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The Complete Guide to Online Shopping: Homes & Interiors

Rhiannon Batten
Monday 04 December 2006 01:00 GMT
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After Noah

www.afternoah.com

Long before salvage went mainstream, After Noah was selling an eclectic mix of vintage furniture and modern home accessories. Ten years on, it has evolved into an online heaven for retro homeboys and -girls, and also has three real stores in London. Great for antique bedsteads, reconditioned phones and stylishly battered leather sofas.

020-7351 2610

Anta

www.anta.co.uk

Proving that it's possible to make tartan that's not twee, this smart Scottish interiors company does a sophisticated line in soft woollen throws, checked pottery, classy rugs and other furnishing essentials. Whether you've got a croft or a castle, look out for its natty Christmas stockings.

01862 832 477

Aria

www.ariashop.co.uk

A one-stop shop for design aficionados, Aria sells everything from furniture and lighting to kitchenware. As well as the big names (Starck, Arad etc), it offers plenty of lesser-known brands, too. One of the few big design stores that lets you shop directly online.

020-7704 1999

Baileys

www.baileyshomeandgarden.com

Baileys specialises in all things nostalgic - from traditional English accessories (sturdy weighing scales and old-fashioned mixing bowls) to reclaimed household pieces (porcelain sinks, apple-crate bookshelves, log baskets made from old tyres). Its online collection is extensive.

01989 561 931

Bemz

www.bemz.com

If you can't stretch to a new sofa, forget throwing an old bedspread over your existing one. It may be student chic, but Bemz offers other options. A Swedish company with an English website, it sells alternative covers for Ikea furniture, for settees, chairs and cushions, in a much classier, more imaginative range of fabrics and prints.

00 468 664 6200

Biome Lifestyle

www.biomelifestyle.com

The words "eco" and "chic" aren't natural bedfellows, but Biome Lifestyle has turned the tree-hugging stereotype on its leafy head, and come up with a store selling homeware that's as ethically minded as it is stylish. If this sounds like your cup of Fairtrade tea, go to www.ecocentric.co.uk while you're at it.

08700 434 778

Bodie and Fou

www.bodieandfou.com

The perfect place for stylish homeware without a hint of chintz - think a posh Muji and you won't be far wrong. The main range covers glassware, table linen, lighting, mirrors and kitchenware, while a few designer pieces add a touch of quirkiness.

08706 092 648

Cabbages & Roses

www.cabbagesandroses.com

If you've had your fill of Cath Kidston but want to girly-up your place, look no further than Cabbages & Roses. Handmade floral bedlinen, vintage china and gingham cushions are the big sellers here, though it also stocks a small range of women's clothes.

020-7352 7333

Chandlers

www.chandlersonline.com

Traditional enamelware has become the must-have kitchen accessory. The East End boutique Labour and Wait blazed the trail, but you'll find an even wider range online at Chandlers. It's perfect if you like your kitchen colour-coordinated - its pots and pans, colanders and dishes come in every pastel shade imaginable.

08702 401 123

Conran Shop

www.conranshop.co.uk

A stalwart of the British design scene, the Conran Shop sells classic and contemporary furniture, designer lighting and quirky accessories, much of it exclusive. Whether you want an Eames chair for a bachelor flat or a striped woollen rug for a country cottage, the chances are that you'll find it here.

020-7589 7401

Graham and Green

www.grahamandgreen.co.uk

Where else can you get everything from a flat-pack moose head to a mother-of-pearl table shipped direct to your door? No longer the insider's secret it once was, this stylish emporium being online is a godsend.

08451 306 622

Heal's

www.heals.co.uk

A department store for design divas, Heal's covers all the bases, from kitchen gadgets to home office accessories via sofas, towels and lamp shades. What makes it special is its vast price range; paupers and princesses will feel equally at home here.

020-7636 1666

The Linen Works

www.thelinenworks.com

A good alternative to The White Company, The Linen Works specialises in tasteful table- and bedlinen, mainly in classy, neutral colours. Inspired by a house that the shop's owner saw in France, the idea is to provide well-made, practical household items chosen for their quality rather than cost.

020-8961 4900

Purves & Purves

www.purves.co.uk

If it's contemporary style you're after, you should find something to suit at Purves. Though the website tends to showcase smaller accessories, you can also buy designer furniture and larger pieces online.

020-8838 0200

RE-found Objects

www.re-foundobjects.com

Trawling through this online homeware shop is a bit like wading through the flotsam and jetsam from a superior shipwreck. Alongside vintage toasting forks and jelly moulds, you'll find everything from old metal signs to rustic Swedish scrubbing brushes.

01434 634 567

RK Alliston

www.foundat.co.uk

Here you'll find all manner of upmarket and traditional garden essentials, from handmade cotton smocks to dibbers, trugs and good, old-fashioned cloches.

08451 305 577

Saw It First

www.sawitfirst.co.uk

It's hard to argue with the ethos of this online furniture store, which is to sell design classics at sensible prices. While it also stocks a wide range of contemporary favourites, such as BigChill beanbags, this is definitely the place to go if you're desperately seeking an Arne Jacobsen Egg chair, say, or a Noguchi coffee table.

0161-429 9273

Skandium

www.skandium.com

One of the pioneers of a growing number of outposts of Nordic cool in Britain, this Scandinavian interiors shop stocks all the brands that a wannabe-Viking could wish for, from Iittala and Kosta Boda to Orrefors, Eva Solo and Georg Jensen.

020-7935 2077

Thorsten van Elten

www.thorstenvanelten.com

Thorsten van Elten's eclectic range of furniture, lighting and home accessories is mostly commissioned from young designers, and is hard to beat for quirky and unusual items that are practical but will also make you smile.

020-7388 8008

Twentytwentyone

www.twentytwentyone.com

Based in Islington but covering much wider ground now thanks to its online store, Twentytwentyone sells classic furniture and accessories by Robin and Lucienne Day, various Tom Dixon creations, and silly but fun decorations and accessories, such as papier-mâché chandeliers. Go on. You know you want one.

020-7288 1996

WHAT IF MY SHOPPING NEVER ARRIVES?

Paying by credit card gives you extra protection. If the goods do not arrive, or are faulty, your card provider may agree to refund you the money while they take up your case. This applies to goods or services costing more than £100 for one item (but less than £30,000), even if you have only used your card to pay a deposit.

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