Save Money Sydney » Homewares

Chic but Cheap Places to Get Homewares in Sydney

Jessie Goh — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:49:24 +0000

In a recent quest to buy a teapot, I scoured the whole of Sydney to bring you the best places in Sydney for chic but cheap home wares.

#1 Victoria’s Basement

Mugs - check out the $1 price tag

I’ve never considered shopping at Victoria’s Basement until recently. After not having a teapot for 8 months, I was dying for a nicely brewed cuppa. While trying to be frugal, I refused to shop at David Jones, Myer and anywhere else where I need to pay the full retail price. Victoria’s Basement sprang into mind. After I dropped off my cousin at the airport, I made a pit stop at this home wares heaven where EVERYTHING is chic and cheap! They were so cheap that I had to stop myself and put down the candles that I was about to purchase. Every minute of being in the shop was a torture as I reminded myself that I was here only for a teapot and can only walk out with a teapot. Pretty proud to say, YES! I walked out with only a teapot.

Locations: Auburn, Artarmon, Alexandria and Queen Victoria Building

Recent purchase: Bodum Assam Tea Press 8 Cup with Bonus Tea Travel Mug-What else do they have?:

They have everything from Scanpans to blenders to teapots and knives. Be sure to set a budget before you walk into this shop or you will end up spending more.

The many many homewares at Victoria's Basement in Auburn

Only $39.95! Expect to pay over $80 in department stores

#2 Peter’s of Kensington

Peter’s of Kensington is similar to Victoria’s Basement. They stock all your brand name home wares to luggage and etc. Peter’s has also been featured in another of our post here. I love receiving Peter’s emails about the various deals that they have. Looking through the catalogues always make me want to buy something because they are really cheap. Peters is a great place to shop if you are after quality brand names. Restraint needs to be exercised. Buy only what you need and it’s a good idea to save the rest. But if you really need home wares, this is the place to go to. They do delivery too so it makes it easy for you to shop online.

#3 IKEA

Who can forget about IKEA? This giant is conveniently located in Rhodes and always offers a great selection of products to choose from. Speaking from personal experience, IKEA has really chic items but they are not necessarily the best quality around. Often, the prices are comparable to the products that you can find from Victoria’s Basement and Peter’s of Kensington.

Hope that this article has helped some of you decide on where to go for your home ware bargains. Do drop me a line to share with our readers what you think about this post and where do you suggest going for home ware shopping.

Furniture: Chic yet Cheap!

Jessie Goh — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:24:18 +0000

Yup you heard it right. There is a possibility of getting chic and cheap furniture in Sydney. No. It’s not ebay. No it’s not IKEA and no it’s not second hand. In fact, they are brand new but do require some bidding. Check out www.mybid.com.au. Lounges and modular chaises go for as low as $300! I don’t think you will be able to find such great deals from other retailers. Just another smart chic way proudly brought to you by Save Money Sydney!

Current bid with 5 hours 21 mins left to end of auction is $155! Bargain!

New to Sydney? 5 Top Places to Grab Some Great Bargains

Jessie Goh — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:08:07 +0000

Recently relocated to Sydney or even visiting Sydney for the first time and would like to know of some great places for heavily marked down fashion and homeware stores? No worries! This post has the answers for you.

1. Direct Factory Outlets (DFO)
This is one of my favourite places for getting my bargain fixes and fashion highs. It is located in Homebush (next to Sydney Olympic Park) and here’s the map and directions. Trading hours are from 10AM to 6PM daily. Personally, the best time to visit DFO is during the week when there is plenty of parking within the complex. On the weekends, you will have to contest with the dreaded Sydney traffic and parking is almost non-existent (I went there on a Sunday and I had to park around the residential area as traffic was so bad that it was faster walking).

What you’ll find at DFO:

Lingerie (Bendon, Elle MacPherson and etc)
Sporting apparel (Converse, Puma and etc)
Fashion chain stores (French Connection, Witchery, Marcs and etc)
Home wares (Royal Doulton, Sheridan and etc)
Surf brands (Billabong, QuickSilver)
Kids
Shoes (Nine West, Windsor Smith, Wanted and etc)

2. Red Yard Entertainment Centre (100 Parramatta Road Auburn)

Auburn seems like miles away especially for those who live across the bridge or even those from the Eastern Suburbs. The only reason I know of Auburn is because my partner is a true “Westie”. He introduced me to the west and persuaded me to move out this way to escape the rising cost of living in the inner suburbs of Sydney. Anyway, back to the point. 100 Parramatta Road is a place to go to if you are after anything to do with Sports and the easiest way of getting there is by car. If you are coming from the East and North of Sydney, just look for the M4 and take the Silverwater exit. If you live in the West, you will know what I’m talking about so I need not explain any further.

