Our Faves

West Elm

109 Atlantic, Toronto, ON, M6K 1E2

Rated this place:

posted Mar 5 2009

affordable and easy furnishings: If you're looking to furnish a new home, condo or apartment, you'll want to visit West Elm. It's easy shopping for the those of us that need help when it comes to interior decorating. All the items in the store are set up in a way that showcases how they work well together in a room. You'll find areas set up as bedrooms, living rooms, dens and dining areas. What's great is that designers have picked out the perfect accessories to match the overall look and furniture in a space, from rugs to mirrors to decor. And the best part -- the prices. Shop for roomy and modern dressers priced at $240 and beautiful dining tables from $300 to $500. Accessories are as cheap as $5 and tend to range between $20 and $50.

Neat

628 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON, M6J 1E4

Rated this place:

posted Mar 27 2009

organize your space: This store is awesome for people that live in the city. Many downtown dwellers don’t have the luxury of space and a lot of the products you’ll find at Neat help create the illusion that you do have more square footage than you thought. I like to organize by nature so this place gets people like me excited. Some things I really like here are the flexible Flor carpet squares -- it’s carpet in a “tile” format, and the Shoebby, which is a transparent drawer-type shoe box that allows you to save closet room and easily find your shoes. Many of the products in this shop are also enviro-friendly.

Umbra Concept Store

165 John Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1X3

Rated this place:

posted Apr 6 2009

inexpensive stuff for your home: I head to this store when I'm looking for inexpensive things to brighten up a space in my home or when I'm in need of something as basic as a tooth brush holder. Almost everything you'll find at Umbra, whether it's for functional or decor purposes, has a unique and modern design element to it. Most of my vases and picture frames actually come from Umbra, because they are cheap yet stylish, not to mention good quality. I have also bought bamboo bathroom accessories from Umbra that have lasted for years. Check back every now and then because the store always introduces new colours and designs to reflect trends. I also own and love the canvas crunch laundry can -- it folds up and saves space when you’re not using it.

Pottery Barn

100 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 3L3

Rated this place:

posted Apr 6 2009

candles and home accessories: The main reason I go to Pottery Barn is for candles. You can find them in all shapes and sizes, scented and non-scented. There's an excellent selection of big pillar candles, and tapers and votives -- perfect for table setting. And there are plenty of decorative candleholders to choose from, including table lanterns. I also shop here for home accessories like throw pillows, stones for vases, decorative artificial flowers and seasonal items like Christmas ornaments, decorations and accents for entertaining like napkin holders and table runners. It's a store that has everything you need to make your home more inviting.

Crate & Barrel

3401 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, M6A 2T9

Rated this place:

posted Jun 24 2008

furniture, housewares and home accessories: It’s hard to resist the colourful displays in the windows when you walk by this massive shop at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and really, why resist? Martha Stewart wannabes have so much to love about this modern home and furniture store: the reasonable prices, the well-made furniture, the matching themed table decorations, designer dinnerware and cookware, stylish home accessories -- the list goes on. The store also has a great layout with home décor, kitchen/bath items, dinnerware and linens on the ground level, and furniture upstairs on the top level. Staff and checkouts are also available in every area to help out customers.

• favourite thing(s) at this place:
• housewares