The only attention I'd paid to Tombo was in the form of the occasional pat of the owner's dog that…read moreis invariably sitting in the window. Boy was I missing a trick. For Tombo is an incredible Westgarth shop which specialises in 'Asian antique furniture and Japanese fabrics' and sells a truly staggering range of both. An almost warehouse sized space on High Street, Tombo is absolutely packed to the rafters with gorgeous vintage Chinese cabinets and benches and a beautiful range of antique Japanese kimonos. Also incredible? Tombo's exceptional range of textiles numbering some of the most beautiful antique crêpe de Chines I've ever seen. Sure, the staff probably don't have any books on customer service sitting at home but from what I've observed if you show a real interest in Tombo's stock its staff will show an interest in you. At around $1500 for a cabinet the furniture will have to wait, but I'll definitely be returning to Tombo for an antique kimono at some point soon.

Living Edge is one of the few places in Australia where you can order originals of the Eames…read morefurniture collection. Thankfully we are not talking about the cheap replicants you find in other shops. These are the real deal, manufactured by Herman Miller in the US. I purchased my Eames soft-padded management chair here. It took about 12 weeks for it to be custom made in the US and then make its way across the Pacific down to Melbourne. The order went smoothly and it was clear that the saleswoman was quite knowledgeable and made some excellent recommendations about selecting the right leather. The chair arrived the other week (just as I was promised), looked exactly as I expected and made my home office all that much comfortable. Living Edge's Richmond shop has a nice range of accessories on display (limited stock though, annoyingly most pieces have to be ordered from Europe or the US which takes a few weeks). The Living Edge is not a cheap store by any means, but they only sell originals. I guess the one advantage of buying in Australia is they source the Eames collection from Herman Miller and not Vitra which is the case in Europe. Luckily Herman Miller is a bit cheaper. Living Edge is a great store for anyone interested in browsing classic designed furniture originals, less so for those seeking newer and trendier collections.

A company that sells mid century furniture from WITHIN a mid century building are either extremely…read moreflukey or crazily committed. Im going to choose the latter. A 1950's yellow brick house in Westgarth is the location for this recent addition to the vintage designer furniture/home wares market. The stock is made up the expected sleek Danish pieces, arm chairs, side boards, dressers, tables and cabinets. Theres a real mix of the high and low. So even if you arent able to pick up the four figure Swedish buffet you can still walk out with a cheaper selection 60s/70s crockery, bric a brac and art. I have seen a few pieces (70's vases, framed prints) considerably cheaper in op shops and larger vintage stores but there is still enough variation in their stock to warrant a visit from keen collectors.

I have a friend who went from ordering atomic 'inspired' chairs from Ebay - provenance: China,…read morevintage: last week - to filling his bachelor pad with exclusively mid-century Scandinavian design within a matter of months. People who fall for Scandinavian design tend to fall hard. For mid-century design junkies in Northcote, Know Your Product is the place to go. Stocking a small but extremely well edited range of 60s and 70s furniture and design from Scandinavia and Australia alongside cult pieces like 70s West German pottery lava vases and the like. Sure, an original sixties Danish teak cabinet will set you back a cool $2,000 but for those serious about good design or simply seeking some inspiration ahead of a trip to Ikea, Know Your Product is a great place for a browse.

The Junk Company is, well... basically what it says on the sign…read more Envisage two floors quite literally piled high with everything of bygone eras that has managed to evade the tip. And by everything, I do mean everything. Slightly bedraggled couches, medicine cabinets, ceramic oddities, architect drawing boards, cement mixers - no really, everything and anything is acceptable here, as long as it's not new. Whilst you're unlikely to walk out with a total bargain, The Junk Company isn't expensive either. It's just... reasonable.

If you're into old and quirky antiques then you'll love spending time at The Junk Company…read more Everything is organised in to like items. Want an art deco light shade, then head to the left hand side. Looking for some old vinyl for your music collection? Head halfway down the back on the right. What about an antique crinkle-cut chip slicer? You'll find about 12 sticking out of some old milk bottles on one of the bookshelves. Spend any amount of time in here and you will find things you never knew you wanted or even needed. It's a great spot to find a unique gift or something great for your home.

