Stylish speakers and brilliant labour-saving gadgets

Bang & Olufsen’s ‘Cool Modern Collection’ includes 11 acoustic works of art from across the Danish brand’s 90 years of excellence, each updated with an on-trend brass finish. We love the ‘Beolab 18’ wireless loudspeakers (above, £5,260 for a pair), inspired by the ‘Beolab 8000’ – designed in 1995 and fondly known as the ‘inverted pencil’ – and the ‘Beosound 1’ and ‘Beosound 2’ (right, £1,295 and £1,695). The new combination of brass, a black steel base and smoked oak ‘lamella’ (the vertical fins that fan out sound in a 180-degree arc) makes these a hit in any home ( bang-olufsen.com).