All your DIY and gardening needs under one roof - this is the place to come to stock up on supplies…read morebefore attempting your latest 'Project' at home. There always seems to be promotions on as well which keeps costs under control pretty well. However, I cannot get a grip on the layout of the place and end up wandering round aimlessly trying to tick off all the items on my list. An absence of assistants doesn't help matters and sometimes I wonder whether I spend longer here than on the task at hand back home. Hopefully, i will unlock the key to the maze one day soon...

Big store with tons of DIY and readymade stuff for your house. For the best deals, make sure to…read morecheck the area with houseplants on sale. They just need a little TLC. Sometimes there are also deals in the main floor display area just straight on as you come past the entrance. Also, there is an amazing deal on the basic value lamp - the kind that stands vertical and has a frosted cone shape with lightbulb at the top - less than £6 will get you this lamp, and you can even choose from black, red, or chrome finish for the base part. I was really pleased as this helped me bring light into my new room and didn't break my bank as some lamps will do. Of course there is a huge selection of lamps so you can pay more if you like, but the basic value lamp is working great for me. I also got an £20 Studio Desk lamp in black, which is cute. They have all the lightbulbs you'll need as well, including eco varieties.

Call me pumice, pumice wall. I love this store and the paint colors they have for homes. I went…read morethere thinking I was going to spend a fortune but it wasn't, compared to a Luxe paint the difference is probably like £2 or £3. Not a lot when you consider that you are getting premium quality for your money. Think about it how many times can you paint your house in a lifetime, a couple, so you want the best stuff too last a long time. Oh and pumice is the color I bought for my house, and after months I'm still enjoying my color decision.

I would have never have thought there could be a shop dedicated solely to tiles. Floor tiles, wall…read moretiles, bathroom tiles, kitchen tiles and work tops (almost all tiles, as they also do paint and hand woven rugs). Its quite unique. They pride themselves in having their products hand made, on the most part, in the UK and Europe. It is part of their 'green' commitment. They also source their wood and glass (for their mosaic collection) from sustainable forests, 86% of their glass is recycled. The most educational part of my visit to the store was their fully fitted 'library' it had paint samples, tiles, rugs and wood sample that you can also experiment with and mix and match, very hands on. Products are displayed concisely and intelligently in what can only be described as a quality environment. I am contemplating showing them my hand made tile collection, it would be amazing to have my creations alongside theirs.

I don't generally shop much at DIY shops but this shop had a nice selection of lights when we had…read moreour recent refurbishment work done at home. After much thought, I settled on quite a funky light for my ceiling and some chrome rading lights by the bed. Also, with all the sunshine, I bought some garden plants to plant over the weekend. I now have a new blueberry bush, a new thyme plant and 6 varieties of tomatoes. Please stay away, Mr Frost! One of the bigger Homebase stores with a nice variety of indoor and outdoor home improvement supplies.

I needed to deliver a parcel which was 17.3 kg however the staff refused to do it as it was to…read more"heavy" given the fact that one staff member had a "sore arm" and another moved it left and right and said "yeh it's to heavy". I proceeded to ask if they can weigh it and they said we don't have any scales. so they just couldn't be bothered to lift a parcel and put it round the back . A parcel to be considered heavy is over 20kg

In this privately owned kitchen shop, you get a pesonlised service in a calm environment. There…read morearen't many kitchens on display but the owner is very accomodating and normally able to find what you want. This is a relaxed shop where you're not put under pressure and can take your time to find something that's just right. Parking can be difficuly, especially at peak times like on Saturdays, so it's best to park in one of the side streets behind the shop and walk round the corner.

This shop sells a variety of household items and objects. It is like a discount store but things…read moreare definitely not cheap at all here so you may not be best suited if you are coming here to buy inexpensive items. They stock virtually anything from plates and plate sets to bathroom mats to pots and pans. however, lots of the items are very old and no new styles and very expensive. They have usually traditional items such as the plate sets are old traditional designs. It is very close to Somerfield. The shop does not have parking on the main road but you may park on the side streets if you wish but you may have to pay.

Aston Matthews is the ultimate in bathroom...stuff...fixtures, basins, baths, etc: you want it,…read morethey've got it. And it's so super cool it's amazing. Sure, I'm not in the market for a renovated bathroom, but if I was, I would definitely be here. The baths are exquisite - with free standing modern versions of the claw-footed bath, in exquisite enamel reds, pinks, and pretty much any colour you desire. All the vanities and fixtures are just as cool - all minimal, streamlined and achingly funky. Check it out. You'll be ripping your own bath out to replace it with one of Aston Matthew's numbers quicker than you could brush your teeth.

I'm not going to be renovating a bathroom of mine any time soon (I have to buy a house first) but I…read moredo appreciate shops like this, if only to dream about what kind of tiles and tap installations I'll be choosing one day. The shop is a pleasure to peruse around; they have a range of very contemporary designs such as 'floating' basin units from Portofino to classic rolltop baths in a variety of colours. I can't help thinking that the beautiful floor-standing cast iron baths require a personal maid to towel you off, like in the good old days. It may be a fun store to walk around, but if you're anything like me (that'd be thrifty yet creative), you might find the price tags a little steep. I plan to re-enamel a vintage rolltop for a fraction of the £2,000 you'd pay for a new one.

Gill Wing is a rather small cookery shop on Upper Street in Islington. Though it is a small shop it…read morehas a wonderful range of quality items in the shop. It has a pleasant atmosphere, and is fun to look around though, although it can be a little too crowded, particularly during on the weekend. A handsome little shop, that is a good place to buy housewarming presents.

Gill Wing has a really good collection of Kitchen stuff, and especially some great coffee mugs and…read moreaccessories. Everything is a bit stacked up on top of each other, so its really hard to find something specific you might be looking for, and the staff don't seem to know where to find anything either!!! Its a good place to browse, particularly for a nice looking and useful present. There is some lovely Scandinavian designer cookware, that is aesthetically pleasing and totally out of my budget. My dream kitchen would be stocked full of cookware from here, till then, there are the really salad bowls!

I've never been a fan of Homebase and this particular store gives me no reason to change my…read moreopinion. It's not a particularly large store but it is one which I find poorly laid out and cramped. In terms of price rarely is Homebase competative with the rest of the market - for hardware I'd favour Wickes (about 1/2 a mile down the road) and for Homeware the newly re-opened Focus on the opposite side of town. The plant section is possibly the only reason to visit although it's expensive and you need to be careful about the quality. There's lots of free parking although if you're buying something large there are not that many accessible spaces (and the problem is compounded by the store being next to Sainsbury's). Avoid the toilets on the way in at all costs, they're dirty and smelly. They're so bad that I even make my 2 year old wait till he gets home preferring the risk that he won't make it to the risk from the toilets!

Located next door to Sainsbury's on the old Brookwood Hospital site (Knaphill)…read moreFairly large single storey shop with all the usual diy bits - Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, paint, plumbing, electrical, timber, doors etc. Also has small furniture and household items section (much larger range at the Guildford one), a lighting section, and gardening as well as a large outside space with sheds, plants, compost and the like. Handy store for picking up those diy essentials! Free parking at the front of the store. Toilets on the way in. Cash points by Sainsburys (next door)