This part of Auburn has everything to offer – from apparel to footwear to casual wear and sporting equipment. There’s plenty of parking and the following outlets are located within the complex:

Rebel Sports Discount Outlet
SportsCo
Kathmandu
Bendon, Berlei and Bonds Outlet
Pumpkin Patch
Freddy’s Fishing World

The bargains do not just stop inside the Red Yard Entertainment Centre. If you are keen for more gems, some 100 steps will bring you to the following places:

Adidas Factory Outlet – directly across Parramatta Road
Nike Factory Outlet – 126 Parramatta Road, which is 2 minutes walk towards the West, from Adidas

These shops often have juicy reductions. For example, Nike often offers specials such as buy one pair of footwear and get the 2nd pair at 50% off.

3. Birkenhead Point

Beautiful Birkenhead Point

This has to be the most picturesque factory outlet ever! Located at the entrance of Iron Cove Bay and situated adjacent to Parramatta River, this is probably one of the few malls that you can get to via boat! Directions and trading hours are available here. To me, Birkenhead Point is almost the same as DFO but a classier version. Designer labels such as Burberry and Alannah Hill have their outlet stores located within this shopping haven. It is worth setting aside a day to shop. I even managed to drag my partner and my dad there by using the marina as a pretext.

4. Peter’s of Kensington

Peter’s, Peter’s, Peter’s. The beauty of with Peter’s of Kensington is that they are conveniently located online and at 57 Anzac Parade in Kensington, this store is the place to go to if you are after good quality pots, pans, home wares, bathroom accessories, cutlery, homeware and the list goes on. No, you will not find your cheapie IKEA quality pots here. Instead, you will find trusted brands such as Circulon and Scanpan BUT at BARGAIN BASEMENT prices. Products are often at least 50% cheaper than your major department stores. If you shop during Peter’s sale period, you can find bargains up to 70% off! Pots and pans are worth investing in and I do believe that a good pot can last a lifetime.

5. Market City

Located in the hub of Sydney’s Chinatown, Market City is a great place for finding bargains from stores such as Esprit, Mambo, Cue,Marcs and etc. Directions and trading hours are available from here. The best days to visit Market City will be between Thursday to Sunday as Paddy’s market trades during those days. The shops within the Market City building are all fixed price shops. However, some bargaining can happen at Paddy’s (located in the basement of Market City). Most people come here for non-brand name Ugg boots, sheep skin and tonnes of other souvenirs. A fresh fruits and vegetables market is also conveniently located within Paddy’s.

Feel free to leave comments or suggestions of your favourite bargain haunts in Sydney.

~Jess

How to Set Up a New Home Without Getting Ripped Off

Jessie Goh — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:59:31 +0000

Cleaning Set - courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Recently, over a game of poker, my mate was talking about his new home and he said that all the small things are adding up to a huge amount – this was to the point that he only had $20 left in the bank account after all the purchases! From sponges to cleaning liquids to brooms. He did not understand why a broom from Bunnings would cost $20! This was the exact moment that the two girls (including myself) chimed in “Who buys their broom from Bunnings?!” My mate (a guy of course) stared at us wide-eyed as if he committed the crime of the century. From that moment on, I realised that not everyone knows where to shop especially if they have never moved out of home. With years of being at University and not living at home, I have combed Sydney to find the cheapest places where you can find all that you need to set up a new home (by the way, did I mention that I’ve moved a grand total of TEN times in this lifetime and I don’t think that this will be my last one!)

Having lived through my uni years as a poor student, being broke so many times after the numerous moves and living like a pauper during the initial start-up years for my business, here are my top places for household essentials.

Canley Heights - It is only in recent days that I found out about this place. For those of you who live on the side of Sydney that classify Broadway as the West, Canley Heights is the cousin of Cabramatta. It is a suburb with predominantly Vietnamese and Laotians. There are plenty of nice restaurants there. I go there to do my groceries and buy my household essential items like brooms and tissue paper. You can expect to pay only $6.50 for a big bottle of Tresemme, $1 for an Oral B toothbrush and 79c for a box of tissues (it could be even cheaper when you buy in bulk). I bought a splatter (one of those things that prevent oil from splattering all over the place) for $1.50 and they sell that for $3.50 at the IGA down the road. A smaller splatter cost $2.00 at The Reject Shop in Parramatta Westfield.

The Reject Shop – This is heaven for the living Frugals out there. You can get anything from canvasses to washing liquids to Pringles from here. For those who are unable to make your way to Canley Heights, it would make sense to shop at your local Reject Shop to grab the home essentials. No point in spending $3.50 on one sponge from Woolworths or Coles when you can get 3 sponges for $2! Brooms, mops and buckets do not need to cost a leg. You can usually pick them up for less than $10 as compared to $20 in K-Mart, Bunnings or Woolworths. Last month, I even bought a set of mugs for my home from there and had great comments from my friends who thought I had spent a fortune on those mugs.

Discount Shops – Anything with a name such as “Top Bargains”, “Hot Dollar”, “$2 Shop” is always a great place to pick up home essentials. These shops are great for getting candles, place mats, mugs, vases, glass bowls and everything else you can name under the sun.

Online Variety Stores – If you love the internet and only do your shopping online, you should be able to grab bargains from places like the following:

These online stores are great places for getting your crockery, cutlery, furniture, tape dispenser, knives and etc.

Spend your money smartly and avoid getting bitten by the retail giants who are not kind to your pockets.

~Jess