Porter's Paints is your best bet in terms of quality and colour choice if you're painting your…read morehouse or getting it professionally painted. Porter's is the house paint that painters choose for their own houses (or so I've been told by the three I happen to know). When you've been to Bunnings and Dulux and haven't found the perfect colour or finish, Porter's Paints feels like the Willy Wonka's garden of paint shops. They have more whites alone than I even knew the human eye could distinguish between. The other great thing about Porter's Paints is that they're really helpful. Everyone knows how useless it is trying to picture what a whole room will look like painted a certain colour based on one of those little cardboard swatches. At Porter's the swatches are large and have actually been painted on with the paint, as opposed to the printed out Dulux etc. ones that don't give you an accurate idea of the finish. At Porter's once you've narrowed your selection down a bit, you can even get really cute, tiny little paint pots to take home and do test patches. Porter's has a better selection of quality paints and more personalised advice and service than your average chain paint supplier.

This place is divine. I love colours and was dragged here by a friend who is renovating. It's…read morebeautiful. A lot of samples and ideas. Having not got into any reno I had no idea this existed. The staff are really helpful and patient. Coffee shop right next door if your companion is not interested.

If Alice of Wonderland fame had fallen down the rabbit hole into this place, she never would have…read moregotten out. The store is a maze of aisles with seemingly no order at all. Paths between merchandise veer off unexpectedly, making it a bit of a 'choose your own adventure' type experience. You never know what you'll find but if you go the wrong way you'll struggle to find your way back. When I entered the store I expected something like Bunnings (probably the only hardware store I've ever been to) with its lofty ceilings and manicured aisles. I was surprised at the low-ceilinged but deceptively large shop that greeted me. Apart from the ceiling height difference, this place sold everything any other hardware store does. Each section also had its own information desk, with a staff member waiting patiently for customers with queries. I kept arriving at 'clearings' to find an eager shop assistant gazing anxiously at me as I tried to back away while maintaining eye contact. The odd mix of charming, maze-like layout, head ducking and exceptional customer service combine to make this a place I would highly recommend.

Before entering Paddington Hardware, maybe give everyone in your group an air horn or just tether…read moreyour group together, because you will get lost in this giant warehouse of aisles. On the other hand, I don't mind getting lost in here. It made me remember that hardware stores don't have to be boring. After visiting Mitre 10 and its peers back in the day as a little girl with my father, this is a positive mansion of hardware needs. At first indifferent, I wandered absent-mindedly amongst rows of containers of different types of screws, and I was reminded of my father's workshop. When I was little, Dad's workshop (attached to the house) was out-of-bounds for kids. Of course this meant I snuck in there as often as possible. I used to ooh and ahh over the smell of cut wood, the jars of different sized nails and screws, curly wood shavings on the floor. It felt like being in Santa's workshop. And it also felt like this here. Now, Paddington Hardware isn't Santa's workshop - that I'm aware of. For all I know he could be stuffed in the back, pumping out dinner tables amongst a group of singing elves. The store's that big. I'm somehow sounding sentimental about a hardware store. In spite of its size, though, the staff are so friendly that it contributes to the happy-wonder vibe of the place. From a stock perspective, the scope of hardware is so extensive that I think most handymen would find what they wanted here. As an aside, I came to Paddington Hardware to buy a shower curtain because I was moving out of my rental property and they wanted it replaced. Shower curtains are sneakily expensive. However, Paddington Hardware was the only place in Paddington I could find a shower curtain. It was a damn nice curtain, so I hope the new tenants enjoyed it. A word about parking here: there is on-site parking, but since Paddington Hardware is sandwiched between boutiques and restaurants, it was once packed with cars from non-patrons. However, there is a strict Hardware Parking Only sign on site, and increased security on this front means that legitimate Hardware store customers should be able to find a spot.

For places that you go when you want to feel a little bit of serenity. This is the place to visit…read more Oddly enough, right next the the Westside BMW dealership (they share parking) and smack bang in the middle of Darra's industrial area, this place has been around since I've been in Brisbane. There is a crazy range of bromeliads (a whole tent full) and overhanging, underhanging and side hanging plants to choose from, there's a wider range of hedge plants, flowering plants and a pretty good range of fruit trees as well (these will set you back about $30). There is also a restaurant called Verdant which serve a pretty good salmon main and the service is pretty good. The coffee's aren't bad as well, but it would be an idea to book as it does get pretty busy. What I love about this place is the giftshop. It isn't just a gift shop that sells the weird stuff you put in your house and garden, it is an excellent place to shop for gifts or whatnot for your kids as well. It has a pretty decent kids section, where there are cute baby onesies with crazy logos on them, kiddie gardening gloves, kiddie cook books, book dividers, very cute bath toys, and stuffed toys. Even kiddie books! Such a good array, you will always find something here for your green thumbed little man or lady. Make them assist you in the garden with style! On the flipside, I also bought a $5 outside broom here from Italy, great broom, still have it! The plants here are a little dearer than your cornerstore garden centre, but they have a pretty wide range as well.

Why aren't there more places where you can buy everything you need for your garden, everything you…read moreneed to make your home pretty, clothes and luxury bath products, then top it all off with a delicious meal? Garden Way is a lovely, peaceful place that provides all those things, and I suppose it can thank it's out of the way location for the lack of crowds. The location does mean most Brisbanites would only go there when that's the sole purpose of their trip, but the good news is you can kill a lot of time here so it's worth the drive. The homewares part is really beautiful, with gorgeous decor, divine smelling moisturisers and various little bits and pieces. The nursery is not quite as big as some of the others in Brisbane, but it is decent enough with a good range of plants, pots of all shapes and sizes, and decorative features for the garden. The restaurant section is nestled in between the nursery and the homewares section, and they serve delicious and unique quality meals, drinks and desserts. This is a place I often visit with the numerous generations of females in my family, for a bit of a wistful shop and a tasty meal.