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Linen & Curtain Shops
Linen & Curtain Shops
Dear all,
We just bought a property in Carvoeiro and we need to urgently buy everything from bed linen to towels, pillows and cushions, rugs, etc.
We are looking for good quality without being too expensive.
Any ideas?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
We just bought a property in Carvoeiro and we need to urgently buy everything from bed linen to towels, pillows and cushions, rugs, etc.
We are looking for good quality without being too expensive.
Any ideas?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Trish and Chelo at Justwhite can help with most household linens and soft furnishings. They are based in Almancil but have an online catalogue and deliver to anywhere in the Algarve. They are very friendly and helpful, the product quality is excellent and pricing is very affordable.
http://www.justwhite.com/
Happy shopping
http://www.justwhite.com/
Happy shopping
-
Bruce Wallis
- CVO Oracle
- Posts: 5505
- Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 7:35 am
- Location: Wroxham, Norfolk/ Vale de Centiannes
We went around this loop.....what did we find? The best thing to do is buy readymade curtains from IKEA, (either UK, or there are IKEA in Lisbon or Seville), and all the towels and sheets from Primark in the UK, and then bring them out.
In fact if you are furnishing a place from scratch, unless you want that heavy "traditional" Portuguese stuff, buy everything in the UK and get a carrier to bring it out on one of the many weekly runs from the UK. Names of carriers in the local CVO press.
We found it so much easier to collect stuff at home because of the "lead time" of manufacturers both in Portugal and UK. Our experience(and Im sure Ill be shouted down), was that you can get cheap stuff, or over priced expensive stuff in the Algarve, but there really isnt that middle ground you find in places like DFS and Furniture Village in the UK. ALSO, you can spread your cost by taking advantage of the interest free credit deals many of the UK stores do.
Our experience was that we saved about £2.5K by doing it this way...and that included carriage charges....but others may have differing experience!
Good luck
In fact if you are furnishing a place from scratch, unless you want that heavy "traditional" Portuguese stuff, buy everything in the UK and get a carrier to bring it out on one of the many weekly runs from the UK. Names of carriers in the local CVO press.
We found it so much easier to collect stuff at home because of the "lead time" of manufacturers both in Portugal and UK. Our experience(and Im sure Ill be shouted down), was that you can get cheap stuff, or over priced expensive stuff in the Algarve, but there really isnt that middle ground you find in places like DFS and Furniture Village in the UK. ALSO, you can spread your cost by taking advantage of the interest free credit deals many of the UK stores do.
Our experience was that we saved about £2.5K by doing it this way...and that included carriage charges....but others may have differing experience!
Good luck
soft furnishing
Hiya, the place suggested down beside Angels/ Jokers is really good. Very helpful.Also another idea that I have used admittedly only for in the UK , but works extremely well is.
1. Go and get the measurements for the windows.
2. Choose colours/ style.
3. Contact Curtain Exchange.
They will give you an idea of shops in your area or it is still a good idea to have the whole list and route about on trips out to where the good shops are.
Try tel # 020 7731 8316
I bought some fantastic curtains at 54 Abbey Gardens, London, NW8 9AT.
Tel # if the same is 020 7372 1044.
I also found a great place in Honiton which I used for my Lyme Regis House.
There were a couple of good ones in the Cotswolds, but for the life of me ,cannot remember the town, but could find out for you.
They all do alterations to the curtains for you as well.
Apart from that I also used Creative Interiors in Lyme Regis for new curtains, they were fab.
I love good curtains and will hunt out the best in curtain exchange b4 going 4 new.
The ones in the Cotswolds and the one in Abbey Gardens in London were of the finest quality and real cheap. Many of the houses in those areas change the colours and curtains in the houses for a past time so you can get real good ones.
Good luck
Reinventing the wheel....
Well you might all shout at me now, but I think its a jolly good show to support the local businesses here!
And surprisingly enough, modern Portuguese homes are very stylish and they manage quite well by sourcing locally without any help from us foreigners!
