Zara Home whose appropriate next door neighbour is Zara, appears quite camouflaged as its outer…read morecolours blend in with Zara, so most of the time I walk past this without realising. I kick myself for not noticing because this neat little home ware shop offers a whole load of items, which are ideal to make your home look pretty and shiny. Amongst their terrific variety of products, they sell everything from crockery, linen to furniture and beds. You wouldn't think for a small shop like this, that they offer such a decent selection. Whilst prices are moderate, most items appear to be of decent quality. I wouldn't be too surprised if this store attracts many housewives and mothers. This store is perfect for transforming your home, such as making your mantle piece look ten times more fabulous!

The Bankrupt Shop is fab, it's like a big jumble sale but without the junk. This store is quite…read morelarge ad stock all sorts of furniture like nests of tables and chairs and stools, ornaments and mirrors and photo frames as well as soft furnishings: curtains cushions, throws and of course masses of material for the haberdashers amongst us. The prices are reasonable, although "bankrupt" implies something on par with poundland, its not quite that cheap, but you'll find a bargain. I'm not sure whether a delivery servce is available as lots of the items are quite large and bulky I should think there would be.

A must for emerging and established knitters, Purlesque is a gorgeous boutique that sells beautiful…read morewool, yarn, buttons and crochet books. If you haven't got the patience or fingertips to stitch yourself, they also sell adorable hand-made bags, accessories and homeware. I love the mix of DIY jewellery, tote-bags, scarves and cushions but it's the knitted cupcakes and tea-cosies that I have my eye on. You bring the jam and scones, I'll get the kettle on...

This is a lovely little haberdashery store. The staff here are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable…read more Amongst the goodies on sale there is wool, yarn, buttons, jewellery beads, crochet kits, knitting patterns, bags, cushions, fabric and scarves. Everything is arranged neatly and the shop is a joy to browse around. This is a great little shop for when you're feeling a bit crafty :)

When I think of Primark I think of big queues, big crowds, modern stores and cheap clothes but also…read moreclothes on the lower-quality side, mainly down to the price with Primark basically being a clothing version of ALDI. Located on Church Street, it is basically right bang in the heart of the One and the centre of Liverpool so the location here is really good, the store is quite large and is in an old building so is nowhere near as modern on the outside, or even the inside as other Primark stores I have visited including stores in Gateshead, Cardiff, Newcastle and Amsterdam, most of which I have visited in the past and awarded a three-star rating to. A lack of renovation could let the store down more than ever now, following H&M locating into the old BHS unit, with a more modern store as the retailer is similar to Primark so action is needed soon. This branch of Primark in a way reminds me of Southport's store, inside it isn't too impressive or modern - which is a shame and it contradicts what you would expect considering Liverpool is a big city, the second biggest in north-west England. I didn't like this store, not just because of the poor overall feel but it just was really untidy, I lost count of clothes on the floor before even getting to the men's section (the ladies section os on the ground floor), and by the looks of things, it looked like it had been that way for a while and staff were unbothered by it, and not doing anything to change it, making it an unsatisfactory and unpleasant place to shop overall. An untidy, uninspiring store which even lets Primark down, if you compare this to other branches of Primark including those in Gateshead and Amsterdam, which I did like, it looks like a completely different store, mainly down to the overall feel, staff and cleanliness of a store, this isn't a store I can reccomend or justify anything over a one-star rating for on this occasion.

Every time I walk into Primark, the store is packed with customers the majority of time which…read moresuggests its popularity. It does tend to attract a lot of students and for those who love a bargain, this is the place to shop. Quality of clothing can be unpredictible but it all depends. If you're fortunate, you may find a garment to last you more than a few years. The store itself is plentiful, serving 5 floors which has something to suit everybody. There is even a homeware section on the top tier. Primark is a shop which you'll either love or hate, and I love it!

Taskers DIY is almost like a version of Ikea but not as grand enough if you were to spend a whole…read moreday browsing their furniture and garden sections. This branch in Long Lane is a fairly large establishment compared to the branch in Wavertree. They sell a massive variety of products for your home, no matter how big or small a job you have. Staff will be there to help choose or find your items and give you a price estimate for that new bathroom suite or laminate flooring. Prices in general for DIY essentials are not too bad, obviously depending on the brand and type of item. Most of the time, you will find what you are looking for and not have to run around in circles since they have well displayed signs for each category. Taskers is certainly a decent store and up there with the best; it sells quality products at competitive prices therefore it is always worth a gander.

This is a great place to come if you have just moved into a new place or if you fancy redecorating…read more Their range includes eighteen departments of furniture and furnishings for every room in your house and garden plus DIY equipment and tools for all the services. They have a good selection of contemporary and conventional furniture styles. I've started saving for a new Parker Knoll chair. Although the business has been around 50 years and has a few stores around Liverpool, its still independently owned. Any queries will probably be answered by John Tasker son of the founder Jack. With their own kitchen designers, paint mixing, timber cutting and delivery services, this is an excellent alternative to soulless big chain shopping.

