Homebase store whilst it stock everything you need for the DIY home enthusiast however for me, I…read morefind they pricer that some of their competitors so have to say I limit my spend here however what I do like and often buy for gifts is their garden section, great selection of plants and garden decor. Can be at times hard to get assistance though once you find someone to help, they are always helpful.

Meadows & Byrne is a pretty cool home and garden shop in Dun Laoghaire. It's one of those places…read moreyou walk into with no intention of buying anything, and then leave with a whole range of interesting items you never knew you'd ever want or need (but you need them now!) They sell all sorts, from kitchen furniture to glasses, to 'slurp' soup mugs, to banana leaf trays and garden settings. My favourite item in store is the wall-mounted wine opener, which comes in at a pretty 139 euro (ouch, but once you see it no price is too great!) A good place for some Sunday shopping if you're of the inclination. They also have an Insomnia cafe attached for those who tire of their partner's browsing habits.

This is a nice big open store with plenty of ideas if you are furnishing your home...at a price…read more Good selection of cooking and kitchen gear and they are mostly where I go when I am looking for something in particular as they generally have it. Think Ikea but more expensive so keep an eye open for their sales as they generally have a good bargain to be found. When you do bite the bullet and buy something you generally still love it even after a few years and their stuff is always good quality so perhaps they may be expensive but worth it.

This store stocks a huge range bedding and homeware items. The prices are lower than other shops…read morethat sell similar items. They have great offers on all their items. They do great bedding sets and bathroom sets. They do a nice selection of rugs and curtains of different sizes. They do different types of pillows and cushions and pillow covers, anything you would need to dress you house. They always have plenty of stock in as well so you can pick and choose what you want. Its set inside the Donaghmede Shopping centre on the ground floor so it has a large car park just outside the door. Its a good place to pick up gift ideas for those buying a home

A kitchen lovers paradise. Tons of options from utensils to all forms of baking and kitchen…read moreappliances etc. Love looking for the odd interesting item here and have shopped here many times. It has lots of nooks and crannies to look through and find some interesting items for your kitchen. Love it here and come back every time I am in town.

This place tried to charge me 7 euro for the most boring of door stops. And they almost got away…read morewith it. I walked into this shop hoping to buy a nice tea cosy, the place is jammers with cool stuff. Things like chopping boards that fold up for easy scooping into a pot, and spatulas with a bump to keep the spatula head off the kitchen table and thus keeping the table clean. These are really good ideas, and you look at the prices and think that they're expensive, but maybe they're good value... Anyway, after a few hours of unsuccessful search, I pull a member of their staff away from her Facebook to ask where Tea Cosies can be found. They have a lot of tea cosies, it has to be said, I spent a good 20 minutes deciding between the cosy shaped like a hen or the bottom up design for €20 In the end, function over fashion, the bottom up design won (see photo). I then remembered I needed a doorstop for the house. I found a bucket'o'doorstops and picked one up, no excitement needed here! At the checkout my bill came to €27, which was €7 for the doorstop. I was like "ok, that's fair", compared to this €20 tea cosy, that seems like the going rate. But thankfully I managed to cop myself on to this absolute ripoff. They are actually trying to charge me €7 for a piece of plastic which does nowt but use friction to resist the door's gravity... So I just went to Dunnes and got one for €0.50 instead!. Anyway, this story only justifies a 2 star location, but they go down to a 1 star shop in my opinion because of their TERRIBLE hours. Stock closes at 5:30, and is closed all Sunday. Suddenly I understand why their prices have to be so high.

For some reason, I love this kind of shop. Maybe it's because you can buy all kinds of different…read morethings for you house at low prices without feeling bad about it. There's quite a few of these kind of shops in the Talbot Street area so it's the perfect place to head if you're looking to get supplies for a new home! Living island not only has a nice new paint job on the outside, but it's also one of the biggest of these kind of shops I've seen. They've got everything you can imagine. I picked up a new knife set and a cool lamp for my house when I was in here!

You know those shops that have a magnifying glass with handles made of seashells? Yup, this is one…read moreof those! Actually this is a really nice shop... if you like those sort of shops. It is packed full of mirrors, lamps, soft furnishings and photo frames. There are also wee gifts dotted around the place (wallets, letter opener sets etc....) which is a nice touch.

Cottonwood is a cute shop featuring various bric-a-brac for the home, vases, mirrors and photo…read moreframes but also the bigger stuff like tables and chandeliers. They're now offering 20% off everything so if you're in the middle of re-decorating your apartment, the selection is worth a look if you're in the area. If you take the Luas line, it's just a few steps from the Dundrum stop, on your left-hand side when heading to Dundrum Town Centre. Yo can't miss it.

It's 4pm on a Saturday, I have just started putting up those book shelves that I promised I'd do…read morelast January and I realise I have no plaster board plugs... this is not an entirely fictional emergency!. So, I hammer down to sandymount hardware where the guy behind the counter of this really very small shop manages to find a selection of the above plugs, lifesaver... the shelves through no fault of the plugs, fell down 3 days later. The shop has just about everything you could possibly need from pot plants, fuel for the fire to clothes lines and of course, plasterboard plugs. A great shop to have on the door step and the guys behind the counter are always there with helpful advice.

I can't help myself, whenever I'm in Sandymount I've got to drop in to Murtagh's for a peek at the…read moreshelves. Sometimes it's just to see what they've brought in (compost pots AND toy trains?!), but always for Christmas. Every November Murtagh's converts from mild-mannered hardware store (home of garden chairs, stew pots, rubber washers and Bord Na Mona firelogs) to full-on Christmas (and hardware) bazaar. Really. Besides keys cut and bulbs fit, the cheery lads of Murtagh's are Christmas tree lumberjacks, lifters and occasional lashers of said trees to the roof of your Renault Clio without scratching the paint. Stop in any afternoon to pick the live spruce of your jingle dreams, they'll help with the rest. Most years there's also a good selection of fake trees inside -one year a very sweet little plastic number from straight off the display stand found a home, ornaments and all, in the living room of a very cheered future yelper. It's lovely to know these small businesses can thrive despite larger econo-woes. As long as they're open Murtagh's can be sure of a very loyal patronage, nails, twine and all.

These people have a pretty good catelogue of things they can supply you for your office or…read moreworkspace. They have all the usual stationary, toners, post-its etc as well as catering stuff and furniture. You really can find most things you need in it and often they deliver them the next day. Generally they're really prompt in their supply, although the pricing does seems a bit random!