Photos of Spring

I find myself yearning for spring! This cold spell is not what I expected!

Brrrr -15 with windchill.

These pictures remind me that eventually it will be spring!

Furniture Stores in Ottawa

Inspired by a recent friends need for furniture in Ottawa, I thought it would be good to create a list of my favourite spots to window shop for furniture in Ottawa. Hopefully she will actually be able to furniture at one of these places, because at this time I don't have the resources to buy furniture. I'll just live vicariously through her!

My tastes tend to be for modern clean lined furniture, with eclectic accessories.

Ottawa is filled with big box furniture stores, so finding places with more modern furniture can be hard.

The other major obstacle is price. Most of the places I will be mentioning can be on the expensive side, but I'm going to share some of my tricks for getting great deals at each of these stores.

EQ3
It's a big box modern furniture store, but I still love it. It can be overpriced but there are couple of places to check out to get a deal. The Byward Market location has two floors, the upper level houses floor samples and other items all on clearance, you have to check it frequently, and I would go on weeknights, but deals are to be found if you are willing to travel to Montreal and have a friend with van there is a secret outlet location, that only found out about because I got lost one day. They won't ship to Ottawa, hence the need for a van.

Structube 

Originally only in Quebec, it now happily exists in Ottawa as well. It's another big box modern store, about the same price range as EQ3. At their newest Trainyards location there are often floor samples for sale at a great price.

Phillip Van Leeuwen

The most expensive of all the stores I will be listing today, it gets put on the list because every week they have a special promotion on a particular item, usually at an amazing price. A few times a year they also have a huge floor sample sale where furniture can be found at 75% off. This would be the place where I buy that one classic item that will last you for years.

Mikaza Home

An amazing store filled with reproductions of modern and vintage furniture designs, that otherwise most people would not be able to afford. They have recently moved to Gatineau, and have a much larger store.

Urban Barn

First opened in B.C., they now have stores all over Canada, but most recently in Ottawa. Great place for accessories at a reasonable price.

Mobilia

A great place for basics and good quality furniture. These are pieces that you expect to keep for years. Floor samples are the way to get the best bang for your buck, or check out their seasonal sales.

Zone Maison

This is the most wonderful place for affordable accessories for your home. I love exploring this store everytime I go to Byward Market, and the fact that I can afford most of the items there.

Bouclair Home

This is becoming one of my favourite places, because of the great lighting, curtains, and bedding selection. They have a great clearance section, where I'm always finding little accessories often under $5! I love how the store is divided by colour, so if you know what colour scheme your room is, just walk over to that part of the store. Everything here is reasonably priced, and there are many locations throughout the city.

Jysk

I call this place the cheap IKEA. Like IKEA it's originally from Sweden, but now has locations all over the world. This is not high quality stuff, but if you need something quick and cheap, this is the place to go. The main reason I love this place, cheap curtains! I love long curtains, ceiling to floor, which is not the standard size you will find. There are only two places that I know of that sell them IKEA and Jysk. Jysk is always have these great curtain sales where you can get two panels for $10.

This also a great place for cushions, frames, and accessories.

Hope this helps all of you trying to find unique stylish pieces for your home.