Set in the beautiful Barton Square (the "home bit" of The Trafford Centre), Dwell is an uber…read morestylish furniture store. It is darkly lit and almost like walking into a trendy wine bar as you enter its sophisticated doorway. This is not a place for antiques or vintage finds, Dwell is exclusively for contemporary living- it does not sell furniture, it sells "pieces" darling and it is a place where furniture lovers will find the focal point they have been searching for, for their designer pads. Every room in the house is catered for in a sleek and stylish fashion; sofas are angular and impressive, dining chairs are futuristic and the beds look straight out of MTV Cribs. The lighting section is second to none, and I am in awe of the pendant wine glass chandelier which costs £199 and is a real talking point. Dwell is simply good taste and prices vary from the affordable to the expensive- another light fixture which has caught my eye is £600. Dwell is a supermodel of a furniture shop, traditionalists will hate it, but post modernists will adore it. The staff are friendly and its customer base favour city centre thirty-somethings with a bit of cash. If you fancy splashing out for your urban dwelling then Dwell is right up your busy, congested, city street.

This is a very modern contemporary furniture store specialising in leather sofas. Its got a nice…read moreselection of designer sofas and many of them can be used as sofa beds. Its quality italian leather with a price tag to match. You can also choose a selection of upholstery including dreamfibre. This is a lifestyle store that has a selection of lamps and rugs also. Its worth a visit for ideas and splashing out on a new suite if you are feeling flush.

I love Natuzzi and there is a lot on display at this Natuzzi store. But on several occasions I was…read morewaiting for assistance from a sales assistant but they were too busy chatting to a customer for up to 20 minutes or on the phone about non-work related things. I found this to be bordering on rude as they knew I was waiting to speak to them. When I finally got prices from them I then asked for prices from several other Natuzzi stores for the identical products. The price was the same from all the other Natuzzi stores and was £500 cheaper than Barton Square! I bought from one of the other Natuzzi stores and I'm glad I did so as the attitude of the staff at the Barton Square store didn't deserve my custom.

Homesense at the Trafford Centre is fairly tucked away within Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton…read moreSquare), it is a large store and it is over two floors. The store looks fairly nice from the outside and is reasonably spacious and presentable for a Homesense store, which can be a little like a non-clothing, home goods version of TKMaxx, their parent company. They had a small selection of furniture and some interesting items, some prices better than others. I like how this store is open late into the evening, which for night-owls like myself is ideal, they're open until 10 pm during the week, closing a little earlier on weekends. I did find the store to be both understaffed and untidy, the shelves were full of rubbish left by customers, including half-eaten food and empty cups, I understand this isn't the store's fault but it was just rather unpleasant, and with no staff members on the shop floor, it wasn't getting tied up to look more presentable. Again, a lack of staff on the shop floor meant I struggled to find what I was looking for. 4* - I like this HomeSense store better than their Manchester Arndale location, it is larger and has a nice range of stock, yet they could for sure improve the staffing levels and cleanliness around the store.

Home Sense is one of the greatest discoveries of the Western world. Where else can you create a…read moredesigner home for half the price? It looks very TK Maxx with endless aisles of furniture and ornaments in no particular order or organisation, but you do not have to look for as long in Home Sense to unveil a bargain. I love the grandeur and scale of some of the items; there are enormous Baroque mirrors which lounge beside huge terracotta pots- its like being in the Land of The Giants. Union Jack painted cabinets stand patriotically next to mirrored Art Deco inspired dressing tables and there are pictures galore promoting everything from Pop Art to Hollywood legends. Home Sense's garden range is definitely worth taking note of, there are table and chairs in ice cream colours and last year I saw a stone table and bench which was absolutely divine and I still kick myself for not buying it. So I have versed you well Yelpers on the stock, now for the prices! This is one of the cheapest priced shops I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Cabinets costing £600 elsewhere are £250 here, crockery is a steal and glasses are great quality and £13 for a box of 6 champagne flutes. I am serious, you blink twice with astonishment when you go to the till. What is appealing about this quirky treasure trove is its ever changing stock.There is no point admiring a Home Sense bargain found by someone else and hoping you can get it for yourself. The majority of the stock are one-offs and will not be featured again so this is a buy-it-when-you-see-it type of place. Yay! I'm a fan!

I really love this store. It always has something a bit different and really great sales on the odd…read moreoccassion! The peir is a furniture store that prides themselves in selling hand crafted furniture. They sell both home and garden furnishings such as tables and chairs, rugs, tableware and a wide variety of candles. The style of the stuff they sell is unusual, unique and very colourful which is a breath of fresh air when you look round the store at all of the brightly coloured displays. You can get cushions, storage boxes, dried flowers and glassware along with so much other stuff. If you are bored of the normal drab stuff, come to the pier!

This shop is great if you're looking for something a little bit different with an exotic touch for…read moreyour home. Its a million miles away from the uniform plasticity that Ikea offers, The Pier's decadent fabrics and opulent prints will appeal to those who want their house to truly become a warm comfortable home.

This place is presumably so named for the fact that you can scarcely walk round the place, such is…read morethe chaotic arrangement of furniture in Aladdins Den, rather than the need for genie-assitance to find the place. As if the internal array of stock isn't enough, the TV stands, tables and chairs and chests of drawers spill out onto the pavement too. The overriding impression here is that quantity of stock on offer definitely eclipses the overall quality. It's definitely a place that follows the mantra 'stack it high and sell it cheap' and as such, I guess that you could say it fulfils the needs of a great number of potential clientele in Sale. However, I'd have to say that the pieces on offer have the look of flat-pack that has been pre-assembled rather than nicely designed, or eclectiv an authentic reclaimed items and it's certainly not a shop I'll visit again

HomeSense is a chain of discount home furnishing stores, it is owned by TK Maxx, who also has a…read morestore next to this one in the Manchester Arndale. like TK Maxx the branding/styling of the name is different on this side of the Atlantic. The store is large and has a good selection of bits and bobs, from pillows to appliances, from ice cube trays and cheese-graters. Considering, they're supposed to be a "discount" chain, I did find some prices to be a little high, if you're lucky you'll find a high-quality item with a good discount/offer though, so it's kind of like a TKMaxx jumble sale but replacing the clothes with home items. The staff seemed friendly and happy to help me find what I was looking for, and the experience at the checkout was smooth. This is a fairly good store, obviously, some deals are better than others, but probably the best selection of home furnishing in the Manchester Arndale, with a fairly presentable store and helpful staff. 4*

I'm kind of in love with this shop. It's dreamy! The window displays are whimsical and they're sure…read moreto draw you in every time. The seasonal produce is brilliant, both food items and general home ware. They've got the Christmas stock in at the moment and it's absolutely gorgeous, snow globes and crockery, bath products and food. You name it :) I had to drag myself out of the shop before I spent my entire pay check. I love that you can get top quality, one off items here are a very decent price. The staff are always helpful and the store is clean and well presented. They also have a pretty good reduced to clear range. If you're in to DIY like me you can pick up something that's a little damaged for a ridiculous price and fix it up at home. I've saved so much doing this. I also find this shop to be ideal for gift shopping as they stock such a wide range of products, the packaging tends to be beautiful and I can pick up items here that I wouldn't normally see in other shops.