Of course language can be a barrier, so it is natural to seek help from English speaking businesses here. Many of us work extensively with ex-pat semi-residents and we have a lot of experience to offer. And we know, through our experience, that it is not necessary to re-invent the wheel.
Most of us have had homes in other countries so we know what is expected in terms of quality, product and service. Many of us have been here long enough to see the great changes that have taken place in retail availability and we have embraced them, to our benefit. Yes, we all love a trip to IKEA, but it is possible to shop well locally.
Fabric is still a major industry in Portugal. I have found (locally) discounted bedlinen from M&S, Debenhams and Next, made in Portugal. I have found discounted Bloomingdales towels locally. I was given a set of expensive towels from a leading Irish department store and guess where they were made? Portugal.
I have found designer brand clothing, again made in Portugal.
European products are made to fit European homes. Beds and windows are sized differently. Locally available ready made products tend to suit quite well.
Or, for something a bit special - and let's face it, your home in the sun is a bit special - why not choose a fine fabric from somewhere like Swatches and have one of our local, and very creative, seamstresses make them up for you? I guarantee you will not pay UK prices for bespoke curtains.
If you have shipped out beds and mattresses from the UK you will find that Portuguese bed linen does not fit well. But if you try Just White or Miller & Schultz then you will find a great range of bedding to suit all sizes (especially UK) and budgets. And you can have tailormade too, if that is your preference.
There are companies here who can provide the whole furnishing package, depending on your taste and budget. From can openers to parasols. Its all possible locally.
And don't forget that you are shopping in euroland here. That makes it quite attractive too.
You can do designer/department store shopping in Portugal; if that's what you would like to do then I would send you to El Corte Inglês in either Lisbon or Seville. So you could pop into IKEA too. But have a look around the Algarve too.
Happy shopping
And surprisingly enough, modern Portuguese homes are very stylish and they manage quite well by sourcing locally without any help from us foreigners!
Of course language can be a barrier, so it is natural to seek help from English speaking businesses here. Many of us work extensively with ex-pat semi-residents and we have a lot of experience to offer. And we know, through our experience, that it is not necessary to re-invent the wheel.
Most of us have had homes in other countries so we know what is expected in terms of quality, product and service. Many of us have been here long enough to see the great changes that have taken place in retail availability and we have embraced them, to our benefit. Yes, we all love a trip to IKEA, but it is possible to shop well locally.
Fabric is still a major industry in Portugal. I have found (locally) discounted bedlinen from M&S, Debenhams and Next, made in Portugal. I have found discounted Bloomingdales towels locally. I was given a set of expensive towels from a leading Irish department store and guess where they were made? Portugal.
I have found designer brand clothing, again made in Portugal.
European products are made to fit European homes. Beds and windows are sized differently. Locally available ready made products tend to suit quite well.
Or, for something a bit special - and let's face it, your home in the sun is a bit special - why not choose a fine fabric from somewhere like Swatches and have one of our local, and very creative, seamstresses make them up for you? I guarantee you will not pay UK prices for bespoke curtains.
If you have shipped out beds and mattresses from the UK you will find that Portuguese bed linen does not fit well. But if you try Just White or Miller & Schultz then you will find a great range of bedding to suit all sizes (especially UK) and budgets. And you can have tailormade too, if that is your preference.
There are companies here who can provide the whole furnishing package, depending on your taste and budget. From can openers to parasols. Its all possible locally.
And don't forget that you are shopping in euroland here. That makes it quite attractive too.
You can do designer/department store shopping in Portugal; if that's what you would like to do then I would send you to El Corte Inglês in either Lisbon or Seville. So you could pop into IKEA too. But have a look around the Algarve too.
Happy shopping
-
logicbob
- CVO Master
- Posts: 1688
- Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:26 pm
- Location: Hertfordshire / Vale De Milho
Linen & Curtain Shops
Try Style Furnishings they advertise on Carvoeiro.com.
