Have you ever thought of buying your garden accessories from HomeSense? I always thought of it as being a home accessory shop but you can literally buy anything and everything to kit out your house and garden.
I think it’s fair to say that I’ve had a love affair with HomeSense since we moved up to Northamptonshire 6 and a half years ago.
Their Northampton store sits on a generous corner plot, in one of the town’s retail parks; and walking through the doors is literally like walking into an Aladdin’s cave.
The stock — and the layout of the store — is constantly evolving and shifting.
Go in for a lampshade and you may come out with an armful of bright cushions or a bunch of beautiful faux florals.
Wanting bathroom accessories? There’s a good chance that you’ll be sidetracked before you find them; and will end up being bewitched by a vast and gorgeous array of stationery.
So when I went to our local store the other week — to buy a new coffee pot — it really came as no surprise that I left with various other treats, that I hadn’t actually been looking for.
HomeSense is so good at this.
The HomeSense Effect
HomeSense lures you in and before you know it, you’re led on a merry treasure hunt around the store.
For those of you familiar with the store, you’ll be nodding at this point and will know exactly what I mean.
But if you’ve never stepped inside a HomeSense shop you’d probably just assume that — as it’s name would suggest — it’s a homeware brand.
And you’d be right.
To a degree.
But it’s so much more than just homeware store.
It’s part of the TK Maxx family and if you like TK Maxx home, you’ll be blown away by HomeSense. The choice and variety of product is so good — my friends and I often arrange HomeSense missions and will often spend a happy afternoon browsing through the products.
Sure — there’s furniture and accessories — but they’re not run-of-the-mill by any stretch of the imagination.
You may find a jewel coloured velvet chair. A Moroccan style lantern. Bedlinen in the perfect shade of blue, that you weren’t able to find anywhere online.
You’ll find unique pieces — one-off items that (and I know this from bitter experience) — if you don’t buy it there and then, chances are you may never see it again.
There are also gifts; toys, books and the quirkiest of items for practically any interest.
Gorgeous Garden Accessories
I wrote the ultimate Christmas gift guide for the hard to buy for a couple of year’s ago. All the items were from my local HomeSense store and covered a huge variety of gifts; for gardeners, cyclists, gourmets… to name a few.
You’ll also find branded homeware and gifts which are always up to 60% less than in other stores.
So whilst I did, indeed, find a new little stove-top coffee maker, I also found the world’s cutest garden bench, on which to drink my morning coffee.
In fact, I found so many gorgeous garden accessories from HomeSense.
Amazing what you find when you’re not really looking isn’t it?
Shopping with an open-mind sometimes produces surprising results.
Had I been looking for a garden bench I probably wouldn’t have found exactly the one I was picturing in my mind.
But going in with no agenda — and without my shopping blinkers on — presented me with lots of lovely things that I hadn’t necessarily been looking to buy.
Thanks so much to the lovely team at HomeSense for providing me with the items to style this post. To find your nearest store — and begin a journey of endless shopping inspiration — simply click on the link.
This is a collaborative post but all thoughts, words, images and styling — as ever — are entirely my own.
When you go looking to buy a dog, end up with a cat lol
A giant peg! It’s a bit of fun but also keeps hold of important bits of paper until they can be dealt with!
Went to a local pub for dinner, left with a holiday! Amazing who you run into when you’re not expecting it.
I went in john lewis to look at the gifts, I was looking for some nice stationary. Then came out with juicer!
Needed to buy some new oven gloves but came back with some pet rabbits ?
Everytime I come out of Aldi, I end up buying something completely random by accident!
Actually from Home Sense, I went in looking for a picture frame and came out with a very cool whale stool for my daughter’s bedroom
I had in my mind to buy a new toaster and bought a novelty egg timer
an expensive blender :)
Went out to buy paint and come home with a pasta maker!! Which I must add has never come out of its box!
I once went to buy my dog a life jacket from a specialised shop and came home with a 6 year old 150 pound newfoundland. Best thing I have ever bought! Xx
My dad once went out to buy a cauliflower for my Mum to make dinner and came back with two Raleigh BMX’s for me and my brother!!
