Domayne

Oooh. Homewares. Oooh look at that cushion. I think that’d go with the bed spread. Oh right, here for a Murchison Hume original fig refil. 30% off. Better get two. Oh and while we’re here lets get the matching hand soap. Do you like this? No I wasn’t meaning that I wanted it right now, I was just saying it was nice. Don’t you think? Like a kid in a candy store, a homewares store such as Domayne leaves me reduced to wants, needs and sighs of if-​only-​we-​had-​an-​endless-​bank-​balance. If you know what you’re looking for there’s often decent savings to be found. Perhaps shop around for bigger purchases such as lounges, beds and the like but for general homewares — knick knacks, linens, dining ware — you’ll walk out a satisfied nester.

I’m in that very special place at the moment. The builders have just finished the major renovations on our first new house. As my husband and I never accumulated home wares and furniture having survived on loans and pass-​me-​downs from family and friends, we need to personalise our home with some major shopping.
This time of the year is heaven for the home decorator. All week, I’ve been looking at kitchenware, bedding, dining suites, office shelves and outdoor furniture. I’m a little kid running wild in a candy shop.
As far as furniture stores go, Domayne falls neatly between Space and Freedom. It’s definitely more expensive than Freedom, Ikea or Super A-​mart. As I test out the fabric sofas for durability using the trusty bounce test (the snooty sales assistant glared at me from across the show room), I can confirm that the sofas here are sturdier than what you’ll get at Ikea or Super A-​mart.
There are a lot of impractical ideas presented here as well. For example, there’s a giant modular outdoor lounge set on a wooden deck covered with a striped marquee giving the impression of an exotic island getaway. Great if you were really on an exotic island getaway but a bit weird to have it as a permanent fixture in your yard.
Then there’s their weird home ware section which looks like they’ve stolen a big chunk of the Antique Centre from Woolloongabba. There’s a 1920s typewriter, shabby chic wooden dressers, faded birds in rusty cages and chipped mirrors. It looks great as store decoration but there’s no way one individual item would fit in someone’s home.
Although Domayne is definitely catering for the upper end of the furniture market, it is definitely worth checking out for its tastefully designed, well made pieces, the less tasteful, stranger pieces which don’t always work and just for the sheer fun factor.

The love couch, the snooze chair, the wretched arm chair, the baby rocker. These names are the names I give the couches at Domayne. The ones that are comfortable anyway.
With couches averaging between the $ 1000-​$ 3000 mark and homewares from $ 2.95 online, this place has every little bit of the home covered. What I love about this particular shop is the little section segregated from the main sections with cool kids bath toys and tableware and cutlery… very cute a la cuteness.
They have the cutest duck shower cap for kids and they also have awesome little soap bath toys and knick knacks for cool things to put in your kids bathroom. I am all for kids cool stuff these days and the prices aren’t overkill.
You do need to make sure what you buy here is practical though, like a ducky made of glass is probably not something you want to buy and put around kids.
It’s a great concept store with couches that won’t blow the bank.