What's in store

A guide to finding everything from crocodile beds to chrome collectibles

by Sarah Musgrave, Dominique Ritter and Jen Richler

Let's face it, furniture shopping is a thinly veiled excuse for window shopping--you wind up imagining the stuff you'd buy if you were an entirely different person with an entirely different wallet. Nevertheless, it's worth an outing to upscale outlets on St-Laurent and St-Denis to check out innovative new designs, while a trip to vintage stores on Amherst or Notre-Dame is like stepping back in time, with the exception of the 1990s prices. Here are some cutting-edge, super-kitsch and just plain weird places to browse for that ultimate household item.

Latitude Nord (4410 St-Laurent)

Understated and really neat, Latitude Nord has a multitude of simple and beautiful home furnishing ideas from closet organizers to sci-fi beds. Arguably, the most awesome piece in the store is a bed that opens--like the jaws of a crocodile--to reveal a convenient bedding storage compartment under the mattress. Another possible function for the open-sesame bed was noted by one astute observer in the following statement: "Hey, that's the perfect size for storing corpses." ($3400, not including the mattress)

Biltmore (4414 St-Laurent; 8085 Taschereau Blvd.)

This is the big cushy store, and buyer beware: with the same ease and sensuality with which a fine gelato will slip down your throat, a Biltmore sofa or chair may swallow you whole. Choose your own fabric, style and size and get yourself a piece of furniture to meet your own sense of esthetics and the contours of your tush. Prices vary according to order and tend to range above the parameters of inexpensive. A beautiful green velour daybed goes for $1750.

Couleurs (3901 St-Denis)

Launched by a graphic designer and an architect just last month, this store offers a refreshing mix of vintage and new furniture. You'll find blown glass from Italy, streamlined lamps and unusual tableware. Along with original retro items of the '50s­'70s, they offer Scandinavian-inspired shelving units created by a local craftsman. Look for the unusual multi-coloured plexiglass mobiles ($85) and geometric-patterned throws in orange and turquoise ($60­95).

Zone (4246 St-Denis; 5014 Sherbrooke W.)

You'll find the latest in trendy kitchen and bathroom decor here. Keith Haring-esque metal stickman figure book-ends will support your library for $20 per pair. Prepare for photo-frame frenzy: from a mini-metal sheep frame ($7) to basic wooden ($22) to a frame screen, which holds 15 photos ($300), there's a home for every snapshot you could ever take. Accessorize your dressers and cabinets with any of a myriad of handles. From knives and forks to leaves and hearts, get a handle on your drawers ($5.25­15.50 each).

Interversion (4349 St-Denis)

Avoid IKEA homogeneity here. This store features an array of Québécois furniture designs from beds to bookshelves to candlesticks. Cool, hand-painted "table d'appoint" by designer Louis Laprise sells for $250.

Les Verriers St-Denis (4326 St-Denis)

This small space is chock-full of glassworks like hand-made glass lamps that bring a bit of light and a lotta cool colours. They are all made in-house from Italian and American glass and can be customized to suit your lighting needs. Prices range anywhere from $60 to $500.

Sputnik (2120 Amherst)

Open almost a year, this shop takes its name from the multi-pronged futurisic lamps of the 1950s. Everything seems to have round edges in this kitsch palace--you'll be overwhelmed by mouth-watering coloured plastics and sleek chrome. Curved teak chairs by designer Carl Jacobs got for $195 each and Marimeko-style fabrics at $35 per panel. Interesting items include a bright blue kidney-shaped coffee table, cowhide barstools and a dermatologist's lamp which looks suspiciously like a hair dryer. Check out the swivel-top television set encased in orange plastic and the chrome plated railroad train spring which serves as a magazine stand.

Phil'z (1903 Amherst)

This part junk-shop part treasure-trove has the musty smell and dingy lighting of a great-aunt's basement. It's stacked to the rafters with Oriental-themed porcelain lamps, an old-fashioned clapboard doll's house and hooked-rug wall art. There's also chrome kitchen ware galore and curtains in the thick distinctive tropical patterns of the 1950s. The lack of price tags is somewhat disconcerting, although it's still worth penetrating the dark interior for rare gems like the items like the bubble-top record player/radio.

Rétro Shop (1851 Amherst)

Marcel, the owner, specializes in restoring old appliances by buffing them down to the base metal. He has a collection of ancient fridges, a Westinghouse clothes dryer and a chrome mini-rotisserie which dates back to the 1940s ($225). If you catch him in an expansive mood, he may even show you Polaroids of his meticulously refinished objects, ranging from gas-station pumps to nylon-stocking vending machines.

Bronx (1751 Amherst)

The previous owner of Au Hazard on Duluth is preparing to reopen at this new location at the end of the month. If the Superman chairs, Dali-esque sculpture and original circular bookshelves are any indication, it will be an eclectic mix of new and old, with an over-the-top comic book feel.

