To my knowledge I only know of two stores on Mui Wo that specialize in Furniture. May Art Furniture…read moreDecoration Co. is the more budget friendly one. It's across the road from my apartment so when I first moved in it only made sense to give the place a visit, after all my home as naked of furniture. I walked into MAFDC with a set budget, eager to see how I could fill my living room and roof. I thought, by judging the stores outside, that I could get a couple of things, a table and set of chairs at least. The phrase, don't judge a book by its cover springs to mind. The store offers a decent standard of furniture with nothing (that I saw) under the $500 apart from the odd chair or stool. It's a long store with leather couches filling along the entire way. On either side the walls are lined with shelfs, cupboards, drawers, and a sign reading "custom made!", which I assume just means adding another 0 to the price for a choice of color. I walked from the entrance to the far end where the counter is and asked about outdoor furniture. The lady behind the counter simply pointed to a catalogue filled with all sorts of things. Primarily I was going for a parasol. They had one going for $650 with an average delivery time of 15 days, I have no idea if that's a good price or not, but I figured I'd need a table to eat on first before worrying about pimping up my rooftop! I asked her about her cheapest table and chairs, or if she had any discounts. She obviously wasn't used to dealing with customers like me and I highly underestimated the standard of the store. I left but promised myself to research the price of parasols... I probably should have put a time limit on that promise.

Pricerite is one of the largest home furnishing chains in Hong Kong. They have a large network of…read moreoutlets and offering affordable products. The store is located on Castle Peak Road, right by the Tai Tong Road Light Rail station. It's at the heart of Yuen Long and very convenient to get there by any public transportation. This store may look very small from the outside, but it's actually 4 levels high. The first floor is mainly electronic appliances, TV, water heater, iron, fans, etc. The 2nd floor, they have a lot of plastic containers, boxes, trash bins, etc. The 3rd floor and 4th floor are all home furniture. They have good selections from bed, mattress, sofa, cabinets, chairs to coffee tables. There is a customization station where you can bring in the measurement and customize furniture you desire. I have customized furniture at Pricerite before. It usually takes about 7-14 days. It's well known that the furniture is being stored and made in China on demand basis. It's really not a secret. If you ask one of their staffs, they would not hide where the products are made and shipped from. The service at this location has been great. The staffs are friendly and helpful. Unlike IKEA, they actually wrap and tie the products for you here.

I'm guessing everybody's familiar with Homeless, the eccentric but often pricey lifestyle store. If…read moreyou're into that kind of fun, creative stuff, it's worth checking out lesser-known Lost & Found, which is similar to Homeless but in my opinion sells more practical things rather than quirky items that you'd use once or twice and then set aside. Lost & Found isn't hard to locate (ha!). It's at phase two of Olympian City, and you'll definitely walk past it when you take the bridge to phase three. There's another store at The One in TST, but I've never been to that one. This means that if you live on the Island or in New Territories, coming to Lost & Found may be a little bit of a trip. If I had just moved in to a new place or am redecorating parts of my apartment, I would definitely make a stop at Lost & Found. I like to think that things here can be classes into two categories, in my opinion - the vintage-y stuff and the more modern, colorful items. I love anything with that rugged, brassy look, and Lost & Found has tons of that in its vintage section. I can totally imagine decking my living room out on their gorgeous photo frames and little cupboards! For the more... FUNctionalist ones out there (sorry, I couldn't resist!), Lost & Found is big on colorful, modern-looking kitchen supplies. There are lots of colorful, disco ball-like bowls and plates that can jazz up any dinner party. Kitchen essentials like soup spoons and spatulas come in all sorts of different colors here, so if you're not one to settle with all that boring kitchen ware, this is your place! Another thing really worth checking out here are the clocks. They have loads of vintage hanging clocks featuring adorable animals like polar bears and pugs. Others are attached to a little countryside cottage and those are really cute too. I wanted to get one for a friend for her birthday, but as per Chinese traditions, it's considered sending somebody bad luck if you gift them a clock for their birthday. But just like Homeless, Lost & Found does not come cheap. One of those clocks I mentioned will set you back at least $300, and the more intricate ones with the cottage house are about $480. Although there was a sign outside that said 'on sale - up to 50% off', I didn't see a lot of items that actually were on sale! Overall, this is more of a place to browse and window-shop than to do actual shopping for me. Maybe one day if I'm thinking of redecorating, and if that coincides with them doing a massive sale, then I'll definitely pick up an item or two here!

