Sampsons is one of those places that sort of sells everything. I once went in with a list of the…read moremost obscure stuff imaginable, I think the list included a 40 watt light bulb, some miracle grow, a poker and a bag of turf. Upon entrance the list was taken off me and low and behold within 1 minute all items were on the counter waiting for payment. This is the type of shop Sampsons is, no matter how odd the request they will have it. They are primarily a hardware store but they have recently diversified to the garden market and now offer potted plants and compost. Although on the downside I found the shop very confusing so if you do not know exactly what you are looking for it is best to ask. Sampsons is very reasonable in price and he will sometimes throw in a few extra bits and bobs if he thinks you need them. The only real alternative is Homebase or another big DIY specialist but if you are in the centre of town and you need something no matter how strange (I think they even do plastic spanners and left handed screw drivers) then Sampsons is the place to go.

This is one of the oldest shops in Bangor, it has to be. I have lived here all my life and I don't…read moreremember it not being here. It is based on Hamilton Road which means that it can be tough to get to because of the one-way system but if you park the car in the Asda Car Park it is only a wee hop, skip and a jump across the road so you should be ok. This place stocks everything from garden pots, tools, miracle gro, DIY tools, hammers, spanners, nuts, bolts, brushes, hoes, rakes and basically every type of hardware that you could possibly think of other than light firearms. The staff are knowlegeable and extremely helpful. Always polite and efficent, they make popping in here to pick something up a charm.

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.

It just struck me (like a bolt of lightening, some might say) before I began my review as to why…read morethis place is named so...Hardys Hardware. Excellent. Aside from the innovative name, Hardys is a pretty darn good wee shop. The fact that it's slightly more than a hardware store made me feel slightly more at ease (you may recall my previous review [singular] of a hardware store, and how I felt completely out of place), but I have to say that it was also the accompaniment of my dad that made the whole experience generally nicer. Thanks Daddy. Back to the vast range of stock though. Yes, it's got the wood, tools, gadgets and DIY stuff, but there's a huge variety of other stuff too. There's toiletries, household cleaners, pet goods, home decor...even confectionery! I got lost in the toiletry section while my dad looked for some man thingy. Or something like that. It's definitely the extensive assortment of goods that makes Hardys that little bit special. Hardys and Other Items You May Find Yourself Needing doesn't have quite the same ring though...

One of the best general hardware and DIY stores you will find in NI. The range is huge and its more…read moreconvenient being in the centre of Comber than travelling to B&Q and other superstores in Ards north Down or Dundonald.

This shop really does sell everything!! Great for a day out because they have the coffee shop and…read moreother shops as well to keep you busy! Jackson's is always my first stop for birthday, Christmas and wedding presents! I always find their prices hard to beat as well! Hoping to get back soon to start my Christmas shopping!

From the owner: Our Departments include:…read more Hardware and Homeware Cooks Emporium Jacksons 38 Boutique Lifestyle Coffee Shop the Health Store Lifestyle Interiors We have many great brands across our stores including: Emma Bridgewater, Denby Stellar Le Creuset Nespresso DeWalt Karcher Stanley Toggi Geox A.Vogal Manuka Honey Soaked in Luxury Marco Tozzi Belleek Living Other services include key cutting, Colortrend Paint Mixing! These are just a select few brands across our departments. We would be delighted to welcome you into any of our stores. We aim to provide a really pleasant shopping experience with all the ingredients for a relaxing day, meeting friends or family. Our Lifestyle Coffee Shop is a great meeting place, with fresh scones, homemade traybakes, desserts, sandwiches, lunches and paninis! Hopefully see you soon!

McCune's is a well known DIY shop in Carrickfergus. This is one of the few shops in the town that…read morehas been 'part of the furniture' for as long as I can remember. They sell a range of wallpaper, paint, varnish, in fact, pretty much anything you would need for general DIY. Perfect for someone who has a quick job to do, and doesn't want the hassle of having to go all the way up to Newtownabbey to visit one of the larger DIY stores. They also sell a range of gardening items. As has already been mentioned, the staff are super helpful, especially for someone as clueless as me when I wanted to make my first attempt at wallpapering (it didn't work, but it wasn't due to ill advice, just my poor skills) In addition, McCune's is one of the few places locally that you can get a key cut, so if you ever need a spare key in a hurry, this is the place to go. Nice selection of keyrings too!

I bought a cadac grillogas from this company the temperature…read moregauge went wrong, despite several emails all I have had is promises despite item still under warranty so if you want good after sales service AVOID this company!!!!!!!!!

I bought a couple of Carbon Monoxide Detectors form Hamilton Gas Products online. They offered the…read morebest prices I could find on the Internet and were much cheaper than my local wholesaler even when taking into account the [very modest] postal and packing charge. I received them next day. Well impressed with the price and speed of delivery

We bought a fire grate 12 months ago to replace one fitted some 15 years earlier and used over…read moreChristmas for a few months. We came to light a fire this year and found three of the slats had disintegrated. Sent a photo to Ray Graham's pointing this out and was told that this was expected of cast iron grates if you burnt wood and coal on them. We had subjected the new grate to exactly the same treatment as our old grate which had lasted 15 years plus. Ray Grahams insisted that there was no fault with their product and would not replace it. I posted a negative review at their website but it has never appeared - they clearly only 'allow' postive reviews that score 4/5 and 5/5. As a consequence, one wonders if you can trust any of the reviews you find there .....

Got all my stuff to build my Garden Bar and terrace, good quality products and price and very Covid…read moreaware well done Ray Graham's the place to go

This is another one of those stores that you can purchase almost everything that is used in the…read morehouse and garden and for leisure! It has been part of Donaghadee retail for quite a few years and I think some of the stock has been from the year dot. When you are in the middle of doing a diy job and realise that there is some piece of equipment that you just don't have to finish the job that's when this store comes into its own because you can rest assured that you will find it here. When you walk into the store you have to take a deep breath and walk sideways because every piece of floor space and for that wall space is taken up with stock.you are also advised to ask the storekeeper to find the item you want because it could be anywhere in the store and he will be able to put his hand on it straightaway. It's also the type of old fashioned shop that you can have a good old yarn with the owner as there isn't anyone or anything in the North Down area that they don't know! It really is a gem of a store that takes you back in time and has everything that you can possibly need.

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...