Forget pots of paint, stencils and fancy wallpaper…read more The only reason anyone would be crazy enough to go to B&Q this week would be to buy one of their wood burning stoves or electric fires. Last time I checked they had about half a dozen different models at reasonable prices. Admittedly, none of them looked as stylish as the fires you see in lifestyle magazines but when Britain is having it's worst cold spell for thirty years, I think some people might be willing to sacrifice a little style for the sake of staying warm! Handily, this branch offers Reserve and Collect so you can order products online or by phone and collect later.

B&Q at 'The Fort' on Cheetham Hill Road, less than a mile out of the city centre. What can I say…read morebut DIY. This store is very big has a large garden centre, both inside and out. Whatever you need for your home you will mostly find it here.

What a fabulous store! Selling household goods like you've never seen before. The store has a very…read moreAmerican feel to it. It sells some great bits and bobs for your kitchen especially. If you like something a little different, this is the place to go! It also sells bedding and lovely towels and on the different occasions of the year ie Christmas, valetines day the have lovely displays and special stock in. Its brilliant even if you don't intend to buy, just have a look at all the cool stuff!

great store, its a shame it closed before i could actually buy anything from there. prices cheep…read moreand the stuff were unique and nice. brings butlers BACK!

So there I was, wandering round the Northern Quarter looking for something new, and POOF it…read moreappeared! In a shadowy doorway near Leo's gross Fish Bar, is a little staircase, lined with cool music posters and a couple of outfits on hangers. To be honest, I didn't hold out much hope as I descended the stairs. The sign above the door isn't the best (though it gets kudos for being simple) and, let's face it, vintage shops are ten-a-penny nowadays, and Manchester's NQ selection is already so good, it'd be hard to live up to that. But, I am glad to report, Bratt's does it admirably. Located in a cellar, basically, Bratt's takes advantage of the exposed brick work and low ceilings, and the arched alcoves in the wall are used as features; one of them houses much of the homewares selection (more on that later) and the other has been curtained off as a fitting room, which is almost too cool for words. It's the best fitting room I've seen since Rags to Bitches' silky tent. In terms of stock, Bratt's has really got it. Endless racks of good quality, well-cared-for vintage merchandise line the tardis-like cellar, organised, by style and material. So you'll find all the cricket jumpers together, offset by a great collection of retro trackie-tops and a bunch of good-looking furs (faux, or no? I dunno.) There's a multitude of jolly good womenswear, from all eras and epochs, and a seriously decent selection of knitwear. There's also a fantastic array of upcycled dresses and skirts by Love Me Again. I love upcycling, and you should too! The homewares, though mainly concentrated in one area, are scattered round the shelves. The awesomeness is too much to list, and I'm sure it's changed since last week, but expect to see vintage telephones, Atari consoles, the odd coffee table and some very nice mirrors. The perfect addition to any bijous dwelling, and the sort of thing I yearn for, but cannot have, in my modernist gaff. Sigh. Anyway, if you've got a kitsch aesthetic going on, you could do a lot worse than to pop to Bratt's for a vintage milk jug. (£3!) Not only is the stock great, the people here are fab too. The manager was more than happy to have a wee chat about the place, and told me that originally he'd planned to open a bar there. Thank God he didn't; this vintage shop is far too good to miss out on. As well as Mr Bratt (j'assume) there's a lovely female shop assistant who wafted around being the epitome of vintaahhhge styyyyle, dahhhhling, making it look totally effortless. She's hard to hate, though, because she's so damn lovely. Considering the instant awesomeness of Bratt's, only two weeks after opening, I think this place is one that will go quickly from hidden gem to firm fave, and rightly so.

What a really cool vintage addition. Downstairs you go and explore and be fascinated and prepared…read moreto shell out on some very amazing pieces. Fancy a batman mobile telephone? A very old sewing machine? Listening to Rock FM and admiring the brickwork, the poster work and breathing in that vintage smell? Get yourself down to Bratts. Brilliance.

If you've ever rented a furnished flat in the centre of Manchester then you'll know the kind of…read morestuff that I'm about to describe. You know those leathery, squeaky, not-quite-as-big-as-you-would-like two-seater couches? Glass TV and coffee tables that are slightly rickety and look a bit naff? Those dining tables that have a glass top and don't look very nice? Basically, Land of Furniture sells all of those things. They have so many three piece sweets. Not one would I personally buy, being of the yucky, squeaky, leathery variety. They all cost about a grand too. The shop is full of the things, so much that it's a almost bursting at the seams with them. They're on the walls even. Maybe I'm just a bit too young and student-y to appreciate a nice leatherish sofa.

