Home Zone is all about interior design for the kind of person that knows what they are looking for,…read moreand doesn't need to leave it all to a designer, (although I bet that interior designers use Home Zone just as much as we do, for both inspiration and ideas, as well as purchasing their products and services). Home Zone have only been around for five years, but have established themselves really quickly, and are generally considered to offer us a benchmark of what is both tasteful and innovative. In addition, Directors Jayne Bishop and Sean Kerr offer a full and attentive service, which has also gone a long way to augment their standing. Specialising in made to measure curtains and soft-furnishings, upholstery, blinds, and tracking with a comprehensive measuring and fitting service, they draw on their combined 40 years of experience, which puts them in the enviable position of being able to work with trusted people that they have had regular dealings with over the years. These days they have a dedicated, highly experienced team of sewers, upholsterers and fitters who work alongside them, as well as a network of crafts people who can be commissioned to make accessories when required. Some of the beautiful things that the crafts people make are amazing, and prove that everything is possible! Using every material imaginable, and every technique available, they are able to produce practically anything you could dream of for the house and home. Home Zone can do conventional as easy as falling off a log, but where they excel is when they are pushing creative boundaries and coming up with unique solutions for clients that have a real appreciation of what is possible.

From the owner: We are a small, local, team of specialist curtain makers, upholsterers and fitters and we offer a…read morefabulous service, providing you with made to measure soft-furnishings, upholstery, blinds, shutters and tracking along with a comprehensive measuring and fitting service, to make the whole process a bit easier for you!

Calico is located at the Newport end of city road and close to many other competing fabric stores,…read morewhat set this store apart from the competition is the type of material available that Is more suitable for furniture upholstery and home décor such as curtains. There is a range of lighter materials but nothing close to the volume as Terry's or Butteryfly fabrics can offer. The shop also sells a range of furniture and this reflects the heavier materials on sale. The Calico sales people adds just the right amount of helpfulness to the shopping experience allowing you to browse, until you engage them with questions. As home improvement or curtain retailers go this ones got the smaller independent shop atmosphere providing the material for soft furnishings such as cushions, drapes, throws, upholstering etc.

Calico is a furniture shop but it is also a fabric shop. In case you hadn't yet realised I am a big…read morefabric shop fan. I couldn't make an outift for the life of me - unless it involved making holes in a bin bag, tying a belt round the middle and insisting I was creating garbage-bin-chic - but I do love to go and just look at and stroke fabrics. Is that weird? Regardless, this is the last of the fabric shops that we visited on City Road and it wasn't as much fun as either of the other two. The fabric was absolutely beautiful but it is more of a home improvement shop, than a fabric for dressing up shop. Having said that, it is beautiful and the prices are pretty good for what it is. The people who work there are friendly and I felt free to wander around for a while.

Now that The Pier has sadly left our little Welsh lives forever, Habitat is the next best thing for…read morehigh street home furnishings and furniture. This is a giant and unmissable store located in The Hayes in the centre of Cardiff, near to all the new glory of St. David's 2, yet still I speak to local people who don't seem to know where it is. I'm sure you'll be fine though; Yelp is populates by sensible people. Habitat is great for items such as picture frames, vases, cushions and candle holders, as well as larger items and items that you didn't even know existed before. But now you must have it. They go in for quite a modern style; combining sleekness and practicality with traditionalism and ethnic designs. If The Pier and Ikea had a lovechild, it would be called Habitat. My mother is now pointing out that habitat apparently came first (?), but I'm sure you know what I mean despite her confusing the issue. Although Habitat can be quite pricey, it's a great place to go for cheaper frames and small items. If you're ever stuck for a mother-in-law type of present, this would be a great start.

I'm a big fan of interior design, so I have a real soft spot for Habitat. This furniture here is…read moretrendy with a capital T, if you like traditional items this is not the store for you. The pieces available for purchase are incredibly modern, I recently purchased a glass desk from here, and it really has become a key feature in my office. I must admit the prices are rather high, but the uniqueness and quality of the furniture in my opinion really justifies this. On the cheaper side of things they do sell a wide variety of clip frames (both glass and Perspex), which are often on sale and great for art lovers.

F A Jones is a decorator's dream, offering everything from paint and paste to wallpaper and…read morebrushes. If you want to change your walls, this place should definitely be on your list. The array of colours, textures and designs are enough to leave you scratching your head in confusion, but I imagine the sales guys at F A Jones are probably used to this reaction, because I was only browsing for about a minute when a smiley gentleman asked if I needed any help; I didn't, but it was nice to be acknowledged, especially in such an expansive showroom. In the small room off to the side, you'll find a large table strewn with wallpaper books, where you can flip through for design ideas (if you need more, there is neighbouring four-shelf high bookcase bursting with sample books). If you're looking to take an armful of samples with you, wallpaper swatches are priced at 30p each for a 12" square (or 4 for £1), with 1/2 metre samples priced at 50p each. A4 samples of Crown paint colours are priced at 50p each.

