West Elm

I’m a big fan of homeware and furniture and for some unknown reason, I have completely missed this little gem located on Chapel St!
Thanks to Unilocal,I chanced upon West Elm attending the Etsy event.
With 2 floors of retail space, West Elm is filled with a wide range of homeware and furniture to suit all tastes and preferences. They also carry accessories such as cushions, throws, candles and sheets etc.
To make the shopping experience just that bit more comfortable for us, West Elm also has a coffee machine for those needing a caffeine hit.
I’m also pretty sure there was a custom section for people who want to tailor their own couches /​upholstery!

Trendy peeps know West Elm, especially those in the design and homewares/​furniture field have been waiting a long time for the arrival to our country. This brand offers us a glimpse into urban New York style living and believe it or not, is actually more bang on– trend as a lot of the range is mirroring what the motherland is stocking.
Truth is, as it’s just penetrated our market, the range is limited. Also, due to size differences, just beware for example that certain doona (duvet) covers may not fit our standard sizes (West Elm has kindly informed me they are working to have Aus standard sizes in the coming months).
Also, the Melbourne store is a young crew, as observed by this seasoned eagle. Thing is, whilst most of them provided me with warm and friendly service and chat, I did notice a certain blond power tripper amongst them speaking quite tersely towards her colleagues regarding instructions and or how to serve customers. In front of other customers including myself. So, if you said person are reading this, beware of your performance review! It was very unprofessional and also made other customers take notice of you stomping around in a huff as if the sight of customers browsing items makes you want to scream. Hence my three star rating as I’ve observed this twice on separate visits.
Apart from that, each and every product is drool worthy. They do have a point of difference from other retailers as a lot of products are actually hand made or sourced from artisans on a limited run. Which makes it even more aspirational and covetable especially if you are someone like me who loves having more one– offs rather than something from a pallet of stock. Mind you, this is also reflected in the pricing but don’t let that put you off as you immediately see and feel the quality of the items.
Great place to browse on the weekend, there’s a caffe on the ground floor and the smell of coffee is delish. Also great for presents shopping and of course things for yourself. Now, time to put aside some for that beaut chopping block and knives…