Walking into this Poundstretcher in Salford, which is part of the Regent Road Retail Park, could…read moreeasily be mistaken for a Costco at first glance, it just feels like a warehouse, and while not as big as a Costco, the selection is still OK for sure with a mixture of good reasonably priced items and useless tat, you'd expect to find in a pound-shop. The store was mostly clean, only one of the end aisles seemed dirty and cluttered, which is better than some. I wouldn't say there were any real pricing, with many of their items easily at a similar price within the retail park, it is worth a look around but it's nothing to get that excited about. The staff were despondent but polite. I do prefer Home Bargains next store in terms of overall selection, which also seems to have similar pricing, but this store isn't a bad alternative at all. 3*

Ah, and so the Yelposphere is a place of warm welcoming hugs when one returns from a two week…read morehiatus to visit parental units in foreign climes and attend winter weddings in Wales. It's nice to be home. And home I returned to, in between said trip to foreign climes and journey to Wales, for one night only, which inexplicably was when I decided to makeover my apartment. It wasn't even New Year yet. What the frick was wrong with me? For all the times I've told people that I'm OCD-organised, there are moments of pure spontaneity in my life. I think it must be the fact that there's a very creative side to me. Anyway, disillusioned by months of nagging the BF to 'buy a drill, put the curtain poles up, you're the man, these are your responsibilities', I abandoned by post-feminist reactionist ways and contemplated whether or not there was a way to mount this curtain pole WITHOUT the use of a drill. As it turned out, there was. (I must add I got these curtain poles for free when somebody in the block had discarded them by the bin. Thrifty? ME?) It was a success. But again, spontaneous. Prepared I was not. I actually needed some curtains. And where to trundle? To my beloved Regent Retail Park, that ultimate homeware panacea. I'd only ventured into Poundstretcher once since it became so-named for masses of Chrimble cards and decorations costing mere pennies. I swear, even if I ever have access to millions of squillions of pounds, I will never buy designer decorations. It's the principle of the thing, isn't it. Poundstretcher, formerly InStore, alongside Home Bargain is one of my ultimate favourite budget shops. It sells furniture, cupboard foods, sweets, treats, under-the-sink essentials, bathroom stuff, household goods, homeware of EVERY possible variety, pet goods and clothes for kids as well as toys, all at ridiculously low prices. I'm planning on buying a very comfortable office chair from there for £39 for example, and there are even computer desks and dining tables. I've had bathmats from here, lampshades, cushions, and of course curtains. They cost me £10 and have done the job splendidly. Believe it or not, they're nice too. There's a fridge full of cold fizzy drinks which is one thing Home Bargain severely lacks, and it contains my Holy Grail of beverages, sugar free fizzy Vimto. I could live off that stuff. I'm like Kel of Kenan and Kel fame when he goes completely plonky over orange soda. Back to the original point though, and it's amazing what a few new bits and bobs can do for your apartment. My abode now looks more homely and cosy than ever before, and I didn't break the bank. Thanks, Poundstretcher.

After the initial consultation, I was advised that I needed to pay the full amount of the invoice…read moreupfront before any work had been carried out! No other company has asked for this and only the cost of the materials but not the labour as the work has not yet been carried out. I had also rescheduled my work day for the installation of my media wall, only to find out that the date we had arranged was not the date that it was going to be fitted as they hadn't ordered the fire yet and it was going to take a further 2 weeks for the fire to be delivered. I have found that the lack of communication, information, updates, changing the dates etc has been extremely unprofessional and disappointing.

You can't go wrong with Blythes. A Manchester art student staple, this store has saved me countless…read moretimes. The staff in here are extremely knowledegable and will even order in special materials and papers if they're out of stock. They've got just about type of paint from Winsor to Newton and Rembrandt paints, brushes, chalks, gouaches, water colours and graphic supplies and a large range of papers and canvases. I've bought specialist 300gsm paper in here for a menu project and special mounting glue. I had help with the measuring and cutting free of charge and advice of mounting my images. I highly recommend this store.

Blyth Art Shop…read more Blyth's Art Shop seems like a serious sort of art shop for serious sort of artists. Everything is very ordered, neat and clinical. They've got great ranges of paints, pencils and pens, as well as a downstairs section with artist accessories like folders, paper and even natural light bulbs so you can paint in natural light late into the night. There's two or three staff around to help you with any queries you might have in my experience they've usually got the time and patience to help you out properly. I can't help feeling that Fred Aldous across Stevenson square isn't just lots more fun, more well stocked and generally more exciting though.