Found this antique home goods place in the Monocle travel guide for Sydney. I have high…read moreexpectations on furniture / decoration places and I didn't get disappointed here. Ici et la has beautiful old decoration objects from all over the world. From magical local shells to wooden and metal tables, chairs or lamp to handmade bags. Infact they have a seamstress in the store that creates blankets etc. with your initials. If I would live in Sydney, my interior design would be well influenced by this store.

Everything Japanese! I found this shop by accident, it is on the top floor of the Top Ryde Shopping…read moreCentre. It is hidden in a corner and although it has a colourful entrance with a Japanese Geisha smiling attractively to the potential customers I have walked past it several times. I don't think she had any effect on me! ha However I walked into the store when filling in time and found a great selection of plates, ornaments, decorations,traditional Japanese servers dishes and plastic tupperware. There is also art work and an assortment of leather Japanese handbags. The sales assistant was an older Japanese man who was extremely helpful and very honest. I asked if he gift wrapped and of course he does! Wow. So I walked out of the shop with some beautiful items. I hope to go there again soon. The January sales are just about to begin.Yeah!

Bang in Potts Point is another of Sydney's fantastic examples of unusual shopping. There are not a…read moregreat deal of these kinds of shops around so I am always excited when stumbling upon one. Bang has a particularly kitschy feel, it seems a little out of place amongst the pseudo sophistication of Macleay Street, but it great to have a bit of diversion. Bang sells Jesus band aids, they are probably the most expensive band aids you will ever buy but they feature the alleged saviour of mankind and you can wear them as a sign of your devotion or just to stir people up, and they come in a collectible metal tin. You can also buy a cat pencil sharpener (you stick the pencil up the cat's bum), Capitalist Piggy's (it's a piggy bank), a door- stop which is a high heel shoe or a tomato sauce dispenser which is a gun. They also sell original art works. Fantastic, capitalistic craziness.

Oh Bang you delightful boutique of all things fabulous, my number one go to venue for inappropriate…read morebirthday cards for family members. Also very handy for those birthday gifts for the hard to buy for friends. Way more interesting then the clothes shop that used to be here, but I do miss your gallery from your previous store!

They had a nice selection of papers but outlandish prices. I picked up similar quality at Dymocks…read morefor about 1/2 the price. The staff didn't even acknowledge our presence. There was a sign in the window announcing store closure in Feb. 2018, so check before you go.

I love stationery. Leather bound notebooks, journals of all shapes and sizes, felt tip pens,…read morepaperclips, cards, - you name it I love it and want it. It's been a fetish of mine since I was a kid and it's never gone away. If it's my addiction, then Paper2 is my dealer - this place is amazing. I can spend hours in this store and it's really not big enough for that but the range of cards and gifts on offer here is superb. There's an excellent collection of vintage style posters and cards which I can't get enough of at the moment. Stop in here for journals, notebooks, craft supplies, wrapping paper, globes... I could go on and on. The staff are lovely and helpful, which is no surprise I'd be super happy if I worked here too.

You know what's totally cliche? Having a sneezing attack the minute you walk into an antique shop…read more Guess what happened when I walked through the doors of Towers Antiques & Collectables? Yes, I sent myself into a allergenic fit. Despite this, I weathered the snot storm and stuck around for some browsing. This long, narrow shop is full to the point of bursting with anything and everything old. Whoever did the collecting here didn't seem to have an eye for categorizing. There are old rotary phones atop pealing bookcases, aside bowls of tobacco tins, beside fancy lace gloves, near a bucket of butter knifes. Yes, butter knifes. They also have an old plastic pay phone. And some fantastic vintage postcards. And some 1960s political campaign buttons that are damn near hilarious. If you're impatient, don't shop here. Plain and simple. But it does have a charm associated with the unknown. I made it to the way back of Towers and found a box of vintage fabric scraps. I also discovered some extra cool tin containers from the 50s and 60s. For my hobby of making new stuff out of old stuff, these were both good finds.

Down the far end of King Street in Newtown is a whole strip of antique stores dotted between the…read morecafes, hair salons and bars. Walk as far as Towers Antiques & Collectables and meander your way back up to Newtown station, stopping at the bric-à-brac pack. I don't think it is called Towers because of the towering piles of amazing stuff in the store, but it should be. Step inside the beautiful old shop front and you'll find shelves lining every wall, with every surface is covered in objets d'art. Among the collections of curios you'll find vases of coloured glass, porcelain figurines, ashtrays, small wooden boxes and all kinds of other ornaments and trinkets. If you're looking for bigger items, Towers stocks antique furniture and a huge collection of lights and light fittings.

