It's all for char-i-dee dahlings! Homeless people of Bristol are given worthwhile jobs here (and an…read moreensuite room)- restoring second-hand furniture and then selling them on from the shop- helping them get a foot on the shaky ladder of housing & employment. I took a few odds and ends - to take pride of place in someone else's living room, and returned with a newly sanded coffee table for just a few pounds. Unlike the soul-draining limbo world of Ikea, here you feel ethically good about shopping and get to see real daylight at the same time!

This second hand shop over in St Philips is a really good find. From sofas to bedside cabinets…read morethey have a full range of furniture in varying conditions. Granted, some of the stuff isn't particularly great, but some items are surprisingly good quality for the same cheap price as the rest of their stock. There's a few friendly staff who work there who will try to dig something out for you if you let them know what you want, and there's also a small potential for bartering - always worth a try! I managed to pick up a couple of cool prints to put on the walls in my new flat when we came, and my flatmate got hold a good chest of drawers for under £20. Definitely worth a look in if you're furnishing on a budget.

There are obviously a plethora of charity chops around Bristol (and indeed here on East Street…read morealong) and generally speaking what you get in each one from day to day is down to the luck of the draw. This one, however, is a bit different as it concentrates solely on home furnishings and electronics. Basically they've gone to the trouble of selecting all the best donations of this kind and stocking them here. Because of the extra trouble they've gone to the prices are perhaps a little higher than your average charity shop, but they are saving you time and the money of course still goes to a good cause. If you need some home furnishings, this is one of the few charity shops in the city that it's worth traveling a distance to have a good browse in.

The British Heart Foundation is a national charity that supports research, prevention and care of…read morethose with heart diseases. A specialist charity shop where they have gathered together all the electricals and furniture donated into one big shop. You can pick up toasters, TVs and a bed all here. Items are very good quality and all electricals have been tested.

To title your business with the prefix 'Global' you must be pretty confident that you've got a good…read morerange, and in here they do. All sorts of furniture can be found in here from beds to mirrors to chests of drawers. Not just one of each either but children's beds, double beds, bed side mirrors and full length mirrors. It's not exactly DFS or another out-of-town seller so the quality isn't going to be as high - but for the smaller price tags it's pretty good.

If you're fresh on the Bedminster scene and are looking for some cheap furniture to spruce up your…read morepad, follow the reams of locals to Asda Bedminster and once you get there, cross over the road. You'll soon see an assortment of furniture sprawled out onto the pavement: this is the wonderfully economical Bristol Bargain Furniture shop. Here you'll find a selection of both second hand and brand new furniture: tables and chairs, video units, coffee tables, computer desks, drawers - you name it, this place will have it. The shop also sells a variety of beds and mattresses, both doubles and singles, and operates a free local delivery service catering for the majority of customers who don't have a van on demand. I bought a lovely little chest of drawers made from hard wood here which cost me a fiver, to give you an idea of the bargains you'll find. Staff are great too - chatty and very willing to help.

As soon as I walked into this grand furniture showroom on Whiteladies Road, despite the fact that…read moreit's a chain, I thought of the houses on the Downs. Can you imagine living in one of those beautiful mansions? Oh wow. Suffice to say, if I owned one of those houses, I'd furnish it with pieces from Wesley Barrel, especially one of their floral print classic sofas. Also not to be missed is their magnificent dining range. Be careful though; grand furniture for a grand house, or it could end up looking a little dated and stuffy.

From the frames of each bit of furniture being hand crafted from seasoned wood to the springing,…read morepadding and covering - each item of furniture here is made with love and care. It may carry a price tag that looks more like a phone number, but in this place it's really worth it. Sofas, armchairs and dining accessories the same - everything about this place oozes charm and sophistication. This is the sort of thing Country Living thrives upon. And so it should. Bravo.