FAJones, must be the best wallpaper and paint shop in Wales, i needed an old wallpaper so armed…read morewith a sample i started to search shops without success then i was told by a friend to try FAJones on penarth road in Cardiff, i was amazed at the array of different wallpapers not only that the assistant took one look at my sample and said we have a roll in our archive upstairs, a few seconds later and hey presto a roll to match mine, amazing, i will defiantly be shopping here again

Wyatt's Home and Garden is just around the corner from Flowers With A Twist and Over The Rainbow…read moreGifts, making this area a very attractive proposition to prospective gift buyers of discernment! It is a pretty little shop offering everything for the country style home and garden, particularly retro reproductions of time honoured favourites like roll top baths and iron bed frames. Yes, despite having limited floor space, it manages to pack in some pretty hefty items! Like Flowers With A Twist this is a relatively new business in the area. Jane, who also owns another shop of the same name in Ledbury, this one's predecessor, opened the Pontcanna branch about three years ago. (Jane wasn't about when I called in recently to take some pictures... that's Jan in the pictures!) During my recent visit I managed to keep my purse in my bag... I'm always overcome by an incredible urge to spend money when I walk into this shop, and could quite easily spend a small fortune! I love everything from the pretty floral doormats, as well as the multi-coloured wavy modern ones, to the garden furniture, crockery and kitchenware and the beautiful iron beds. They intersperse the retro reproductions with the genuine articles. A sign out front invites you to come in and browse, and makes the distinction between antiques and second-hand items, both of which they stock. They also offer an interior design service.

This is a relatively new addition to the shops in the Pontcanna area, and it's been a long time…read morecoming if you ask me! A home and garden shop is exactly the kind of thing that Pontcanna-ites are into, and this shop is flourishing. For anyone who is a fan of the traditional country home feel, this shop is a must, and offers an excellent range of homely items and gifts. A very tempting little place indeed. This is the kind of shop that does well because the products on sale turn a house into a home. With the classic type of resident in the area being arty, Welsh-speaking and middle class, I really am surprised that we've not seen something of this ilk sooner. Although I'm personally more of a fan of collecting items that are personal to you, rather than mass produced items which you are told are personal to you, I can certainly still see and understand the appeal of this shop.

I normally don't get excited by lighting shops, as I've come to terms with the fact that I am and…read morealways be a lifetime home renter. But I will admit, Litecraft has an amazing range of lighting fixtures, with extras like dining room sets, cushions, and mirrors thrown into the mix. They carry your usual traditional bedside table lamps for about £15, but also offer Illuminati bright red cygnet chandelier with 12 lights for £999 (a bargain considering the original price was £2450). My favourite showroom piece was the Dali-esque, life-sized aluminium male torso or "table figure" as the tag explained, priced at £269. A close second was the majestic porter's chair in black that stretched to what looked like nine feet tall and embellished with faux diamond baubles. If I ever get any say over the lighting fixtures in my place of residence, I'm definitely coming here, as the varied selection has something for all tastes and budgets.

Although this store is a little bit tucked out of the way, and is nothing particularly special to…read morelook at from the outside, it's a diamond in the rough. Almost quite literally. There are some spectacular lights and fittings available, many of the usual stuff, but also some quite eccentric stock too. If yo would like a glowing ball of wire that lights up when you touch it, or a chandelier that looks more like a supernova, this is the place to come. They also have some more regular lights too, don't worry. The staff here are very friendly, and are quite obviously enthusiastic about their product, it's nice to see. And the prices are all remarkably reasonable, especially when such lights would make a key feature in any room they were in. They make all their own lights, and so you can be guaranteed to get something different a unique. Go and light up you life. Ha, see what I did there?

