A & A Traders is one of a number of shops in Edinburgh which seems to sell almost anything you need…read morefor you home! The shop is crammed full of home ware goods and gardening items. This shop reminded me of the Edinburgh Bargain Store in Newington, however, this shop is smaller and seems to be struggling to modernise itself. Now, don't get me wrong, these kinds of shops are very handy to have in the city if you don't want to travel to a retail park to visit a Homebase or B & Q. However, just along Easter Road there is a B & Q, so you would most likely get what you need there than from this shop. With just looking at the window display you can tell this shop is stuck in time. It advertises that it sells Video Tapes and its windows are full of clutter that no one is really going to need to buy (Including that dodgy yellow coloured kettle). Not the best home ware shop I have been in to, there are many other similar shops which are better, but this shop is still a handy place to buy that odd item you need!

This is a shop selling cookware, electrical goods and a bit more thrown in for luck It's well…read morestocked and holds a good range so you can choose between a few models and makes for each item. The prices here are also very good so if you do have a flat or house that needs furnishing it is worth going out of your way to come here - you rarely see such good value for money. As a shop it's hard to fault; they offer a large range of models at reasonable prices selling almost everything you might need.

v successful shopping trip. partic impressed by Tameel's service- the extra mile with a broad…read moreBermudan smile

This B&Q is massive and is well located around several other DIY type stores. They have a good…read moregarden section and can have some good deals. BUT - one chain home DIY store is just like any other chain DIY stores, the only thing that really differs between them is how they are laid out and the staff. The Man and I come by here occasionally to pick up housey bits and bobs and were in the other weekend looking for something to repair our (brand new) waterproof laminate in the bathroom (the plumbers scratched it while installing the million-ton cast iron bath). We looked around and didn't really see anything which seemed to do the job, so the first place we asked was the paint counter. We thought - fillers go with paints, so the guy here might know. We walked up "excuse me?" *no response* "um, excuse me??" *slow eye roll in our direction* The guy hardly moved a muscle and provided us with his most bored and put-upon voice to tell us to try the flooring section. Ok right well yeah that makes sense, could have been a bit more pleasant about it but that's fine. So, we head to the flooring section where we approach two employees having a conversation. We are clearly customers in need of help but they only stoped their chat and turned their attention to us when when we practically had to stand between them and interrupt them. The Man said "Hi, we recently purchsed waterproof laminate and..." "There's no such thing as waterproof laminate" the flooring guy said. "Well, actually there is" The Man said "it's called Dumafloor..." He was interrupted again by the flooring guy who said "No, laminate can't be waterproof, it gets wet and it expands, it's not waterproof" Um anyway... He didn't even let us finish our question before attacking our "waterproof laminate" - listen guy, maybe you're right but also maybe there is a product on the market you *gasp* don't know about! Either way, don't interrupt your customers when they're asking you a question. He finally told us where to find flooring crayons, and sent us off with a cheery "but anyway, there's no such thing as waterproof laminate" Note to B&Q -a little customer service training would go a long way. Further note - and no, I don't want my wedding registry here. In fact, it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Oh my goodness, I just LOVE Lakeland! For some people cooking is a chore, my mum can't stand it and…read moreso only does it out of necessity but for me, it never gets boring. Whether I'm firing a pizza in the oven or baking some fresh bread I love nothing better than to rustle up a storm in the kitchen. I've recently been experimenting with baking, making all kinds of cakes, muffins and brownies and adding as much chocolate as possible. Lakeland is a dream for someone who loves cooking and sees it as more of a hobby than a chore. They have so many quirky kitchen accessories including pretty moulds for cakes, cake stands, apple slicers, blenders and various other cooking utensils. On a recent visit I noticed that they have the Soda Stream and I used to have one of them in my old flat and it was ace. It retails at just under £60 and at the moment if you buy it you get a free sampler kit with various different flavours to add to it - sounds awesome!