Back in Action is a physiotherapy furniture store that I am a big fan of…read more The aim of their shop is to provide you and your home with furniture that doesn't strain your back, but ease it and keep it supple and flexible. I walked in here some time back, and had a great time trying out all the different types of furniture; like dining chairs with movable seats. Other than home furniture, they have things for kids, the office and back loving mattresses. When you're in here, the staff treat you really well and have no prejudgement against you (despite me wearing quite ratty jeans that day), and answer all your questions and explain lots about each piece of furniture you sit on. As someone who always has back pain, this shop is just perfect - now if only the prices were abit more perfect to match my bank account, then I would be in home heaven.

I always enjoy taking a seat on their latest chair arrivals outside the front of the shop -…read more twirling around on a wheely chair, or lazing on an armchair watching the cars go by. I have never bought anything from here. The owners don't mind...at least i don't think they do- they've never said anything to me! They have a lot of good items in this shop, such as mattresses, bed stands, desks, wardrobes, and chairs...did i mention the chairs? They have the best selection of chairs around! The chairs are probably the best value itesms in the store. Everything else seems quite expensive comapred to similar items at Tescos or Ikea. However, we need to support the independants so i definately would reccommend giving Clearance Centre a visit. The owners leave you free to browse, and the majority of items are second-hand meaning bargains all round! Brilliant!

Hand in hand with it's next door neighbour, The Sale Store, you can sort your bedroom out with…read morecheap and very heavily discounted mattresses, which is their main selling point. Besides that, they have other bits and bobs of furniture inside the store. I'm not sure about the quality, but they do have plenty of choice, and with mattresses from £29 (for a single), how could you say no? A price of a top from Topshop could be the price of comfortable sleeping for well, for the duration that you keep the mattress! Staff are friendly too, so, for some cheap furnishings, this place is worth looking at.

Other people here have mentioned the hardware store on one side (they mix Dulux paint which is very…read morehandy by the way) but I just want to mention the garden centre which is on the separate building across the pedestrian/cycle path (which reminds me - do note the different coloured bricks and cycle images on the floor and watch out for cycles). The garden centre is pretty well stocked for peripherals, but also has a nice selection of instant colour seasonal plants as well as some fruit and herbs for kitchen gardens. Their willows and topiary are a bit old fashioned and I would recommend going to a specialist nursery for trees (try Chew Valley Trees) but this is great for a gardening hit in town.

This sprawling department store feels like one giant throwback to the 1970s. The design is dowdy,…read morecome here after going to Ikea for a real shock. You'll hear very British muzak plays over the speakers, interrupted occasionally by an announce who kindly reminds you to validate your parking when paying for your goods. Quaint to the point of being weird, and also almost always completely empty. Enough of analysis of the style of the shop, I should probably tell you if it's any good. There are sections for homeware and DIY, as well as a garden centre. You can get more or less anything for the home, a few things you didn't know you needed, and a few things no-one would ever need. There's an entire row of various things for your milkman to leave the milk in, to give you an idea of the range. It's not that cheap unfortunately. I think all there costs must go on the staff (who are very helpful), of which there seem to be a greater number than there are customers most of the time.

Calico and Co is an impressively large soft furnishings and furniture shop in the centre of…read moreBedminster. Specialising in furnishing fabrics, this place is perfect for those of you who are keen to try your hand at curtain making. What's more, fabrics here have been sorted into colour groups, making life easier for ye colour conscious folk. You'll find some pretty unique furniture at Calico and Co too: the current craze is the mirrored bedside cabinet (of which there are 'only two left'.) If I'm honest, this doesn't look too appealing to me - not only is it a bit of an eye sore, but imagine waking up to your own reflection every day... I digress. Staff here are friendly and helpful and always ready to share their specialist furniture knowledge.

As good a range of fabrics as you could possibly find anywhere…read more We've been served patiently & advised when we've not known or understood what we need. We've had 4 sets of curtains made by them during 15 years of patronage, each has been made exactly to requirement, and they charge less than John Lewis!