One day when I have heaps of money I will by this shop, or at least everything in the store. So…read moremany great products and clever little gadgets to make your entertaining and cooking needs so much more palatable. I haven't had the chance to buy much. This is almost entirely due to the fact that when you enter you really need to concentrate on a few items otherwise $1000 later and little Timmy isn't eating that night. You'll have the means to cook them but not the food. I'm keen to buy a white handled set of knives (the European brand escapes me) but at $800 for the set they have a while to wait to be in my kitchen. But there really is everything here and it's a big store so it's a lot of stuff. From traditional copper cookware, the type the French love to quirky shapes for the cookies that you'll make once you have food again. Pricey but with everything you'll need I can support your culinary adventures in Homewares Direct.

Homewares Direct has a few locations, including Unley Road, Parkside…read more It offers a great range of good quality, well-priced kitchen items including, top notch saucepans, electrical goods and other great gadgets. There are also oodles of gift ideas here. The best thing about Homewares Direct is the fantastic service. Unfortunately many customers are making use of this service by asking for advice on products and then purchasing them online. I fear for the future of small, locally owned business like this if people continue to do their research at boutique stores and then shop online to save a few dollars. I guess we'll see if stores like this can survive competing with the department store 40-50% off sales as well as online stores with lower overheads. There is plenty of parking on-site. Keep an eye out for there occasional sale sign out the front. If you get in when the time is right, you'll get an even better bargain.

Wow. That's probably the best word I can use to describe Ecotel…read more The store is designed for people working in the restaurant industry - and any of those cool products you've seen used on cooking shows or in magazines can probably be found here. Machines, silicon moulds, strange powders. They're all here. So even if you are just a home cooking enthusiast, you'll probably find something of use here. I didn't even know if existed before I started studying patisserie at TAFE, and now it seems they mention Ecotel at least every week. There are plenty of products that I've always wondered where I could buy them in Adelaide; apparently the answer is Ecotel. Plus if you're hungry you can always pop into Dolce & Co. next door for a sweet treat.

House and Garden is another of those great shops in Unley where you can just about get anything and…read moreeverything you need for the house and / or garden - funny about that! This place is another of my local haunts and is usually my first port of call when I'm looking for a birthday present for friends or family. The way the store is set out is with kitchen / dining room items in the back and living room pieces in the front. They stock larger items of furniture like buffets and bookshelves and of course the smaller pieces like occasional pieces and footstools. Sometimes things can be a little pricey but there are also times you'll find a great bargain. The black and white ottoman in the centre of my living room is just one of those pieces. It goes without saying there's a great selection of decorating pieces right through the store. Even if you're not buying, I find this place full of ideas - a little like a home decorating magazine come to life. I always manage to find a bargain there when it comes to things like their Maxwell and Williams dinner set range. A good bargain always makes me smile. I love buying something that looks exy but I've actually paid very little for House and Garden staff are always helpful. If you're looking for something and they don't have it, they will always call one of their other stores and attempt to get it in for you. When they're not run off their feet with a line of customers at the counter or gift wrapping someone's purchase, they're always up for a chat and a laugh.

This is probably one of my favourite home wares store, it's large, it has a big range, it's not too…read morecluttered, there are a lot of unique stuff, and things are decently priced for what they are worth. There's some pretty good quality things available. What I didn't like were the staff. The girls there seemed pretty rude, not acknowledging me one little bit, even when I walked straight past them. Anyway, I really like what the store has available, and I would even drive the distance to Unley Road just to go to this store if there was some thing I wanted/needed.

Warning - get a quote in writing before you book Rawsons electrical that specifies how many…read moretradesmen they are sending and the cost for all of them! They charged an extra $68 per hour on top of the quoted hourly rate for the apprentice that I did not ask for, nor did they tell me about, adding an extra few hundred to the cost of a relatively small job (an extra 30%). The person who I booked through was very patronising when the hourly rate was also higher from what he had told me and he argued that the job was faster with the apprentice, even though I told him I would have booked elsewhere had the full rates been disclosed when I asked what the rates would be. Obviously time and materials can vary from the quote but the hourly rate for the service should not. If you do use them, make sure you ask for an itemised invoice and check it carefully because they also added an extra hour to their time onsite (which they later corrected). They waived the call out charge but it still cost me more than it should have. Would not trust them and would certainly never use them again, very disappointing.

So the electrician side of the business actually opens at 7:45am each week day morning. They also…read morehave a section called Rawsons Elite Appliances selling brands like Miele and the shop for that is at Unley and open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays. As far as electrical contractors Rawsons can do anything. You don't survive in the industry for over 60 years and not know what you are doing though. I guess you could find cheaper but at least with Rawsons you know you always get a job done properly and do you really want to risk something this important just to save a few bucks? They do have electricians for everything including some very specialised ones in fields like PLC's. In addition Rawsons are the preferred repairer for some well known brands and are great at assisting to repair or replace any found with faults, even when they did not install them. Huge credit to Rob, his family and team for a job well done on a consistent basis.

Do you enjoy a spot of gardening? If so then you can't go past The Conservatory Garden and Home on…read moreUnley Road. This is a high end garden shop supplying quality plants so you will pay a little more but the benefit is your plants are more likely to survive if they have a good start to life. Plants at The Conservatory are all very lush and the staff do everything from selling single plants, to giving advice on making your garden thrive, to designing complete gardens. With flowering plants, climbers, trees, shrubs and a selection of plants guaranteed to survive Adelaide's extreme weather, the guys at The Conservatory know there business and are happy to share their knowledge with customers. Even if you're not buying, just walking through this garden shop is quite an experience - it's like a mini botanic garden in the midst of suburbia. Inside you'll find The Conservatory is more like a house than a shop and the interior is set up with a range of giftwares and books set out in different rooms. Some of the items you can buy there, you just wouldn't expect to see in a garden shop. In addition to everything else, they can deliver your plants if they won't fit in the car, gift wrap your purchases and will always send you on your way with a smile on your face. If its too tricky to find a park on Unley Road (as is often the case) I find their off-street car parking in Irwin Lane very handy.

The Conservatory looks -and is - a wonderful place to decorate your home & garden. The beautiful…read moreshop front on Unley Road looks more like a high class, expensive estate, but houses perfectly manicured plants for the front garden of your upper class home. The inside is filled (not really suitable for kids, too much to touch and break) with homewares, furniture, decor, prints and lots of pillows. However wonderful this place is to look through, it is very expensive - which makes it exclusive to the higher income market. Everything is of the highest quality though, go and have a look through - if not to buy, just to get ideas!