I am thankful for home stores. Travelling, seeking out, and experiencing different places, venues, and abodes sure is exciting! At the end of it all, you eventually come home. Although vacations are fun and exhilarating, sometimes it’s nice to just come home to cozy, relaxing home. Nothing quite compares to your own little niche where you’re comfy.
Depending on where you live, they may have different names or be called different things. When I say home stores, I mean stores that help you decorate your home with rugs, dish sets, towels, pillows, bowls, pots….well, you get the idea. You certainly can go to big box stores or discount stores, but sometimes the quality of these items are a bit different from the ones found in home stores, or even discount home stores.
The best ones I have found that are near me are called: Home Goods, Lowe’s, and Ikea. Home Goods, owned by the same parent company as the one that owns Marshall’s (GREAT store) and TJ Maxx (LOVE this place) is AWESOME. As a kid I distinctly remember wondering why my parents (most especially Mom) loved these kinds of places….after all, there were no shoes or clothes!!! How could ANYONE possibly love it here? As an adult, I can speak with 100% authority and say that I can appreciate this place now…as a matter of fact, I LOVE it here! After having lived on my own in a few different spots, I can see why people love this place. I simply love to decorate my own space with my own flair, and this place helped me to do just that; and the prices are GREAT! Some of the items are unique and on-of-a-kind and I learned that if you see something you want at one of these places, pick it up right away because if you come back, it may not be there anymore! I remember buying a Lenox lamp for my parents years back and I pretty much got it for a steal. Not too shabby, eh? Lenox lamps can get quite costly, but I was able to buy it for a good deal. It was a bit difficult tracking down the matching lamp, despite a few trips to other locations. Home Goods has such tasteful décor at such great prices! How I wish I could shop here for my own home! One day….one day….
Ikea is like an adult playground. First off, it’s like a maze and their strategic marketing is blatantly obvious! There is only one way out and if you forget to pick up an item that you want, you have to wander back the long way. Each floor has a pathway and in order to leave that floor, you have to follow it; because you have to follow this path, you have to pass through all the displays and scenarios. Each one makes you want to have all of the set-ups in your own home! I literally drool over the displays! Some critics don’t like Ikea furniture because it’s made of particle board and is heavy, and some even say it’s not as durable as real wood….but it sure is pretty! I can’t wait to have a mansion so I can have every Ikea item known to man!!! (Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she?)
I’m still a bit on the fence on this one, but I wasn’t a big fan of Home Depot and Lowe’s until recently. The more I go to Home Depot for little items, I have a better appreciation for it. I started to like Lowe’s because I had to go refrigerator shopping. (Don’t even get me started on these places are great for do-it-yourselfers, but these places are expanding to include many items you wouldn’t normally think to look for here. Just recently (although early for some), Home Depot had a Christmas section. The new decorations on display sure put me in a festive mood and I love to see what the various companies will come up with next! The nurseries during the nicer weather are also a draw for me – the beautiful flowers, the vegetables for planting…they make me excited for the warm weather and looking at all of them makes me feel good because I see “LIFE”.
All of this makes me want to have my own humble abode, but with all the nice, new things coming out every year, I’m going to want to change things frequently. Who knows…maybe in my travels I’m also going to want to pick up some unique items from places I’ve traveled! It would be nice to have a room for items gathered from my travels alone. Picking out tasteful items that won’t clash in the same room will be quite a challenge, but I’m sure it can be done! Wish me luck as I start venturing out and adding to my collection!
Any “home” places you like to visit? Any unique finds – bonus points if you can post a picture!
XOXOXOXO,
Home Depot is by far my favorite store! I’m a generally crafty, love-to-make-things type of person, I love the smell of wood, and I also love perusing the outdoor section in springtime! I seem to always want a project to do, which is a challenge for me as a constant traveler, but making things for others is always fun, too! Great post. I look forward to reading more!
I must confess, I am slowly enjoying the times I go to Home Depot (just don’t tell my parents that, since I’ve always been against trips to Home Depot. No offense to Home Depot, but I’d much rather go to the outlets! Haha). Now that I have had to go look for some items, I was practically like a kid in a candy store! I was going between the new-age ‘smart’ thermostats, the new doorbells with camera peepholes…OH NO! I’ve crossed to the other side….and you know what? I don’t think I mind it. 🙂 As a matter of fact, I think I mind it more that I don’t actually have my own home as of yet so I can REALLY go to town in these kinds of stores! Thanks for your comment!