Paris Tour: Home stores
 

I'll be there May 17 - 23 and poking around in the home dec stores is one of my goals. More interested in decor than furniture, but both will be good.

Anyone interested in this for a few hours, email me!

You should visit Leroy Merlin just to the left of the Pompidou Center, or else Castorama at Place de Clichy (under the Mercure/Ibis hotels) or Nation.

They are stores like Home Depot.

And of course, there is the inevitable BHV at Hôtel de Ville.

I'm a big fan of BHV, which is a little more upscale than Leroy Merlin but still very affordable. (And it's worth exploring the shops and restaurants in the Marais district, where BHV is located. There are also some interesting museums there.) Galeries Lafayette Home is also good for browsing, but is rather expensive. Habitat (modern style) isn't particularly French but is worth a visit if you haven't visited this chain in the UK.

If you like fabrics (I like shopping for fabrics when I travel because they're more portable than other decor items), check out Madura for ready-made curtains and fabric (there's one in the 6th near Bon Marché), Bouchara (there's one close to the Grands Magasins in the 9th) (for curtains, fabrics, trimmings and table linens in a wide range of prices) and the Le Jacquard Francais shop in the 1st arrondissement. The department stores have good stocks in fabrics and linens, too. There are better bargains to be had in the fabric stores near Montmartre, but the shops I've just mentioned are more convenient.

Also make a visit to the shops along the Rue Jacob and some adjoining side streets.

Also loads of fabrics stores at the base of Montmartre

Go to the Bon Marche as well as Galeries Lafayette.

Also there is Armani Casa in St. Germain de Pres.

Is there a Zara Home in Paris yet? One arrived in Brussels recently.

I've done the Montmartre shops before. Looking to branch out some.

Thanks for the advice!

The viaduct shops near the Gare de Lyon are not generalist decor but have some great specialist shops- leather, wood, art, etc.

Give us an idea of the sort of thing you are looking for. No sense in sending you to a hardware store if you're looking for crystal (or vice versa).

Indeed-I get the impression that you are not looking for Home Depot stores, but something in the order of Crate & Barrel, etc.

Belle~ Flamant on Rue Jacob was fun to walk through -- combo of Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, but also some very French items.

Enjoy!

joy/luvparee

P.S. Let us know what store "gems" you find while in Paris.

I am talking more housewares. A Home Depot or two would be interesting too. But I am mostly talking pillows, knickknacks, throws, rugs...

Mis en Demeure - 27, rue du Cherche-Midi, 6ème

Diners en Ville - Z7, rue Varenne, 7ème

Leroy Merlin is full of throw pillows, picture frames, rugs and knicknacks, just like Ikea.

Are there places with Eastern style? Moroccan, Indian, etc?

Tons of such places in the Goutte d'Or area of Paris, around Barbès-Rochechouart metro; also many African furniture items made in local workshops. These places also make anything you want in special sizes or designs.
You can also find some interesting items at the Clignancourt flea market, not necessarily in the antiques sections.

Put your credit card under lock and key but, for a Moroccan look, what about Les 2 Milles et Une Nuits on rue des Francs-Bourgeois:

http://tinyurl.com/27lzeu

Lock and key as in beware pickpockets, or as in you'll want to buy the whole place?

As in it's pricey and yes you will want to buy the whole place. I went shopping with a friend there a couple of years ago and we snapped up about a dozen of the beautiful gold and crystal Moroccan style candle holders.
FYI, the store is open Sundays.