This place is a gem - helpful staff ( even 2 women, for the female customers amongst us who…read moresometimes like to have the option to ask another woman about DIY stuff!) and pretty much everything you'll ever need. You pay a hefty premium for the convenience and location though, so be aware that it might well be much cheaper elsewhere. Sometimes though, when you need that vital bit of kit but can't travel to the north circular to get it, I'm happy to pay the extra.

This place is a treasure if you aren't an experienced DIY expert..staff are exceptionally helpful…read moreand happy to talk you through doing a job you haven't done before. They have a very wide stock and are also good at suggesting alternative ways of solving a problem that you may not have thought of.

All your DIY and gardening needs under one roof - this is the place to come to stock up on supplies…read morebefore attempting your latest 'Project' at home. There always seems to be promotions on as well which keeps costs under control pretty well. However, I cannot get a grip on the layout of the place and end up wandering round aimlessly trying to tick off all the items on my list. An absence of assistants doesn't help matters and sometimes I wonder whether I spend longer here than on the task at hand back home. Hopefully, i will unlock the key to the maze one day soon...

Big store with tons of DIY and readymade stuff for your house. For the best deals, make sure to…read morecheck the area with houseplants on sale. They just need a little TLC. Sometimes there are also deals in the main floor display area just straight on as you come past the entrance. Also, there is an amazing deal on the basic value lamp - the kind that stands vertical and has a frosted cone shape with lightbulb at the top - less than £6 will get you this lamp, and you can even choose from black, red, or chrome finish for the base part. I was really pleased as this helped me bring light into my new room and didn't break my bank as some lamps will do. Of course there is a huge selection of lamps so you can pay more if you like, but the basic value lamp is working great for me. I also got an £20 Studio Desk lamp in black, which is cute. They have all the lightbulbs you'll need as well, including eco varieties.

Dubbed 'Aladdin's cave' by a friend, this is the shop for all manner of hardware, household…read moresupplies, cheap toilet rolls, mad Christmas decorations, gardening stuffpiled high and fairly cheap. So whether you need a biobag, battery or bulbs, dusters, doorknobs or dirt, teatrays, toilet rolls or tree decorations, this is the place on Green Lanes to look for it first

There are some good things in life, Burning Man is one of them. Taking your partner is another one…read moreof them. Her having ideas about what to construct and gift for crazy hippies is yet another. Sadly we are idiots when it comes to fabrication. Her idea was to build a toolbox BBQ that would close and have a handle so it could be transported to this desert easily allowing us to make burgers and grilled fish for everyone. We wanted to make this thing without time or expertise and this place came to the rescue. It was not even listed on yelp but (shock!) but it had five excellent reviews on google (sorry) so we thought we'd try it. That is where we met Binnit, one of the proprietors of this this wonderful family run independent DIY store. He loved our idea and advised us on all the different things we would need ordering everything in. When I arrived to pick them up he gave me a shock as he waited with his drill to construct the thing, which he did. I marvelled as he bent metal and drilled holes putting in heat proof screws and advising on paint and decoration. The whole thing came to a very cheap £25. You can see it being used in anger in the photos. Truly this is a place that is well stocked, well priced and with people that will go the extra mile for you. Binnit also made the day of lots of hungry burners on the other side of the world...not bad for a day's work.

Fantastic service in this place, the chaps that work here really resolve any of your dIY…read morerequirements and if it's not on the shelf they can get it in next day delivery!! Wicked selection in kitchen sinks and taps also architectural ironmongery. Brilliant!!

I like a good hardware store, especially if it's not far from my house, but for me the jury is…read morestill out on S & M. Every time I've gone into the store the sales people act as if I'm bothering them, rather than a customer. If I ask a question they act as if answering is a massive inconvenience. It doesn't seem to matter who is working there, they all seem to have an attitude problem. In addition to the nasty looks and cold voices they never seem to have anything that I need. They always seem to have brooms and stuff like that, but never things I actually need. So, as far as hardware stores go, this one is seriously lacking. But if you need dirt for potting plants or things to sweep the dirt up, I'm sure they'll have it.

I totally disagree with the previous reviewer. One of the best shops I know, Mustapha who owns the…read moreplace is friendly and knowledgeable. If you are a bit short of the exact price for an item ( and you are familiar to him) he will allow you to bring the balance in at your next visit. I have always found the prices to be reasonable as well and if they don't have something in stock they will refer you to another stockist or order it in for you. Delivery service is good also

Very helpful people and lovely door handles. I would use againread more

Has literally everything you could ever want, and the proprietor always knows where everything is…read more Fantastic.

Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to Offer you EVAPOLAR I am the…read moreUK Agent. Please view www.evapolar.com Thank you Denis O'Leary Mob 07920 476222 Email denisoleary48@gmail.com

My builder is very upset after using Chris Stevens for over 20years he will not be returning. One…read moretin of paint increased in price by £2 in 8 days and then again by another £2 in 3 days. When questioned the staff gave feeble excuses. Dans advice don't pay by cash

Chris Stevens may not look posh from the road (it is geared towards tradesmen, so they didn't…read morebother to make it pretty) but you'll find everything you need for DIY projects. Our neighbour is a plumber, and he recommended that we come here and have a look at their stock. They have a huge selection of paints, some really good tiles, excellent value flooring (we saw nice-looking solid oak floorboards that worked out under £30 per square meter...we might have to come back!!) They even have a selection of baths/ showers/ loos/ bathroom fittings. It is CHEAP!! I thought Tops tiles was good value, but this place made their tiles seem expensive!! *Pro-tip: Be careful if you want to park near here! We saw a traffic warden wandering around and all the parking spaces seemed to be for residents only!!

This garden centre is truly a little gem. While it is tiny, and as such can't rival the scale and…read morevariety of larger out of town centres, it packs in a great deal. I sadly don't have a garden, but I love dropping in just to browse. They have a small outside section with a good variety of plants which vary with the season. It's almost like visiting an actual garden. Inside is also immaculately presented, with a small but good range of seeds, pretty pots, garden ornaments, etc. The staff are friendly too. I really wish I could go in for more than a few seeds for a window box According to their website they've been awarded Garden Centre of the year 2007 by the Horticultural Trade, in recognition of their innovative use of a small space. Can't be bad if other Garden Centres recognise how good they are! Their website is http://n1gc.co.uk/

I wouldn't really call myself the green fingered type. In fact, it would be fair to say that my…read moremost successful gardening moment to date was aged 9, growing cress from a yoghurt pot with the rest of Primary 5. Recently however, I've had a revelation and I am now growing not one, but six (!) different herbs. Although off-put occassionally by rouge squirrels having a nosey, last weekend I successfully grew them to the height that repotting was required. Not up for treking out to one of the mega gardening centres, I was very pleased to discover that only 10 minutes walk away was the beautiful North One! This little garden centre is small but perfectly formed. As well as stock a range of pot plants and herbs, they have every type of seed, soil, pot and cane imaginable. Prices are however, a bit more steep than you would get in one of the chains. I was a bit taken a back to discover that a cute purple bench, just big enough for two but no more was selling for £250. Needless to say I left that one to someone that might be feeling a bit more flash than myself! Now I've put my gardening kitty to use I can safety assure you that Mr Mint, Lord Thyme, Miss Chives, Sir Sage, Prof Parsely and Queen Rosemary are looking better than ever! Four terracotta pots, soil, plant food, and a few other bits and pieces came to around £35. Ok, it's a bit more than I wanted to pay but the whole day was lovely. No long commute. No chain garden centre. Just a lovely walk around Islington followed by a day of getting my hands dirty. Perfect!