I can totally understand why this shop is entitled 'The Barn'. It's got a kind of storage feel to…read moreit, and you can't really move too far without tripping over something, or bumping into that other thing. Especially if your name's Lynne... Crammed full of furniture, soft furnishings, candles, gifts and a whole lot more, The Barn is a tad overwhelming if you're trying to find something specific. I quite like a challenge (most of the time), but since it was wet and I was carting half of Donaghadee's shops around with me (it certainly felt that way), I was pretty fed up and didn't exactly feel like having to dig too much. Plus, I was totally aware of my being ever so slightly clumsy at the best of times, and not wanting to end up paying through the nose for breakages etc., I decided to look and not touch. That was until I spotted a cute cat tea towel, and instantly knew my mum would love it. Managing (somehow) to pick it up off the rail, I admired the pattern whilst hunting for the price. Ah, yes there it was...£5.95?! Heavens above. Maybe I'm a bit stingy, but I certainly wasn't paying that for a tea towel. Not a chance. Everything else seemed to be slightly pricier than I'd first thought, right down to the scented candles which started at £2. At this stage, I realised there were three likely-things-to-happen: 1) I knock something over. 2) I buy something. 3) I leave. The latter being the cheapest option meant it was instantly favoured (not flavoured, that's an entirely different thing altogether). I'm much too poor for such shops. Nice stock though...

I ordered 2 beds, both arrived well on time, delivered and installed as promised by two very nice…read morechaps. Highly recommend.

What can I say? This is a great spot for getting your furniture and household items. They supply…read moreeverything - sofas, suites, wardrobes, tables, mirrors, mats, etc., and have a separate shop just a few doors away which is a bedroom showroom, and is used exclusively for beds. They always have special offers, whether its discounts on furniture or free fitting or free delivery... there's always something. As an independent retailer it's stood the test of time. People who like to spend big money on furniture tend to go to Boucher Road. People who want quality furniture that's good value go to this place. Yes, you may find the odd bargain on a coffee table in Ikea, but there are several reasons I prefer Direct Furniture to Ikea: a) Ikea is a very inhospitable place, and you seem to have to walk through the entire place via some type of ingenious labyrinth one-way system to get out (I went in one Saturday and couldn't find my way out til Monday, although I was relieved to get out without being devoured by a minotaur) b) Ikea does some very annoying things, like have prices on their wardrobes that say something like 'final' price or 'total' price. After this, I discover that this doesn't include the handles or, in some cases, the pole for hanging things on. Perhaps my definition of final price differs from theirs, but my wardrobe is definitely neither final or total if I can't open it because it has no handles. Maybe they're like the doors in that film "What Lies Beneath", where you just have to reach towards the doors and they open... c) you get personal service in Direct Furniture. You go to Ikea and it's different people working all the time, relying on a handbook of policies to deal with returns, discounts, etc. In direct furniture, it's the same people all the time. Say you go in one day, having been in the previous week. The item you wanted is out of stock and, not being in the furniture business or having any descriptive powers to speak of, you can't accurately describe it. "I was talking to that sales person there about it" will result in the mystery being solved in no time. It's the same 5 or 6 staff all the time, and they'll remember you. Of course, once you enter the premises you implicitly agree to forfeit your name - people who only go in once in a while will be reborn, and given new names like "you're the fella that was in the other day looking the pine wardrobe". Customers always appreciate when someone remembers them, for whatever reason! Finally, if you're going to buy a wardrobe and decide that one could go in the other room as well (or you have a wife who, inexplicably, seems to believe that a nuclear holocaust is imminent, and that it's best to stockpile as many clothes as possible on a weekly basis, lest all clothes shops within a 400 mile radius be nuked in the very near future) bring your wallet with you and you might get a deal on the two of them for cash. Maybe... Good value, quality products, and excellent personal service make this the place for me every time. Sure, if i see a coffee table in Ikea for £7 (if that really is the 'final' price) and the advertisement comes with an instore map of where in the military compound I can get said coffee table, I'll take a run in, but apart from that it's Direct Furniture every time.

It's very easy to get parked here, and it's handy to the city centre and to the main motorway…read moreroutes coming into and out of the city so I imagine it benefits from this with regard to custom. I went shopping here recently with my Mother in Law, who is moving house, and she was on the lookout for a number of items, from a new bed to a three piece suite and new flooring also. I have to say, it was reasonable with regard to price, and there was lots of choice on offer as well as the place being very spacious - some of these furniture places cram in too many items in my opinion, making it difficult to be able to see the wood from the trees. But, not in this place, she got everything she needed, and a few things that she didn't too!

Handy from the motorways (M2, M3, Westlink) and with on-site parking…read more Went here to look for a sofa, they have a wide range of styles and varieties, and ended up getting a reasonably priced ex-demo. (Some of the ex-demos can vary from tattered settees at knockdown prices to discounted 'as new') Staff were friendly and extremely knowledgeable, and did not push accessories or after-care warranties as some of the tackier English-based sofa chains that have made inroads to the N.I. market. Delivery occured when promised, a great sofa for the price and feels very solid, should last a great many years!

I am very sad to hear that this fantastic shop is now closing. I will miss the owners expertise…read moreand dry humour. What many people didn't know, was that there was a third floor which was dedicated to Haberdashery (known as "Threads & Whimsy"). It held an extensive collection of Lumberjack shirts and suspenders (all very manly, apart from the high heels section). Run by a guy called Bevis (who was always very pleasant).

Back to Briterome I found this Hardware shop a little bit on the feminine side, when someone says…read moreto me hardware shop I picture hammers, tool belts and lumberjack shirts. But in Briterome they sold kettles, irons and mops. This is called a hardware store but it is more of a speciality kitchen shop. This makes it all the more useful and allows it to tap into a niche market. If you do need something for your kitchen, they will stock it. Just the other day I purchased 5 temperature gauges, random you might say but these were easy to locate in the expansive store and they were cheap to boot. At £1.99 each you can not go far wrong. The service was also really good, they shop was clean and well organised and this made it easy to navigate the shop. Hardware shops are notoriously cluttered but this to my surprise was perfect.