A large bag of teddy bear eyes!
I once went to Aldi to get a lettuce, and left with a hedge trimmer! Quite the upgrade, but so cheap! xx
A vintage flower press!
a 10kg box of mini eggs. Cadburys clearance, insane amount of eggs, couldn’t say no though.
Went to a local auction and ended up coming home with 6 garden pots which were lovely however i didn’t have a garden or no plans to get one
A caterpillar ornament for the garden. Looked ok in the shop but ghastly on the grass. Even our cat seemed to think it strange ?
I went into a second hand shop for a powder compact to add to my collection and came out with a stuffed bird. Once getting it home It gave off such bad feelings to everyone that looked at it I had to throw it out!
I went to the pet shop to buy a budgie and came home with a parrot and two guinea pigs!
bought a goldfish in Scottsdale
when I only went to go for afternoon tea !
looking round a farm and ended up buying a horse
Love going into T K Max they always have unusual decorative items which I cant resist buying something.
A VERY STRANGE NEOPRENE JACKET
I went shopping for new lights for my living room and came home with a turkey baster
A giant caterpiller
I went out for groceries and came back with an ant farm (yep, pretty darn random I am lol)
a little mermaid wig and a police mans hat from claires they were reduced to 10p each so a bargain but id onlly goe to get some plain studs
I LOVE Homesense, it’s easily my favourite shop! I went in looking for my mum’s birthday present and came out with a huge black glass sugar skull plate, it was a bargain at £8 and so beautiful.
I’m not generally an impulse buyer, especially for large purchases, but I bought my bed on a whim, laid on it in the shop and couldn’t believe how much more comfortable than mine it was! Worth every penny for a good nights sleep!
A fondant picnic blanket for a birthday cake
I always have a tendency to pick weird stuff up in Ikea like a pack of several hundred straws that have lasted almost a lifetime!! ?
A teapot shaped like a cat! I saw it and just had to have it haha.
A waffle maker never used it , never will
I once bought a pair of braces from a charity shop for 50p.
charity shop went in for books came out with a sugar bowl
A really old watch, it was lovely :)
I once went out to buy my husband a birthday present and ended up adopting 2 guinea pigs!!
A bus map from the 40s in the Museum of Transport just because it featured the area I live in
Went to buy some tealights, came out with a life size Father Christmas reduced in the sale.
A pile of old 78rpm records
I’ve bought space invaders ice cube shapers before. That was pretty wierd!
I went to buy a new kettle and came back with a microwave that was on offer!
The oddest thing? Hmm probably the time I bought my wedding dress when I was casually browsing a sale and fell in love with it! x
I bought a letter box.. I have 2 old ready
already*
This happens all the time to me, i go to buy ONE thing from a shop and come back with a whole bag full of items!
went for paint and came back with garden furniture
I went to a carboot sale to get a suitcase, ended up coming home with a kitchen sink. I still don’t have it fitted and it’s sitting in my outhouse lol
Went out for a shirt, came back with a 2 foot long metal pig-shaped candle holder.
Not me, but when my Mum and Dad first became parents to my eldest brother, they went shopping for a new coat for my Mum. They had very little money and she desperately needed a new coat. However they came home with a teddy bear instead! She never got a coat that year, but my brother still has his much loved teddy over 50 years later!
A deformed light up rubber bear from the pound shop. I felt sorry for it.
I went into a wooden art shop in Thailand to buy a small wall plaque and bought a table that looks like an Elephant – arranging shipping back to the UK was hard work!
I once bought something on a whim that i thought was a teapot however was in fact a chicken shaped money box… It was an extremely odd experience when i tried to put it on the stove!
I came back from a holiday once and bought some guinea pigs!
Loads of Christmas wrapping paper and labels didn’t get the 40th birthday card I wanted that was a few days ago. !