If you LOVE to bake and need certain baking equipment or ingredients than this is the place to go…read morefor it. Lakelands by no means have ever baking or kitchen contraptions, but it sells the basics and limited quantities of specialty devices. Whenever I need some baking related items like extracts, fondant, food, or colouring this is the place I go to get em. When you enter the store, the right side hold all the baking/cooking equipments and ingredients. You can find pots, pans, spatulas. You can also find find various ingredients such as chocolate, fondant, extracts, cooking books. On the right side of the building, they have an eclectic mix of sweets you can buy. From Turkish delights, biscuits, chocolate, candies, you can it here. I like this section cause the products they sell changes with the season. The lower level has various kitchen utensils and home products. You can get lost down there with all the various products you can buy for you house/ flat. This place can be a bit pricey so I would check other stores if they sell it for a cheaper price. The staff are friendly and willing to help. This is honestly a great place to spend getting lost for a bit in the world of baking/ housewares!

Another baffling, huge monster of a pound store to be found in this area of Edinburgh…read more It sells everything. I could expand on everything that it sells, but we would be here for a while. I might invent an updated version of the Only Fools and Horses song that plays during the end credits, since they list off their many bargain wares. For a wide range of products, this place isn't bad. Aside from selling the tourist tat that most bargain stores in Edinburgh display, they've got some imitation brands, garden equipment and cheap as chips electrics, just to give you an idea of the broad spectrum. I wouldn't trust any electrics from a pound shop, but for things like earphones you can be pleasantly surprised for a short lived period of time. Needs must in these purse pinching days of the recession, but it's a bit too much of a tacky overload for me. I'm sure if you rake through this place with a fine toothed comb you'll find something of use, but mostly it's a bit much! But since they bear the Only Fools ethos of bargain selling, it's a guarantee you'll find "cut prices at a stroke!"

Certainly not the most glamorous shop, Pound Savers stocks all manner of tat and this place is so…read morebig it really does seem to have everything but the kitchen sink. I could have spent hours in here browsing at all the wares, finding bizarre reasons why I would ever need half of the stuff in here. I was tempted by the colourful clay as it's been so long that I've made any clay people but decided it wasn't a very wise purchase. This place does seem to have everything but to be honest, none of it seems all that useful but if you're looking for a tiny screwdriver, a crazy soap dish or a garden gnome you will be able to take your pick in here.

Eden seems to be a bizarre mix of wooden furniture and Edward Monkton cards…read more If wooden furniture is your thing then you could pick up some bargains in here as many of the items are very reasonably priced and one off pieces too. This kind of stuff doesn't really float my kind of boat but I did see a really pretty dark wood table at £95 that I quite liked. They stock lots of little accessories such as crystals, jewellery and candles and the staff are really helpful too. The whole shop has a really laid back atmosphere and great for a browse without feeling pressured to buy anything.

Eden is quite deceptive - it looks like it's going to have hordes of hippy dippy gifts, which might…read moreinterest some people but not so much me. Upon entering, there was certainly that free spirited vibe - they were playing the Cocteau Twins and the shop keeper was really relaxed. But that only made for a better browsing experience (and I LOVE the Cocteau Twins so I was happy). Yes, there are loads of carved wooden ornaments and chairs, hanging beads and dream catchers, but there are also some lovely rustic homewares, trendy candles and some truly gorgeous ornate wrapping paper. They have a range of cards and some lovely stuff for the kitchen, including plaid patterned coat hangers and pretty ornaments. So even though it has the 90s hippy vibe, there is more variety than you may think if you care to enter. The shop assistant was absolutely lovely and her laid back approach left me free to browse to my heart's content. I came out with cactus candles which are awesome but too nice to burn!

Friendly people , and excellent service…read more First class work And very reasonable prices

As I've mentioned in previous reviews - I'm not very lucky in carpets. It doesn't matter what…read morecolour I get, or how carefully I tread on them, I always manage to get some kind of tea/food or make-up stain smeared all over them. Nevertheless, I still like carpets and rugs, there's nothing nicer than waking up in the morning and stepping onto a nice fluffy rug. I popped into G&C carpets the other day and even though it's quite a small store, it has an excellent selection and I noticed a very pretty black rug with red flowers on it for a mere £35. They also had washable furry rugs for £15. The prices are very reasonable and the selection is good so if you're looking to add something extra to your home then a nice rug is the perfect idea, plus, if you're a student, the prices here won't break to bank.