Amazing service! We used to use these guys when they had a store at The Rocks and looked for them…read moreagain when we needed special event candles again. Delivery was super quick (received within 24 hours of payment) and the quality is awesome!!

This Rocks wax HQ has been pumping out candles for over 30 years. A colourful kaleidoscope dangles…read morefrom the ceiling like a wax rainbow as an enchanting scene kids love and a display that would make Madame Tussards proud. There's a candle for every occasion, to suit every décor and mood in this wall to wall wax fest. Big, small, tall, short, fat skinny, round, square, triangular... a candle in every way shape or form imaginable assures a flicker fest beyond compare. It's also a peaceful, cool and soothing place to chill out in and escape the hordes when out and about in the Rocks. Housed inside the heritage listed Metcalfe Arcade, (also the home of Pancakes on the Rocks). Go the full old school hog, and get your pancakes fix you decide which wax investments to make. Handmade with fair dinkum Aussie love, many candles have an old world rustic look... as a unique and fail safe gift idea for others... or for self.

If it's old ornaments and retro kitsch from the 1950's you're interested in; if ancient glass…read moretablets depicting Popeye eating spinach and circa 1929 SLR cameras hanging over a somewhat politically incorrect but utterly charming depiction of a foreign native made out of petrified wood are your thing, then Recycling Works in Annandale is the place for you. Slotted on what can only be described as the Parramatta Road guitar shop district, aptly named because of all the, you guessed it, guitar shops, is the massive warehouse full of "junk". Furniture, bric-a-brac, retro advertising material, all saved and all presented in fantastic condition to collectors and common-folk alike. Anyone who thinks what's old is new again will find a bargain here. Anyone whose mantelpiece appears a little bare will do well to catch a bus up the main street, walk on in and peruse the multitudes of selected garbage, cleaned up and reinvigorated. They're always having some kind of sale and the owner is more than happy to help you look, provided you know what it is you're looking for. There's a sign out the front that says "Free Water." I think I saw the water device and unless they were serendipitously out of cups in this particular circumstance, I suggest if you foresee needing water mid shop, bring a container for holding the H2O.

Recycling Works is a menagerie of used and unwanted items, forgotten memories and old treasures,…read moreakin to my favourite yet unattainable room of treasures, Harry Potter's 'The Room of Hidden Things'. This shop, wedged in amongst the guitar and bass shops that make up this strip of Parramatta Rd, is filled with a combination of junk and sweet finds, from ladders and prams to vintage dressers and wardrobes, retro lounges, birdcages, bags, jewellery and anything else you could imagine finding in your great grandparents attic (including the items only those with vivid imaginations thought of). Prices vary from surprisingly affordable to frightfully expensive and it's your mission to not only find your way around (navigation can be an issue here) but to find your way towards a bargain - this may involve a little bartering. Whilst the man that works here didn't understand/appreciate my Harry Potter related jokes, his eccentricities add charm to the jungle of furniture that is Recycling Works and he is always willing to help you out.

Alfresco Emporium is a speciality retailer of lifestyle and dining products supplying well known…read moreand highly respected homeware brands including glasshouse candles, Bormoli and Ecology. They also have an amazing range of fresh flowers for sale that are handpicked by an experienced florist. And to the back of the store is a pleasant 'hamptonesque' type of cafe with Brassiere bread, sandwiches, sweets and great coffee though the service is painfully slow in all the times I visit. Today I am on a hunt for vintage milk bottles to use as flowers around my home and success I have them. I decide once getting them I may as well start the Christmas shopping and I'm starting with the Ecology cheeseboard with drawers. Beautiful store with beautiful objects.

We went for high tea last Tuesday. Having been in the cafe…read moreindustry for 11 years I had some reasonable expectations. Unfortunately it was not what we were expecting after having high tea at Newport. Service was slow and reluctant, we had to ask for tea and then ask for milk...after having to ask for the cakes to be served. I thought for 4 people spending $140.00 we could reasonably expect better service and attention. The food was lacking, when it became clear there was arancini (from lunch menu for $9.90) cut into 4 and served warm. Then the frittata (again from the lunch menu) cut into 4 and served warm. After having to book for high tea I would have expected something a little different to the usual fare being served. We would not go again.