Practicality and utility seem to be the only concern for most Hongkongers here when it comes to…read moreinterior design. However, who says we cannot make it both fun and practical? Come to Lost & Found, which is a unique lifestyle concept store where you may find all sort of things including furniture, gifts, home accessories, etc. It's flagship is in Tsim Sha Tsui but this one is not as crowded as the one there since it is at a corner on the second floor of Olympian City (which is currently undergoing reconstruction). They have over hundreds of different brands from all over the world like Koziol, Fred, Magis, Umbra. They also have local designs as well. I personally adore the clocks there with all of them having their own design. All are rather unique and innovative. At this modern age where most people tend to use their smart phone as their telling time device, clocks may one day become obsolete. However, once you have seen what they have here, you may buy more clocks than you actually need. Next time when you are looking for home accessories or gifts for your friends, this place will not disappoint you. Warning though: you may probably end up like a kid in a candy store with so many creative products on display here. So... worry about your purse.

The Red Lantern in Mui Wo (not to be mistaken for Red Hall Chinese antiques in the same area) is a…read morefantastic treasure trove of antiques, and in my opinion, the best antique store in Hong Kong. Run by Anthony and Gary, probably the two nicest guys in Hong Kong, their small shop contains a number of beautiful and genuine antique items from China. The shop itself is quite small, so not all of the items available on display. If you're interested in a particular item or era, it's best to speak to Anthony or Gary, as they will be up to show you a folder of photographs with other antique items that they have in storage elsewhere. What is particularly refreshing about the chaps, is that know the provenance of every piece, if not exactly, then at least a very good approximation. As many of us would buy antique furniture with little knowledge of the authenticity, dealing with Anthony and Gary, you will feel a lot more secure in the knowledge that you are not being ripped off. As well as big furniture items, Red Lantern sells a number of small affordable pieces, which would make ideal gifts for friends and family, or as tourist souvenirs to take home. If you do end up buying a large piece of furniture, the chaps are able to organise delivery to Hong Kong Island. There is a charge for it (a couple of hundred HKD), which you could reduce by arranging your own collection from Central Pier (i.e. they would put the item on the boat at Mui Wo and you will collect it at Central). If there is nothing that you fancy from the shop, it's always very pleasant to talk to Anthony and Gary anyway. Both are expats, who have lived in Hong Kong from many years, and they have great stories of Hong Kong to tell. I very much enjoy reminiscing with them about the good old days in the UK. But, you should check out their store and buy some antiques from them. Your house will look better for it!

I went the Red Lantern to help find me a deep turquoise cabinet. I sent examples of the style and…read morecolour I liked and waited eagerly to hear back from the shop. A few days later I was contacted by Anthony who sent a very dark picture of a sideboard in a colour that was paler than I had requested but seemed "nice but not amazing". I expressed this exact sentiment. I asked for an image taken from the front with more light. I wasn't expecting the terse response "sorry but this is the best we can do". I asked whether he meant the furniture or the photo he said he could ask for another photo "but you said you didn't like it". It seemed a brusque attitude but I understood that sometimes over text communication can seem strained. But the communications continued to be strained over the next few days. Bad photos were just the beginning. There was lack of transparency, lack of courtesy or friendliness in all communications and there was flip flopping on what I had been told. Once the details had been finalised I asked if I could pay a deposit of half up front and the rest on delivery. I was told their business was based on trust and that they always trusted their customers to pay after delivery. Finally something pleasant. This would mean I wouldn't have to take an inconvenient trip during the week to Mui Wo. But the next day I received another terse message saying actually, no, they didn't want to do business with me and I should look elsewhere because I might reject the piece of furniture on delivery! All they had needed to do was ask for full payment up front but instead they chose to make the decision without any attempt at communication. The whole process that I imagined would have been easy and fun was like drawing blood from a stone and also left me uneasy because of the seeming unfaltering dedication to not be helpful or pleasant. Maybe the world of antiques is a high stress environment that is barren of frivolities such as affability. I imagine if he felt as stressed as I did from the interaction we are both happy to be rid of each other.