Wharton's are a family business. They have been around since 1970. Back then, the business revolved…read morepredominantly around buying and selling antiques, and a little later, pine furniture. From the earliest days of trading, operations revolved around maintaining the careful balance between cost and quality, providing exceptional value for money and combining ease of delivery to the customer. It worked for Wharton's. Pine furniture is getting bigger and bigger, and with the influx of cheaper pine goods (both in build quality and price) from abroad, the market became oversupplied and we were are seeing the same type furniture on every high street. Wharton's of Shirley have recognised this and as a result have moved away from just pine and use a wider array of materials. This reflects the quality of their furniture. Next time you want a new table, bypass the chain stores and come to Wharton's.

Had my unwanted furniture collected today, never heard of the charity before, however now informed…read morethat the charity raise money for children with e.b. I am more than happy and will donate again.

I have spent many happy hours in Treadwell browsing their massive collection of wallpaper and…read morefabric samples. There isn't a designer soft furnishing sample book they don't have I am sure. They are happy for you to go it alone and just riffle through as many books as you can handle or, as the staff are so friendly and knowledgeable, they can advise you if you give them a heads up on design or colour. Fantastically, they will lend you the books for a night or two so you can check if what you like stands a longer test of time or even matches colours and furniture you already have. The prices are competitive but the lines they carry are expensive anyway. I have bought quite a lot of wallpaper from here for my house. They also have a furniture showroom downstairs and a paint shop at the rear of the store. Recently I bought some designer fabric from here that they made into a roman blind. They were able to perfectly match and make up paint to one of the colours in the blind. They also measured-up and fitted the blind for a reasonable price.

They really do have some nice furniture styles from Germany, England, Italy and France. There…read morereally is high end furniture here and it's good for people who like antique and vintage furniture. You might be thinking it sounds pricey? I think everything is priced within reason and when I went there they had a sale on. They even have a small cafe that you can sit in and enjoy a hot drink or a slice of cake. Betel is a charity that aids people with alcohol, drugs and homelessness issues. This is one of the Betel outlets. As part of their aid they give assistance to people by providing skills and jobs to those they help, and particularly in furniture restoration. It's clear that a lot of love and care goes into making and fixing up the furniture. As this is a charity shop, and a quality one, their stock is constantly changing. I've visited on one occasion and found there was nothing to my liking and I've been on another and found there are some things that I really like. You might find the same so don't be put off my one visit.

This place serves two purposes in my mind - coffee shop and vintage/antique furniture…read more The little coffee shop is lovely with a range of coffees (and soya milk) as well as cakes and treats which are suitable for people with dietary requirements. It's not the biggest coffee shop, but it's got a nice little homely / indie charm to it. The furniture all seems to be on the vintage / antique side of things and is on the whole better quality than you find in most charity shops. This does mean that it often feels a little more expensive too. But I've wanted a bureau for a while and despite seeing cheaper ones elsewhere, the ones in this shop felt a better deal as they were more interesting and in good condition. They let me reserve the bureau for 24 hours and when we popped in they helped load it into the car for us. I probably wouldn't buy a lot from here, but for interesting, well maintained one off pieces it's worth a look.