Granny's Market is a antique dealer filled with loads of cool vintage items that could turn a room…read morefrom boring to interesting with one fowl swoop. It looks like an old rooftop attic that's covered with cool antiques like you see in the movies. Some of could be seen as junk, some of it is amazing and some things you look at and just WANT IT! I saw this really cool old bike for sale and they had amazing old lamps that would look perfect in an outdoor courtyard. I feel like a lot of Melbourne cafes and restaurants would love a place like this to decorate their venue so it could look fashionable and cool. This trend has extended to peoples houses where I love having vintage decorations to make our home pop. Worth a look if you're into the old, vintage style.

Dwell is the younger sibling of Tempted, a lifestyle store about 50m down the road…read more Where Tempted sells smaller more lifestyle oriented products (think photo frames and vases), Dwell stocks bigger household items like couches, floor lamps, armchairs and dining tables. Dwell isn't a high-end furniture store, but it's not competing with Fantastic Furniture either. It's a comfortable mid-range sort of store that is on par with the likes of Freedom (perhaps a little lower) in terms of price, but the stock is available in MUCH smaller numbers. If you want something for your home that isn't from the usual suspects like Freedom, Ikea, Plush, etc. without paying a fortune, Dwell is a great place to start. Oh, and should you see something you like but isn't quite right, make sure you let the staff know. They have catalogues full of things that can be ordered just for you.

I love the furniture in DWELL. I think that they have some beautiful pieces. And the staff are…read moreamazing, cant' help enought So wonderful and enthusiastic. My experience was disappointing though in customer service from the owner. I wanted to redo my home office, and was ready to purchase a few pieces of furniture. I went in a couple of times, and even dropped off wall paper samples to help me match fabrics. I was so very disappointed that the owner never got in touch with me about the samples and helping me to finalise my choices. The staff were great - fantastic actually. They were so wonderful to me, but in the end I felt like the owner was too busy to spend time helping me. Feel sad, cause I was really looking forward to getting a couple of the pieces :)

A beautiful showroom with stunning range. Showroom team of…read moredesigners are very talented and the furniture is amazing quality.

At first I was very excited to discover Fanuli opened up in Melbourne. It appears to be a high end…read morefurniture store, but it is far from it. The only thing high end is the price tag. We ordered a bedroom collection and 3 months later when it finally arrived they had sent the wrong furniture! It took a month before anyone could even tell us when we would be receiving the correct furniture. Finally the owner contacted us and was beyond rude and patronizing, had zero empathy, and could care less that we were sent the wrong furniture. So now we have to wait another 3 months to receive the correct furniture and they have already charged us for it. What started as a positive experience at first because the people who work in the showroom were helpful, ended up being the absolute biggest nightmare. Save your money and sanity and go somewhere else.

Bizarre Bazaar! This cramped flea market is in the heart of…read morethe shopping district of Chapel Street in Melbourne. It's tucked into a strip shopping center, but this store goes on and on and on! The store is made up of various vendors' booths, each independently run, each with different themes or types of vintage and collectible items. The shops run from antique records, to vintage clothing to old posters. There's some strange stuff in here, but a lot of what you'd expect to find at a flea market. If you're getting dressed up for a costume party, or are just a hipster, this is a good place to go. When you enter, you are required to leave any bags at the door, and then allowed to wander the store. Many of the items weren't priced properly, leaving you to guess at the prices. Most of the booths were unmanned, so if you need to get a closer look at something behind glass, or inquire on the price, you're outta luck. One booth had a very overzealous merchant who kept trying to haggle with me over items that I had zero interest in. The bazaar is rather cramped, as you'd expect a bazaar to be. I felt nervous that I was going to break some priceless artifact the entire time!

Where can you have a retail experience and history lesson at the same time? You guessed it. Right…read morehere at Chapel Street Bazaar. This large second hand shop on Chapel Street is the site of many lost hours. Hours spent rummaging through countless area's filled with all manner of things. The space is segregated into over 70 market type stalls for you to get your forage on! You can expect retro furnishings, toys from your childhood, huge cult classic movie posters, funky retro fashions and vintage home ware and jewelery but you will mostly find what you don't expect. For a second hand goods Chapel Street Bazaar is over priced, but it needs to be or the stock would rush out the door and the huge space would be empty, and we can't have that. Don't worry though, its still good value! This place defines the term treasure trove. Get there and see what you can find!