We finished up taking some stuff from the UK as we wasted too much time trying to buy locally.
The fabic shop on restaurant hill never seemed open - even at the times they said and never answred their mobile so I would not want to rely on them.
Easiest thing probably is to go to the retail park at Shop Algarve at Guia. Apart from the furniture and soft fittings shops there is Leroy on the other side of the road. Leroy do an extensive range of both ready made curtains and fabric.
If you have a UK Makro card they will let you use it at Makro Guia.
If you know what size your bed mattresses are then you should be able to get them in the UK if you need to.
The fabic shop on restaurant hill never seemed open - even at the times they said and never answred their mobile so I would not want to rely on them.
Easiest thing probably is to go to the retail park at Shop Algarve at Guia. Apart from the furniture and soft fittings shops there is Leroy on the other side of the road. Leroy do an extensive range of both ready made curtains and fabric.
If you have a UK Makro card they will let you use it at Makro Guia.
If you know what size your bed mattresses are then you should be able to get them in the UK if you need to.
We used a number of scources, bed linen form various shops in the algarve.
NOTE. If you buy Portuguese duvet then uk covers etc are TOO SMALL.
We enjoy going into the many small shops that just do not exist in the UK anymore.
Ok things might cost a bit more than M&S, Dunelms etc but the quality seems better and as has been said you will be supporting the locla economy.
ITS great fun as well.
NOTE. If you buy Portuguese duvet then uk covers etc are TOO SMALL.
We enjoy going into the many small shops that just do not exist in the UK anymore.
Ok things might cost a bit more than M&S, Dunelms etc but the quality seems better and as has been said you will be supporting the locla economy.
ITS great fun as well.
we also used different sources from the UK to Seville to Portugal.
first I would try Makro in Portugal for electrical goods, china, glasses, cutlery, casserole dishes etc, Ikea for pieces of furniture, pictures, rugs and curtains, light fittings etc. We flew into Seville hired a estate car or you could hire something bigger and drove it all down to the villa. Although we did bring towels and bed linen over from the UK for the simple reason we saw it in the sales and fortunately friends were coming over with us one christmas so we used all their luggage allowance.
3 piece came from SOFA VIP and dining furniture, beds, side cabinets came from Porches.
all sorted
first I would try Makro in Portugal for electrical goods, china, glasses, cutlery, casserole dishes etc, Ikea for pieces of furniture, pictures, rugs and curtains, light fittings etc. We flew into Seville hired a estate car or you could hire something bigger and drove it all down to the villa. Although we did bring towels and bed linen over from the UK for the simple reason we saw it in the sales and fortunately friends were coming over with us one christmas so we used all their luggage allowance.
3 piece came from SOFA VIP and dining furniture, beds, side cabinets came from Porches.
all sorted
Thank you all for your replies. Your comments have been very valuable! We are going to have a bit of fun (hopefully) going to the places you have suggested. Thanks once again!
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Gary/Gaynor
- CVO Legend
- Posts: 2845
- Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:44 pm
- Location: Carvoeiro
Just received my package of pre ordered and made up curtains from Swatches. Dean had them made up and shipped over to Holland for us. They are gorgeous so on that note Swatches in CVO come highly recommended by me anyway. They also did the curtains for our apartment in CVO a couple of years back and again lovely quality and they even hung and fitted for us. Keep local business going I say..
Gaynor and Gary
Gaynor and Gary
Hi Gaynor
We also used Dean from the Carvoeiro curtain shop 3 years ago for all our curtains in our new apartment in Carvoeiro and thought he did an excellent job and was very helpful.
I am trying to contact him again but have mislaid his number .
Do you ( or anyone else !) have a contact number for him ?
Thanks
Carolyn
We also used Dean from the Carvoeiro curtain shop 3 years ago for all our curtains in our new apartment in Carvoeiro and thought he did an excellent job and was very helpful.
I am trying to contact him again but have mislaid his number .
Do you ( or anyone else !) have a contact number for him ?
Thanks
Carolyn