I was meandering down Pontcanna Street, one of my favourite little areas of Cardiff, the other day,…read morewith time to browse and soak up the ambiance... a rare treat these days... I love its chilled out vibe, and its independent shops, some of which sell curios that you won't find anywhere else, like the brass lined magnifying glass that I bought from Electric Designs the other day. The owner was out on the pavement talking to the owner of the neighbouring shop, enjoying the sunshine, and discussing how everyone has had their glass fronts tagged with a diamond cutter in recent times... how rubbish is that? Being a dignified area, neither of them looked anything other than gentile and composed, (if it were me and my window, I would look a lot more scandalised, and would be spitting expletives as though on a conveyor belt). I'd asked Jeremy Sage if he was the owner of the shop as I went in... he was. I also asked him what kind of electricals he sold, because I couldn't for the life of me recall there being an electrical shop on Pontcanna Street. Clearly, in my haste I'd misread the sign... "Washing machines" he replied glibly, without a hint of sarcasm. About ten minutes later I emerged with my brass bound spyglass, that somehow would look very much at home on a tall ship, or some other aged wooden boat. The circular band of brass creates a lip about one and half inches in depth, allowing the magnifying glass to glide over newsprint in a fluid motion, doubling the size of the lettering as it goes. "How much is this washing machine?" I asked as I held it up for him to see. "I don't know", he replied flatly, and then came into the shop to try and find his purchase document so that he could calculate the retail price. He couldn't find it, and so instead picked a figure out of the air. I then presented my credit card, which he declined... "the minimum transaction charge was absolutely killing us" he explained. So, replacing it in my purse, I pulled out a twenty pound note. Rather gleefully he took and put it in his pocket, and then started jangling around in there in an attempt to find me some change. He was unsuccessful. Without explanation he then headed off out the door and down the street, returning about five minutes later triumphantly handing me £2.50. The whole thing was utterly gorgeous!

Homesense has a real hotch potch (proper phrase?) of household furniture and items available to…read morebuy; from the extremely tacky to the rather tasteful you never quite know what you're going to find. I was particularly impressed by their bedding selection; they had duvets by brands such Cath Kidston and Designers Guild selling for around only £30, which is quite incredible (though absolutely infuriating for me as I've just spent a fortune on Designers Guild bedding from the brands website). Additionally they had a massive selection of photo frames, in wide range of varieties, in my opinion these would make great gifts for those it's trick to by for. I wasn't to keen on the actual furniture available in Homesense (mainly just small chairs). The quality just did not appear quite good enough, and many of the pieces looked rather tacky. I was surprised to find that they also sell a small range of specialty foods. Nothing to grand, mainly pasta, olive oil, and Italian biscuits, but they're brands that you won't find in your local supermarket. I've really only touched the tip of the ice berg, Homesense just sells so much! It rather reminds me of TK Maxx, you need time and patience, but you could come away with some real bargains!

Morgen Hall is a potter whose business is based at Chapter Arts Centre in Canton who hand makes…read moredecorative but practical tableware. Ranging from tea pots to ice cream dishes, many of them inspired by the food for which they're intended to be used. Using lots of bold orange-toned colours in his work, teamed with cream, blue, mustard and other colours, his pieces are beautiful but are meant to be used everyday - rather than simply sitting on the mantlepiece as decorative items. He uses a high firing, smooth red earthenware to achive the rich cinnamon colouring and to make the items durabile, too. You'll sometimes see his work exhibited at galleries in Cardiff and beyond.

Firstly, Morgen is a woman!. Her work is distinguished by the quality of high finish achieved on…read morethe raw clay areas of the (usually usable) artworks by burnishing. I know this from showing people around Chapter for the British council years ago, and because I had a mug of hers and loved it until my wife broke it. I plan to own more of her exquisite work to look at and use, as it is a treat for the eyes and is sensual in the hand. Postscript: With great sadness, I have to add that Morgen passed away in early 2016.

This place should be in every guide book and on every website of Cardiff…read more The Pumping Station is a densely packed building filled with antiques and collectibles. So densely packed in fact, that a supernova of flying Hornby trains and silver spoons can be expected any day now. The drive up to this place is full of statues and garden sculpture, and always reminds me of the Narnian statues in the White Witch's palace in 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe'. The main hall is a Victorian building full of old fireplaces and interiors. Everywhere you look there is something new to catch your eye. With around 40 individual stalls, there is a downstairs area with sections made to resemble old-fashioned shop fronts, each with their own speciality. You might find anything from old comics to fine bone china. There is also a small cafe at the back, which, although not wonderful, is friendly and very reasonably priced. They make a good cup of tea. If you have something very specific in mind then you may need to enlist the help of a member of staff, but otherwise the main joy of this place is the browsing and discovering.

This is very recognisable and icon building thats easy to spot from the Cardiff Bay link road. I…read morefirst went when i was a child and easily bored, especially by antiques. Now as a grown up looking for unique artifacts to decorate my own place with I really love the place. It really is a treasure trove of everything that you want, from vintage clothes to reclaimed tiles. It really has the most massive selection of really unusual stuff and the old building that houses it all really adds to the atmosphere of the place. I'd probably say that because its so well known, you maybe won't get boots sale bargain finds but its a definite must visit.