Great café - nice shop attached!

Saltaire and its local area has a number of attractive, independent stores, of the kind that attract visitors as much as (perhaps more than) local people. I'm not one of those women who was 'born to shop' and my local shopping tends to be functional rather than frivolous. So it was with unaccustomed pleasure that I met a friend for a coffee, a chat and a browse in Home & Garden on the main Bradford road. The shop has been there a while, though I think the coffee-and-cakes part is relatively new. It's a veritable treasure-trove of interesting and attractive things for the home and garden - most of which you could manage without, but much of which is extremely covetable, if you care about making your home beautiful, stylish and a bit different.

Garry Faulkner, the owner, obviously has a brilliant eye for design. The merchandise itself is beautiful and the way the shop is displayed, over three floors, is wonderful. At this time of year it's brimming with unusual Christmas gifts and decorations. The basement is full of statuary and attractive stuff for the garden, and there are pictures, lighting, mirrors and all manner of pretty and practical items for every room in the home. Highly recommended if you want to browse happily for an hour or so, or are looking for something special and unusual.