather and other things as he worked. I was surprised at how cheap it was too, as I've previously found that it is shockingly expensive to get keys cut. Aside from cutting keys, you can also get shoes repaired and engraving done at this store. It sells a nice range of gifts too. Most of them are things like lighters and keyrings that are designed to be engraved, but there are lots of other things besides and gift cards too.

Sam and Will Specialised Carpentry is a temporary name for a long established pair of skilled…read moreartisans. They have recently united forces, hence the deliberation around the name, but between them they have 30 years of experience under their belt making new and restoring old fine wood crafted items (anything considered as long as its tasteful). Sam and Will have found themselves working together on jobs for years, and grew to understand that both of them share the same exacting standards that it takes to out-perform the competition. In the end they decided they might as well join forces officially, allowing them to cut down on the administrative burdens of being lone operators, so that they can spend more doing what they love, (and are eminently better at!) They have been trying to figure out what to call themselves for a while, but have been kept busy with contracts that have found them without much effort the moment they hooked up together. Sam said half jokingly, but partly seriously, that they have discussed calling themselves OCD Carpentry. I think this is a great idea, and I said so. Sam looked perplexed, "yeah, but it's not very politically correct is it?" I disagreed, and explained that I thought it was a more than appropriate label for the standard of work that they achieve. I also added that people will realise that they are not bodge jobbers, who work on the cheap and knock something out for half the price, that only lasts a fraction of the time that their work lasts for... and this can only be a good thing... it'll save everyone the time potentially wasted in discussing mismatched objectives. These boys take their time, do a perfect job, and charge the right price for it... and they will not compromise their integrity by lowering their standards in an attempt to keep costs down, as they know better than anybody that, in reality, this is false economy. Not everyone can afford their services, and so a name like OCD would help find them the right client base without too much wasted time!