Before I tell you this, you need to know that my wife was with me and was more than happy to approve this unplanned purchase – A Harley Davidson! We’ve had lots of fun on Fatboy, so was a great way to spend my redundancy money :)
a comedy cd from a gig i went too -they were the warm up act – who ended up being johnny awsum that was on bgt recently
so funny x
I once had to buy a microwave as when out food shopping I decided I fancied one of those microwavable syrup sponge puddings… definitely worth it :D
A rubber duck from the Titanic museum – I don’t know why
We went to a local auction looking for a cupboard and ended up buying 5 solid wood dining chairs – £7 !
I went to buy a bottle of wine and ended up buying a car off a neighbour. It was £50 and alas, a pile of crap.
I went into a shop to buy a duvet cover and came out with a huge vase.
A sundial for the garden
I bought a large dog kennel once – with plans to convert to a toddler play den
we brought a sign for £30 rusty as anything dirty and old but looks really cool!
A garden bistro set!
(I didnt have a garden)
I put it in my kitchen!
A ton of weird stuff for Halloween! Such a sucker for that stuff, but our house does look great on October 31st!
A huge mirror like a French window.
I do this at Ikea, I go in for practical items that I need totally forget and get carried away come out with candles and decorative items and never come out with what I need!
Went to buy some paint, came home with a kitchen sink – well, it was on offer, and ours was chipped – honest!
Went to buy some antique jewellery but came home with a pretty fireguard. Random..dont even have an open fire in our house!
I bought a massive buddah garden ornament from Asda which I did not need but just had to have, I had it in my room for years and now it is safely where it should be in my aunties garden!
I went food shopping once and next door was a pet shop and I ‘accidentally’ went home with a kitten!
I went to look for a little side table and came back with a table and chairs!
Went for some milk and came back with a pressure washer
I bought a grain of rice with my name on it on holiday once, only wanted fish n chips
I bought a lot of old craft items when I gone for some cutlery. I was able to make lots of cards etc from it. Excellent find.
I am forever going out for something and coming home with lots of stuff but not the one item I needed
A cat shedding arch
We went to buy my daughter some stationery from Smiggle and we came home with an eternity ring from Beaverbrooks!
I was recently on ebay searching for a gorgeous new lampshade and came away buying a small figure of a bald man reclining in a tea cup – as if he was relaxing in the bath ;) It was actually a tea infuser. x
I once bought a large massaging slipper when I went to our nearby garden centre looking for plants
I once bought a dozen kids beakers as they were reduced to 2p each in asda!
Hard to pick just one thing cause I am always buying random things. I am the worse shopper ever!
A roll of plastic at a bargain price but not used
Not me, but my other half once came home with a huge lump of concrete?? He was on his bike too, he only went out to get a few bits, he cycled past a local auction and got it for £5 – he some how got it back in a Lidl bag for life! He turned it into a garden feature! Like a rockery thing! It looks quite fetching really! x
Hahaha!! This really made me laugh!!!! LOL!!
I once bought a flexible torch! I was looking for garden furniture, still cant believe I got it, and guess what I have never used it
An old style rotary dial telephone
A toilet brush last week from IKEA, amongst a trolly of other stuff i didn’t need :/
hmmm a door hanger
Went looking for a birthday present for my niece came home with a rose made out of recycled coke cans – for me!
I recently bought a cuddly baby toy – for myself, it was just too cute to leave alone in the shop!
I go into Ikea for a coffee and cake and always end up coming away with a load of things I hadn’t planned to buy or really had no use for! This happens in a lot of shops I go into!
I bought a bag of red mohair wool cos it was a complete bargain!
I bought some broken wall tiles from a hardware store – I had gone to buy paint. I thought I’d use them to make a mosaic but they are still in the shed!
Mine are usually charity shop finds – went in for some books once, came out with vintage Tonka toys. My little boy loves them, and I think they’re so much happier being played with than sat on a shelf! (Disclaimer – I may have watched Toy Story too many times :-D )
Went to get potatoes and came out with a garlic crusher.
