Homebase

When searching for paint that isn’t on the shelf in small tins anymore, the nice people (Molly) at Homebase will go out of their way to help. I was looking to cover marks and a one litre tin was the target size to do the job. A quick chat to knowledgeable staff gave me a couple of options, buy lots of tester pots (of which there were not a lot of the colour I required available in store) or get a slightly larger tin than tester size, then simply mix in the colours from their automated machine to get the desired result.
I have seen these gelato type paint devices in DIY stores before but never before used them. A squirt of three blends into white, a forty second swirl, and hey presto mellow mocha flavour. It kinda reminded me of the Brew Dog chaps making a fab coffee only quicker. I even got a strip of lining paper painted from my tin to compare the sample in hand, quite close colour match. So I got exactly what I asked for in a tin.
Only one gripe with Homebase is that I also needed to buy some furniture that was in their sale and get it delivered; so could they do home delivery? Nada, nope can’t do that as they don’t currently have a driver. An employment avenue for someone there me thinks? So it’s off the google machine again to order furnishings online. The thing is should I wait a few more weeks and maybe it will reduce in price even more, hmmmm?
In all got mostly what I wanted and received points on the Nectar card also, cheers Homebase.

I’m sure 6 months ago I would have been writing a review about the newest cocktail bar I had a margarita in, and yet here I am writing a review for Homebase where I bought some ‘second skin’ faux double glazing to protect against impending winter and single glazing, and encouraging everyone to do the same!
Usually these sort of stores are far out of town and only accesible by bus *coughIkeacough* Yet this is a stone’s throw (with a good warm) away from Marchmont, a 5 minute walk around the corner. And it has almost all you could need for home improvement, DIY, kitchen utensils and even large picture frames to put posters in (which I had previously thought only available from Ikea).
In the past few months I’ve dropped a fair penny on things like Pete the Yukka plant, cake tins, picture frames, one large picture frame, double glazing cling film stuff for windows, plant food (Pete gets hungry), insulation tape, light bulbs, and probably more things. Every home should have a plant, so every person should visit Homebase!

This store has really improved in the last few years. The information point is now very useful and the staff really helpful.
As well as some good houseplants there’s also a range of plants and equipment in the garden centre part of the shop. They give away old potting trays etc. periodically so it’s always worth taking a look if you want that kind of thing.
The pricing of some items can be a real bargain, but as with all supermarket type places it pays to know what things usually cost as some items can also be well above what you need to spend.
A great new addition is the 2^nd hand charity bookshelves/​book recycling area they have just after the checkouts. Here you can leave your unwanted/​spare books (if in fair condition) or pick out books to take away. You put in a donation for the charity (It’s labelled which one — I can’t remember right now!) — it was 50p for paperback of £1 for hardback — or of course more if you’d like to :)

I came here to get some scredrivers for my laptop, and decided to get the Homebase brand as it was a one-​use job. However the cheap price also meant the quality was bad, the screwdriver’s head stripped instead of the screw!
Luckily they gave me a refund and were apologetic about it.
Avoid their brand!

Homebase, to me, has always kind of been the crap version of B&Q. It generally has less stock, and what it does have is not as good quality. However, its cheaper, and the staff always seem to be friendly, so thats a major bonus.
I’ve been in this particular branch a few times, for various things ranging from a length of rope to make a halloween costume work, to some stuff for repairs to my flat that the land lord wouldnt notice.
It isnt the biggest Homebase I have ever been in, but it does stock absolutly everything you could need, and as I mentioned, the staff are friendly and willing to help if you need some advice or just a point in the right direction.

Whatever you want, or whatever you need (wait, isn’t that the Argos themetune?) … anyway, you can get it here.
I used to come here all the time when I stayed in Pollock Halls for the most silliest things. When I was going as a smurf for a fancy dress party, I came here for red gloves and boots. When I was Michael Jackson, I came here for white gloves. Basically, what I’m trying to say here is if you go to Homebase with a little imagination you can get whatever you want!
Jokes aside, it really is a decent place for home-​based stuff. It is very similar to B&Q, Halfords and all the other home furnishing stores, but Homebase has a quality about it that makes me want to go back
It is quite difficult to navigate though, I had to ask for directions twice. My mum told me that I once got lost in here and they had to announce it over the tanoy. How embarrassing.

Once you actually find the entrance to this place, it’s a safe bet that they’ll have whatever you’re looking for in stock. Although for some reason they only have an entrance round the back, which is quite confusing if you’re as ‘blonde’ as I am.
I was in here the other day, on the hunt for that thing that every student flat needs even though no-​one likes to admit it… mouse traps. The guy was really helpful — I had no idea there were so many different ways to kill mice — and what I noticed was that he didn’t just do what so many shops do, and think «great, she has no idea what she’s doing, let’s flog her the most expensive thing we’ve got».
Then I was back in there an hour later, as I’d forgotten to also buy the fuses we apparently needed in our flat, and the girl that ‘served’ me (although that impies she actually did anything, which would be a lie), couldn’t have been more different to mouse trap man. When I asked her where they were she just nodded vaguely towards the back corner of the shop, and didn’t even get off her comfy swivel chair to help me.
Aside from that, I don’t really know what else to get excited about… hardware shop is a hardware shop at the end of the day. The conjure up memories of when I was little and being dragged around them on weekends when my parents were doing work on the house. But despite fuse girl, I think I’ll still be using this one whenever I need DIY stuff again.

Alright I’ll come clean, I didn’t come here for DIY materials or anything like that I came here to buy a potted plant for my apartment. And on that front, I can safely declare that Homebase is great! They have a huge selection of interesting little (and big) plants for your indoor and outdoor needs. And the best part is that their prices are very reasonable, and the little dudes are very fresh and for the most part pretty healthy.
Come have a look if you’re after something similar.