Sauriol (1623 Amherst)

Featuring objects and furniture from the 1920s through 1970s, this shop has its share of carefully chosen collectibles: swanky drink glasses, shiny toasters, stretched-glass vases and designer lamps. Like many businesses on the strip, the owner rents furniture and accessories for movie shoots and commercials.

Cité Deco (1761 Amherst)

This store takes special pride in refurbishing old furniture, importing colourful high-quality vinyl from California or seeking out original fabrics from the era. There are a number of sectional couches on display, along with a collection of Philip Stark furniture. Owner André has recreated rounded 1930s chairs in burgundy and mustard with a strip of metal running down the semi-circular arms--they seem to belong in the lobby of a swanky hotel. This attention to detail comes at a price, with an original eight-seater sectional sofa selling for $850.

Aux Trouvailles Duluth (100 Duluth E.)

Lamps aplenty here, from plastic mushrooms to delicate rice paper shades to streamlined futuristic lighting. The shelves are brimming with odd collectibles, like a bowling pin drink set ($28 for 6) and ice bucket ($22), a Pillsbury Doughboy doll, lunchboxes and rock star hangers featuring stylized drawings of Mick Jagger, James Brown and the Beatles at a steep $28 each.

Retroville (2652 Notre-Dame W.)

Remember the good old days, when a (glass) bottle of Coca Cola cost 7 cents, ads proclaimed 2 per cent milk as "low fat" and people kept their cigarettes in sleek cases? Neither do I, but with a visit to Retroville, you can at least pretend. The store is crammed with collectibles and memorabilia from days gone by: everything from old Coke and 7-Up ads, street signs and license plates to old-school juicers and gumball machines to totally random stuff like hockey pucks and Superman thermoses. The store also boasts an eclectic magazine collection, ranging from Ladies Home Companion to Playboy. Do you actually need any of this stuff? Of course not, but that's what makes it so much fun to buy.

Le Musée de Papa Palmerino (2460 Notre-Dame W.)

If religious collectibles are your thing, this place may be your little slice of heaven. The place is chock-full of Jesuses--statues big and small, crucifixes, key chains, mugs. Seems Papa is quite the Jesus fan, which makes sense, considering he believes himself to be his brother. Ask him to show you framed photos of himself mounted on a cross (I didn't ask if these were for sale). Papa Palmerino sells a wide variety of other religious doo-dads including rosary beads, candles and rings he claims cure arthritis. Even if the "Second Coming" isn't quite the motif you're going for in decorating your house, this place is worth visiting for the browsing and... uh... conversation.

Pied-à-Terre (4909 Sherbrooke W.; 488-9690)

A mecca of Middle-Eastern decor, this shop has a wide range of imported furniture and accessories. A kitty-cat door mat in leopard print sells for $30 and also comes in Haida-style print. (Don't worry, no animals were injured in production of mats. They are made of that bristly doormat stuff.) You can chow down, down low, on a hand-crafted Indian table perfect for floor eating or very small people ($295). Also look out for the fly foot stool, a beautiful Moroccan ottoman in metallic colours with gold tassels ($325), and matching plush cushions ($30­200).

Au Printemps (4872 Sherbrooke W.; 1110 Bernard W.; 4395 St-Denis)

Sick and tired of misplacing your household clock? How 'bout affixing it to your fridge door, where it is sure to stay put thanks to the attraction between positive and negative. The magnetic clock comes with banana, flower, chair, kitty, red pepper or orange background and fetches $26.95. Also noteworthy are clothes pins with bite--plastic sharks will bite down on your knickers and make sure they stay on your clothesline (99 cents each). The store's list of clear plastic thingies with goldfish motif includes a shower curtain ($48.95), placemats ($7.95 a piece) and an umbrella ($65). A personal favourite are bathtub plugs attached to lovable, squishable, squeaky pals, including a frog, an alligator or the traditional duckie. Prices range from $12 to $20 depending on size and volume of squeak.

Treebone Design (10 Ontario W. #308, 993-8733)

All of Treebone's designs are marked by one commonality: they are all natural. From traditional mahogany armoires to innovative modern bed-cum-sofa designs, their in-house line of hardwood furniture is stain-free, finished only with natural oils. Tables and chairs, beds and stereo units come in cherry, walnut, mahogany or maple. Call it an alternative gallery, exempt from the extraordinary mark-up characteristic of most retail outlets. They offer an array of their own designs as well as customizing services. By appointment only.

Jean-François Tremblay (524-8089)

Enviro-artist Tremblay salvages used furniture and transforms it into funky, customized designer decor. In the spirit of the three Rs and inspired by Quebec farmers of yore, Tremblay takes everyday discarded objects and revamps them according to a vision developed together with his clients. What results? "Often, things I couldn't have otherwise imagined," he said. By appointment only.