Loving your choices girl! i had a difficult time deciding too! hope all is well with you and yours?
bestest wishes
Ashley xxxx
Aaah thanks Ashley!! SO hard to pick — it’s like an Aladdin’s cave isn’t it? :) xx
A dishrack when I went looking for curtains
Walks into shop looking for toaster….walks out with duvet cover…as you do!!
It’s always IKEA where I do this! I went in literally just to buy a toilet brush, and came out with some artificial flowers and some frozen meatballs. Totally forgot the toilet brush too…
Went for some salt bought a mannequin
I went to get a new pair of jeans and came home with a fish tank and fish…!
A bunny rabbit cake tin
Sugar tongs and I dont even take sugar in my tea or coffee
A wooden seagul on a stick. When i went to buy a pint of milk
It was a banana holder ?
Brought a high chair from a charity shop but don’t have any children, I only brought it because it looked nice and it is now used as a plant holder.
I bought a 5ft wooden flamingo – I honestly can’t even explain the reasoning behind it! Luckily I lost it when I moved in with my husband
Aldi is the worst shop in the world for this I went in for the super six veg and ended up a garden table, it was such a good buy though glass and aluminium, it still looks as good an new : )
We went to my grandad’s for the weekend and ended up with a puppy!!
I went to a charity’s summer fair and bought a book. I thought it looked familiar. I had donated it to them a couple of weeks earlier.
I bought a tyre pump for car wheels. At the time I didn’t have a car ?
I once bought some pom poms as I noticed them whilst passing the charity shop..only nipped out for a loaf of bread!
Went to a car boot to look for books and came home with 2 wooden toy boxes for my grandchildren.
Went to town to buy a winter coat, quite a few years ago now, and come back with grave stone, passed the funeral directors and they were closing, my husbands nan had never had one, but she has now
Well it’s usually something in IKEA and usually tea lights.
Went to a well known Swedish shop for cushions came out with meatballs, too many biscuits and cinnamon rolls and a cutter to slice apples which has still never been used
I went to buy plants and came home with a goldfish.
I penguin lamp that is about 1 metre tall. My husband loves penguins and couldn’t bear to leave it on the shelf.
Ha ha really difficult question – I’m pretty good with sticking to my planned purchases. But I have bought countless of kitchen gadgets like egg boilers and slicers when just looking for basic kitchen stuff:D
Not me, but my father in law went out for a new shower head and came back with a radio controlled helicopter! Safe to say my mother inlaw was less than impressed but not entirely surprised!!
I would have to say their seasonal range has me on my knees I’ve come out with Halloween singing snow globes , easter bunnies in every size & themed serving dishes that life would just not be complete without ! I’ve had many a buyers regret dream over things I didn’t buy there as well – total gem of a place !
Oddest thing would have to be egg cutters in the shape of bears who knew I needed this
I bought a silly tea-pot once in the shape of a hotel – I never used it and don’t know why I bought it as I never use a teapot!
a pair of bellows
I once ended up buying 5 teapots from a charity shop on a whim after having a bright idea I could incorporate them into my wedding
This is really odd,I once bought 10 hamster cages when I was on holiday abroad because I thought they looked cute and were pretty colours.
How on earth did I not realise you’re from Northamptonshire?! I’ve been following you for ages as I love your style. I live in Irthlingborough! Kelly x
That’s such a coincidence!!! I keep finding more and more bloggers that live in Northamptonshire! So nice that there are more of us here than I first thought! :) xx
i once popped into a charity shop looking for some new books and ended up coming home with a random very old (50s/60s) cheese grater! i still have it and its fab
A hammock, when I’d gone shopping for a frying pan
i went to get some compost and came back with tiles as they were on offer for 1p a box i figured i could do summat with them they were a bargain
I once went into an antiques shop looking for a vintage pie tin and came home with a set of 4 kitchen chairs to upcycle :)
Ha! A girl after my own heart Angela!! This sounds like just the kind of thing that I’d do!! If you have pics, you should come and link up with us on Home Etc! We love anything home or garden related. It’s such a lovely community too — so nice to meet like-minded bloggers. Here’s the link to this week’s — https://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk/home-etc-96/ — the linky closes at 12pm tomorrow.