Looking for an honest review of the VQ Lark? You’ve come to the right place!
Working from home is something that I’m so grateful I’m able to do.
I’ve been freelance for 11 years now and there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t feel thankful that I’m able to do what I do, in the comfort of my own home.
Having said that, whilst I’ve got a great work/life balance my health/life balance definitely suffers sometimes.
I work very long hours — much more than I would if I went to an office everyday — and sitting in front of a computer screen, for hours on end, is most definitely not great for our health.
It’s bad for our backs and eyes but recently, research has shown that the ‘blue light’ emitted from computer screens and smart phones is also playing havoc with our sleep.
I guess we’ve all been there, haven’t we? We climb into bed — feeling as though we can’t keep our eyes open — set the alarm clock on our phone, then get a little bit distracted by Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. Delete as appropriate.
After another half an hour of scrolling and we put the phone down only to find that we can’t get to sleep.
It used to be standard practice in our house. So much so that drastic measures had to be taken.
Goodbye iPhone alarm clock, hello to the VQ Lark!
The VQ Lark
The VQ Lark is one clever cookie.
Not just an alarm clock, it’s also a digital radio and bluetooth speaker.
Plus, it’s sleek good looks have been designed to bring a little more glamour to our bedside tables; whilst it’s superior sound quality, with true stereo sound and a passive bass radiator offers an audio performance that’s comparable with a much larger system.
Being woken up gently — with the sound of music — is definitely preferable to my usual morning wake up call; (sorry Apple).
Radio Gaga
Lark features DAB/DAB+ Digital radio, as well as traditional analogue FM reception.
This basically means that I can tune into all of our local stations — or any of the national, commercial and regional ones too. I can save favourite stations to one of two convenient quick recall buttons; or the full menu of 60 available presets.
The presets can be used to quickly switch between favourite stations and used within the alarm function too.
I love the fact that I can connect my phone via Bluetooth and stream our Spotify playlist but — even better than that — the VQ Lark features two USB ports which means I can charge as I stream. Brilliant if you only have a couple of sockets by the bed — as it saves having to have ugly plug socket extensions.
But, despite it’s amazing audio capabilities, the thing I love best about Lark is how it looks.
OK — I’m shallow.
But who wants an ugly old radio alarm clock sleeping next to them? Certainly not me.
This is where Lark really comes into it’s own.
If you type ‘stylish radio alarm clock’ into Google you get some shockers coming up; certainly not what I’d consider to be stylish. And certainly not something that I’d be happy to give house-room to.
The VQ Lark, on the other hand, is beautifully designed. A simple shape, covered in stylish fabric (amazingly mine’s a great match for our bed) with an oak (or walnut) effect rear panel.
Lark also features a 4” high contrast ultra-wide angle screen, framed in chrome, with an auto-dimmer which means I can check the time day or night but will never be dazzled by ambient light.
My New Favourite Sleeping Partner
Sorry Marlowe — not you — Lark is (without question) my new favourite sleeping partner.
Since I’ve not been setting my phone alarm at night, I’ve been sleeping much, much better.
Like a cat, in fact.
There’s definitely less temptation to begin scrolling; particularly as I’ve even begun to leave the phone downstairs to charge at night, so I don’t feel tempted to have a quick look at my social media feeds before going to sleep.
It seems that there’s really some truth in the blue light stimulus.
I’d highly recommend ditching the alarm on your phone and investing in a VQ Lark bedside radio alarm. Drifting off into a lovely sleep is priceless.
But also, if you buy any VQ radio between now and 12th November 2018, you could be in with a chance to win an amazing prize.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
I like the look of this DAB radio and the fact it charges whilst streaming. You’ve given me an idea for a Christmas present.
It’s lovely isn’t it? So nice to see something brought up to date so nicely — I’d highly recommend it. The sound quality is lovely too :)
That radio is so cool and retro – much better than using the ipnone! Would def make a great gift!
YES! You’re right Medina — it would be a great gift! If you could bear to be parted with it ;)
Totally agree about how much nicer it is to wake up to music than a harsh alarm, we do that too. Love all the features of this radio and the design looks so tactile!
It’s so much nicer isn’t it? I became way too reliant on my phone… no wonder I was finding it hard to get to sleep at night!!
I’m definitely guilty of using my phone in bed, and it’s the first thing I look at in the morning too. I actually have a bedside clock but I never use the alarm on it, maybe I should start! It’s nowhere near as good looking as this one though. #HomeEtc
It’s such a bad habit isn’t it? Especially when you work in social media and can be easily distracted by a thread on Twitter or Instagram! Switching off my phone helps to switch off my brain! :)
It looks so pretty sat on your bedside table. What I miss about having an actual clock like this by the side of my bed is when one of the girls wakes me up in the night. I always want to know what time it is and I scramble around for my phone to see. This would mean I could immediately see the time! I love that you can wake up to music too, what a much nice wake up x #HomeEtc
It’s a lovely design isn’t it? It’s nice to see something functional look beautiful too :) And yes! Being able to glance at the time without having to scrabble for a phone is brill!
That is one stylish clock! I definitely want to get back to having an alarm clock rather than using my phone. The temptation is too much! Might just be adding this to my list for Santa! #HomeEtc
I highly recommend it Victoria!! It’s so lovely waking up to music — plus I’ve been sleeping a lot better since I’ve not been checking my phone last thing at night :)
Love this, it’s got good looks and sleek functionality! Might look into it as Christmas pressie x #homeetc
It would be a fab Christmas gift!! And welcome back Keira! :) So lovely to hear from you!!! xx
Not too long ago we needed to upgrade our ugly clock radio – they’ve come on a long way, this one looks fab. And I managed to find some space on MOH’s bedside table too rather than mine, even better :) Thanks for hosting #HomeEtc x
It’s definitely one of the best looking ones I’ve seen, that’s for sure! And well done, managing to steal space from your husband’s bedside table!! I’d struggle to do that with Richard’s!! His is covered in contact lenses and old copies of The Week magazine!!