I recently visited the Design Store in Wairau Park looking for some stylish pieces to spruce up the…read moreliving area. This fabulous contemporary furniture and accessories store has really top quality furniture and items that make your home look a million dollars. If you can spare a bit of change the items at the Design Store do not come cheap, it's the price you pay for elegance and character. Stunning mirrors, paintings, leather couches, ottomans, coffee tables. You name it; they can spruce up any home or office. Sometimes, like me you're just looking for that signature piece to place on a table and emphasize colour, I found exactly what I was looking for in the form of a lime green bamboo place mat! Just perfect and matched up with the colour theme throughout the house. The staff are very approachable, which is wonderful as sometimes in expensive stores you can feel a bit ignored. They will give you tips and choices if you explain exactly what you're after. If just browsing however, you can do so with leisure.

I very often pop in here for a wander. There is a shitload of stuff to look at and it can take a…read morewhile to make your way around the entire store to take in all the cool stuff in it's entirety. Because of this I'm very thankful that the staff aren't the kind to be breathing down your neck and constantly asking if you need a hand! There's a wide range of home decor things in here. mirrors, candles, kitchen things, furniture. A bit of everything really. If you're buying you mother or your grandmother or your aunt a present pop in here and there will almost certainly be something appropriate. Some things can be a bit pricey but there are other smaller things to take away too. Pretty much something to please whoever I'd say.

If money was no object, Weekend Trader would be my number one stop for furniture and home decor…read more The new location looks like it's come straight of the pages of Architectural Digest. Lots of clean lines, raw metal, marble and rich fabrics. I am particularly taken with their brass anglepoise lamp, which I am saving my pennies for. I'm also a fan of their horse prints, which, dare I say it, are similar to the ones in St Clements. Slowly, as I start to buy pieces for the new house that I plan to cherish for a long time, I predict there trips to Weekend Trader will become more frequent, even if it's only to dream...

If you are in Auckland on a Saturday morning, one of the most unique things to check out is the…read moreOtara Polynesia Market, located just a 15-minute drive from the Auckland International Airport. This market is held only on Saturdays and is open from 6 AM to 12 PM. While there is plenty of fresh produce for sale, there is so much more to this market. You'll find rows of food stalls with local Polynesian island favorites as well as Maori hangi (meat and various sides cooked in an underground oven). And if you're into shopping, this is your spot. You will find gorgeous carvings and artwork that will likely be the cheapest you'll find anywhere in the country. I lived in New Zealand and this was one of my favorite weekend spots.

This famous market South of Auckland stock great Maori, Samoan, Tongan and Niue arts and craft ,…read morehowever a worthy mention must go to a recent fixture, a clothing stall called 'House of Harem'. The friendly Aeryn has consistently gone out of her way to help me find that 'exact' unique item of clothing, particularly harem pants funnily enough, (although the beautiful silk or satin dresses and skirts are stunning too). These harem pants are great as gifts as they are one size fits most, 8-18 she assures me, and come in an array of textures and patterns... actually I am wearing some right now...

Contract Bedding makes a whole lot of beds that get slapped with a fancy label and then sent off to…read moreshops to be sold by them. However, like most things, if you buy directly from the manufacturer, you can get a good quality product for much less. I would like you all to buy your beds from here, and here's why: they are a small family run business, and we need to keep those going. you can watch them make a bed, and they'll answer your questions about the process they have a couple of pretty cool dogs that hang out in the factory you can get a really good bed for about half the price of anywhere else they are good people: they gave us some free pillows and delivered our bed for free, pretty grouse. If that's not enough reasons for you to go there, I can't help you I'm afraid.

When I first walked into this store, the immediate impression that I got was that i'd accidentally…read morewalked into someones home who had forgot to close their front door. That's because Bob ("Best of British") and Friends is a lovely restored Ponsonby Villa, with the items being beautifully displayed within each room and along the center corridor. I love this store. Why? It is filled with a plethora of awesome and original homewares - from quirky gifts, gorgeous items for your home, artwork, classic furnishings. Many of the items seem to have a history, a story of their own, items to get a conversation started (such as the classic Japanese Robots, the re-worked clocks on the wall that used to be from Auckland hospital, the neon signs). It is clear that each item has been tastefully and thoughtfully chosen. There are so many things in Bob and Friends that I have coveted - and the prices are reasonable, considering the high quality of the homewares. And super friendly service to boot. This store is refreshingly original!! http://bobandfriends.co.nz

I stumbled upon Hunter Furniture when I was on Link Drive one weekend. I'd been looking for a sofa…read morefor a while, and thought I'd pop in to have a look. Really nice big store, with a good display of furniture items and accessories. Not too cluttered and lots of natural light. I was approached by a friendly shop assistant who was very knowledgeable about their products. I was very interested in buying New Zealand made, and many of their products are made here, but not all, depending on the type of materials required. I went back about six weeks later during one of their sales (20-50% off everything in store) and was served by another really knowledgeable sales person. Another nice thing was that I could choose the material and colours for the sofa I was interested in (I don't think this is possible with ALL items). I was really happy with the final price - although you could probably get a cheaper version of a similar styled item elsewhere, I was happy to spend a little more, as I was happy with the quality of the product. Only needed a 20% deposit as well. Some of the styles were not quite to my taste (i'm a bit fussy!) but am really happy with my new sofa!!

Our new couch just arrived this afternoon! I am so excited. We had been looking at couches at…read morequite a few places, and once we reached Sofa Plus, we stopped looking and cancelled all our previous plans. These guys know their stuff and are really passionate about the work they do. Yes, it's more expensive than the other couches we were looking at, but you can see the different in quality and craftsmanship and definitely in service. Plus a 10 year warranty! And, an excellent service bonus - they even took our old couches and redelivered them to our friends' house! I'm totally happy with our purchase, and would gladly recommend Sofa Plus to anyone.

Absolutely love Sofa Plus - they are passionate about providing the best possible quality and…read moreservice - and YES it is all NZ Made out of the best quality materials including wood, frames and coverings. Cut out the middle man and buy exactly what you want from the people that made it. I have two natural NZ leather sofas which have aged with absolute elegance - now 8 years old!!. Highly recommend without hesitation.

I love this store and over the years have purchased several pieces from here. The staff are always…read morevery helpful and have a lot of product knowledge. The store itself is nicely presented and the sales staff are never pushy. You can actually come in here for a wander and not get hounded but if you need assistance they are more than happy to help you out with whatever you need. They have seasonal sales so keep an eye on their website for their offers. The last thing I bought was a queen sized bed late last year and prior to that a French sofa. On both occasions the staff were very friendly and were really helpful with organising delivery. Their delivery service is a stand out offering I think. Sometimes this store has one off or limited edition pieces, so you can see something one day and then it will be gone in a month which is neat because it means the furniture is not mass produced and you will have a unique piece to add to your home. Great product range and service, one to check out.