Lounge Boutique describes itself as "comfortably chic, elegantly shabby" and I have to agree with…read morethem. It's charming indeed. There is a subtle and classic look about the furniture and homeware on sale here with selections of whitewashed wooden pieces on offer and grand mirrors draped in fabric. I love the little details from the decorative storage boxes and wire mannequins laced with flowers to the cute baby gifts which are scattered across the delicate furniture. Flags and fairy lights and mini pirate hangers, teddies and baby mobiles for the crib will make you want to buy it all up in bulk for your little 'un. Selling items to make a house a home, you'll find some gorgeous treasures in Lounge Boutique to decorate your pad with.

Urban Outfitters is a clothing chain with a hipster vibe, in a rather large location on Paradise…read moreStreet in the Liverpool One, it is pretty close to John Lewis and JD Sports within the mall. While I found the staff to be pretty friendly, I wasn't impressed overall with the store which was my first Urban Outfitters experience, the store wasn't even clean with piles of clothes just thrown on the floor in multiple parts of the store, and the lift which was already dirty was being used for storage which basically meant no one could use it due to having many heavy storage trolleys in the way, without finding the attention of a member of staff. I didn't find the selection of clothes to be great but the store did have some interesting features including a rather nice exposed brick interior, Chilly's bottles for hot and cold beverages and a photo booth, these are the only reasons in particular for an extra star. Based on this experience, while the store isn't dreadful I probably wouldn't visit an Urban Outfitters again. I mean come on, you can't just throw clothes all over the floor and expect customers to find it okay, you can't just use the lift for storage, it shows poor cleanliness and a lack of care especially considering the floor in some areas, mainly the lift seemed dirty and like it hadn't been cleaned in years. 2*

I really like Urban Outfitters and this branch is particularly cool, with the stairs to the men's…read moreclothing and accessories piled with amazing aspirational uselessness like WESC headphones and fisheye cameras. The trousers and jeans are of a good fit, with uber-trendy brands like Cheap Monday and Nudie. The shirts and polo shirts are excellent - with great examples by Lyle & Scott and Penguin and the even the slogan t-shirts, the low point of any men's department, are almost always cool ;a John 'Bluto' Blutarsky "COLLEGE" shirt - yes please! It's also a great place for presents - I bought my sister a purse here, which she loved, and I've lost count of the amount of times I've bought 'Point It' (a book of pictures of hotel rooms, foods and drinks) for friends going travelling. Did I mention I can only count to three? I always take a detour in here when out shopping in town. Having said that I can't remember the last time I bought anything here for myself. I have almost bought a shirt on a number of occasions, and almost been tempted by a gold Casio watch (it's not geek-chic if I think that it's genuinely awesome). It has to do, I think, with the price - you will be lucky to get a non-sale t-shirt for under £30. I'm waiting for something to blow my socks off so much that I want to splash the cash on it. When it does I'll be happy to fork out.

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.

Such a good find in Menai Bridge. Lovely home items and good little presents to take home!read more

Eames rocking chairs Vegetal stools…read moreMartin sofas Panier tables Componibili storage rounds Mega Tolomeo floor lamps Elephant stools & Squirrel coat hooks As you might have gussed by now, Utility Home Store specialises in quality furniture by leading British and European designers. Beautifully arranged like a series of rooms, the stock ranges from stylish and sophisticated sofas and chairs in muted and neutral tones to more fun and playful tables, stools and bookshelves in fresh acid green, bright aqua, pillarbox red and pastel blue. Naturally, the big pieces of furniture come with equally big price tags but a lot of the smaller accessories are about the same price you'd pay in a homeware store like Habitat. Right now, they even have the beautiful bookshelves featured on the set of Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces. In short: a must for design and furniture lovers!

There are two shops on Bold Street, the household and the gift shop…read more First, the household. If you want something kooky and kitsch, or ultra modern and snazzy for your house, this is where you'll find it. Utility have a cool collection of appliances, crockery and furniture - pretty much everything you would find in an upper market Ikea. My favourite is the spoon shaped like a heart, or as I like to call it, the 'bum spoon' (you'll see what I mean if you look at the pics). It is also the place you can get a milk jug shaped like a cow, designer chairs (that are currently in the sale for a bargain £1k each) and ultra modern kettles that look like they're about to launch into space. The shop assistants are nice too - if there is something you can't find and they realise it's out of stock, they offer to take your phone number and call you when the item has arrived. If you can afford the price tag (warning: not a particularly student-friendly shop) it is the perfect place to head for furnishing your new pad.