The Discount Clearance Centre on Mahoneys road just opposite Forest Hill Chase is huge. They have a…read morelarge range of privately sourced stock that is on sale for generously discounted prices. While I was there I saw almost twenty couches, beds, bicylces, a few coffee tables and a variety of home decor items. It seems to be a family run business and they are so new to the area that they are yet to set up a phone line. The people I spoke to there were absolutely lovely and were super helpful when it came to answering my questions. Whilst they are still setting up, I can hedge a bet that this store is going to be quite good. Stock changes regularly and they have a sale board out the front where they write up a bargain of the day. Keep your eyes peeled on this one.

I'm a bit torn on how to award the right number of stars for this review. On one hand, this place…read morehas been largely where I bought many of my first furniture items. On the other, the stuff that comes out of these shops are cheap, shitty, and awful, being about 95% corkboard and 5% miscellaneous crap to hold it together. To be fair, I'm saying three stars because from both points of view, it's probably fair. If you need to get yourself a houseload of furniture and you don't have much cash, this place is it. If you can afford it, you'll shop elsewhere. The service is pretty damn good, though. Staff are cheerful and helpful, and if you just want to be left the hell alone in your private shame of considering a $200 bed, then they're not offended if you tell them that you'll call on them if you need help. I've gotten a few things here. Many of them are still in one piece.

Gifts of Elegance in Forest Hill is a little misleading in its shop name. Sure, there are a few…read moretypically 'elegant' items like floral vases and crystal dishes but there are also plenty of non-elegant items right alongside. I certainly didn't expect to find statues and figurines of the Winnie the Pooh characters placed in an important spot normally reserved for the more expensive items. Yup, they were on a shelf right behind the counter where everyone can definitely see them. I'm not saying the stock here is bad, just that it doesn't seem that elegant to me. The store is clean, the stock is well spaced and presented in nice categories. The staff work hard and are mostly amongst the aisles dusting or cleaning. There is always someone behind the counter however. The service is good too - staff are happy to answer questions and will do their best to help you out. I'm only giving two stars for this one because when it comes to gift shops this isn't one I would typically race towards. Well, unless I was looking for a gift for my grandmother, or non-existant child. There are gifts for people who are really young and really old, but none for the 'inbetweeners' such as myself.

Thankyou Dare Gallery for adding another 5 weeks to our already 7 week wait for our couch. Really,…read moreexcellent job considering we only bought the couch from you because of the 7 week wait. You admit that it was your mistake and it was NEVER going to be just 7 weeks yet we have it on our deposit receipt. Way to sucker customers in.

Lifestyle Furniture services the greater Melbourne area and surrounding suburbs for high quality…read moresolid timber furniture. Check out their showroom & website for some awesome furniture combinations ;)

After purchasing a messmate timber "Patchwork" dining table for nearly $4000 in June 2012, the…read morepanels on the tablesurface started separating from the surrounding frame. On contacting Lifestyle Furniture, the proprietor Mark Mortelliti actually visited us to view the problem for himself, agreed it was unacceptable and arranged for it to be removed, fixed and returned. We were pleasantly surprised and grateful for what, in this day and age, was a refreshing commitment to customer satisfaction. We responded by purchasing a matching TV entertainment unit and will be happy to keep checking out LifestyleFurniture's great range of beautiful Aussie timber products.