9 quirky home decor & furniture stores to shop at in Singapore

As its name suggests, Island Living stocks beautifully made items with a natural feel that’ll turn your home into an idyllic tropical space. Think rattan chairs, wooden mirrors, ceramic vases, lamps and baby furniture. Bonus: The founders select sustainable materials like reclaimed teak wood and eco-friendly rattan.

Island Living is at 8 Kaki Bukit Ave 1, #06-03/04, Mapletree Industrial Trust, S417941. Closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. Visit its website for more information or to shop.

For quirky tableware, ceramic vases, sculptural lamps, and swing by Crane Living, which offers a mix of well-curated homeware, furniture, and art from global artisans and makers around the world. It has multiple stores, including at Joo Chiat, OCBC Wisma Atria, Takashimaya, and Furama Riverfront. Each location stocks different collections, and carries items from various creators and brands. You can also add to cart from its online store.

Crane Living has multiple outlets. Visit its website to shop.

Helmed by local real estate platform Stacked Homes, the Stacked Store offers an extensive array of design-focused home decor and designer products. Discover brands like Danish design brands Ferm Living and 101 Copenhagen, as well as homeware company Hawkins New York and candle store Boy Smells. You can drop by its studio in Alexandra to browse items, before placing your order online.

Studio visits are by appointment only. Stacked Store is at 2 Alexandra Road, #07-06, Singapore 159919. Visit its website to shop.

Born out of a love for Singapore’s history, Singapore Trading Post offers home decor items and furniture that nod to its colonial past — shop plantation chairs, pineapple lamps, and classic bar accessories all imbued with an old-world charm. True to its roots, it sources items from traditional Singapore trading routes such as India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam. It also partners with local artists, designers and craftsmen.

Singapore Trading Post is at 07-01 Tan Boon Liat Building, Singapore 427644 315 Outram Road, Singapore 169074, and 426 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427644.

If maximalism and eclecticism are your jam, then make your way to Tiger & Arcadia in Joo Chiat. Inspired by founder Andrea’s passion for travel and her Mexican roots, the store carries items that reflect a blend of nomadic, bohemian, and eclectic styles. Decked with vividly printed tableware to home textiles, the store offers a visual treat the moment you step in. It also supports artisans and designers around the globe.

Tiger & Arcadia is at 317 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427568. Visit its website to shop or for more information.

Open Door Store

Credit: Open Door Store

6/9

This store at the Kapo Factory Building in the Tai Seng district is all about showcasing local talent. Co-founders Goh Zhong Ming and Debbie Lee started Open Door as an offshoot of Konstrukt Laboratories, their silkscreen printing business which produces for a host of local brands and retailers. The focus and expertise here, aptly, is on printed matter: there are lots of T-shirts, apparel and art prints. But you’ll also find a range of zines, posters, totes and ceramics. Besides the focus on showcasing Singaporeans’ works, Goh describes his general approach to curation as undiscriminating.

For the founders, it is about the need for a space where customers can physically view and interact with the works of local artists and creatives. As opposed to, say, flat images on an online shop. There’s a scrappy DIY spirit at play here too. Most of the furniture at Open Door is built by hand by the owners. The highlights are the delightfully old-school mama shop storefront kiosks, which are also decorated with snacks, drinks, toys and knick-knacks that Goh sources from actual mama shops in his neighbourhood.

Open Door Store is at #01-16 Kapo Factory Building, 80 Playfair Road.

Around Gallery

Credit: Around Gallery

7/9

Everton Park has long been a hotbed of cool. The new kid on the block is Around Gallery, founded by illustrators and designers Angeline Toh and Cheryl Kook as both a retail and gallery space to showcase creations by artists from across the world.

The curation is colourful and fun, leaning towards a penchant for Japanese anime and digital illustration styles. There are works by local and international artists, the latter of which Toh and Kook source from their travels to overseas art fairs and shows. There’s a strong selection of risograph works, and also collectibles like sticker sets, keychains, clips and washi tape that have a joyful bric-a-brac feel. It’s akin to what you’d find at art market events – but with a more curated eye and the upside of being readily available.

Around also hosts themed pop-ups – there’s been a show on risograph prints about space, a summer fever selection, and one with textile studio Yabai Yabai. The works move fast – so run, don’t walk.

Around Gallery is located at #01-73, 3 Everton Park

Aaah House and Studio Yono

Credit: Aaah House and Studio Yono

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In the back of multi-label boutique Nana & Bird, three brands have taken up residence for a year: Aaah House by cool designer couple Ella Zheng and Ryan Len, interior design shop Studio Yono by Kaia Nelk, and the jewellery label Trigger Happy by Zheng.

Though officially unnamed, this triumvirate brings together a kindred approach to art and design in Singapore. Studio Yono, which brings in affordable, mid-range European designer homeware that isn’t carried anywhere else in Singapore, came out of Nelk’s experience relocating here from the Netherlands and finding a dearth of such decorating options.

As for Zheng and Len, the desire to open and run a store had been on their minds for years. See Aaah House (named, according to Len, because of an earlier idea to open a store from their home) as an extension of their fun and quirky design sensibilities. There’s an in-house line dubbed Aaah Haus which does humorously cynical, remixes on everyday objects, as well as creations like zines, ceramics, T-shirts and fragrances from local brands and designers. There’s also Zheng’s jewellery brand Trigger Happy, where she creates intricately realised, one-of-a-kind beaded pieces.

Aaah House and Studio Yono is located at1M Yong Siak Street.

Shrub

Credit: Shrub

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This hole-in-the-wall store at Golden Mile Tower is a reflection of founder Fern Lee’s approach to making things: self-taught, unpretentious, and full of curiosity. What used to be a family locksmith shop was transformed into a haven of art, zines, prints and assorted creations by independent artists. There’s a wide-ranging eye here too, with works from both local and international artists that Lee will gladly tell you about.

The vibe at Shrub is supremely relaxed and underground, and the works that Lee stocks tend toward youthful subversion and humour. Keep an eye out on their Instagram as well. There are always events like art shows, DJ sets, and guest curators planned that are as varied as they are interesting.

Shrub is located at #01-28 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road.