Home Centers of Riyadh

A reader was asking where to buy home decors and what we did during the Eid vacation came to mind.

If you may recall, we had ideas on how to spend your "staycation" at home. Those weren't just suggestions for you. We also did them, especially the organizing and decorating of our rooms and the many things on it. Eyecandy who acquired a new room was excited to paint and decorate it according to her "bohemian" theme. Being the supportive friends that we are (haha, "enablers"), we spent one day with her looking for decors and lightings for her room. We went to two of the biggest home centers in Riyadh and did we find what we were looking for? Yes and more! Er, except one.

First up, from 10am to 3pm, is IKEA in Exit 14. This one needs no further introduction. We featured it a long time ago but for today, let me show you the items that got our attention...

We love this bed, with a pull-out bed. And the floral sheets.

For the vibrant colors snob. Love the mirror.

Huge painting for your bare walls.

More paintings...

A neat bathroom fixture. Love this for a condo unit.

I saw this polka-dotted sofa so I decided to put my polka-dotted bag too. HAHA!

Not ordinary plywood. These are tables, minus the feet. 

The warehouse... now where do I find (fill in the blank)?

Our filled trolley

IKEA has fabulous, modern, and minimalist items that are affordable. I would not divulge how much Eyecandy spent in IKEA that day. It's enough to elicit coughs and throat clearing from all of us but what can we say? She has a fabulous room now. Also, she got me the Vika Amon table for my birthday. With a chair to boot. Yey! Ever since I first set foot in IKEA, it's been my dream to get one but I somehow manage to evade buying it. I had to organize and re-arrange some of my stuff too just to accommodate a "study corner" in my room. Lovely!

PROS:
- Modern, functional designs
- Inspirational and kid-friendly showroom
- Easy to take home in slim packages
- Easy to assemble products
- Delivery and assembly
- IKEA restaurant and snack bar 

CONS:
- Limited themes
- Far from city center
- Flimsy products (some)

There's one thing missing from our IKEA trip that Eyecandy needs badly and that is a lamp. Yes, a LAMP. So, we asked our friendly driver Mr. Joy to take us to Home Centre in King Abdullah Road.

Glass wares and candles

In different themes like this red/black Japanese style

Floor lamp with an Arabic feel

Solo chairs and pillows in vibrant, bohemian designs

Ball decors perfect for Xmas trees? Hehe.

Who uses these?

The pink tarha sofa. HAHA. 

Who doesn't need flowers in their homes?

Home Centre is Centrepoint's lifestyle home store. It has a variety of home decors, lighting fixtures, kitchen wares, pillows, and furniture sets for the living room and dining area. It's a complete shop that will give you more designs and choices according to the theme you're envisioning. Bohemian? Mod? Oriental? Wood? Their prices are affordable too. E got a few pillow cases to complete the look of her room. Unfortunately, we still didn't get the table lamp she was looking for.

PROS: 
- Lots of choices and variety
- Products/stuff organized according to theme and colors
- More than one branch in Riyadh; one is in city center
- Assembly and delivery
- Centrepoint Department Store and Lifestyle

CONS:
- Limited space
- Narrow aisles for furniture sets
- Can't try some products/furniture

All in all, we enjoyed visiting these home centers. They gave us more insights and ideas on how to re-decorate our rooms here in Riyadh, and our own future homes in the Philippines (ehermn). If the choices in IKEA and Home Centre aren't enough for you, you can also check out Abu Riyalin and Haraj. You might wonder why do we even put so much effort in decorating a room in a house that we're just renting? Hey, even if that's not our own room, we still spend more than half of our abroad life in the rooms and flats. We like to claim it as our own for the time being and lend our personalities to it. You should too! ;) ~ Sundrenched

IKEA Riyadh
Exit 16, Eastern Ring Road
See map here
T: +966-1-2442233
E: infoRyd@ikea.com.sa
Store Hours: 10:00am - 12:00mn (Sat-Thu) / 4:00pm-12mn (Fri)

Home Centre Riyadh
King Abdullah Road
T: +966-1-4554879
Exit 9, Imam Saud Bin Abdul Aziz
T: +966-1-2786452
Othaim Mall, Khurais Road
T: +966-1-2338214

Random Thursday {August 30}

We're introducing a new section in the blog called "Random Thursday." It will feature anything under Riyadh's sun. Remember when we said we take a lot of photos? Well, I do! And I have a lot of random photos of things (food, places, stuff, etc) on my phone. I want to share them with you every Thursday. Who knows, someone out there needs whatever it is I'm featuring? Haha. It will also serve as a filler entry for the week because I rarely write entries on a Thursday, when every one, including your Pink Tarha ladies, are sleeping until the wee hours of the afternoon morning.

This cute polka dot pattern came from Kitsch Cupcakes' box. If you haven't seen a Kitsch's box for their cupcakes, it's long and filled with this pretty pattern. It's interesting enough to serve as a wallpaper for your phone. Or just something nice to look at.

I was browsing the aisles of Whites Pharmacy in Riyadh Gallery when I saw this ermn, "Virginity Soap" from YC. If you look closely at the list of effects it promises, there's "tightening". I have no idea how it can do that! Haha.

I saw this very pretty wall photo in IKEA last Eid holiday. It's so dainty! Perfect for your white or light pink walls. It's priced at SR39. I was tempted to buy it for my room's re-decoration plan but I have other ideas for my white, empty wall. ;)

Ate in Sushi Yoshi for the nth time last Eid with Eyecandy and our friend Jamila. Can't resist ordering something with octopus, because I haven't had anything with octopus in Sushi Yoshi. Ever. So, this octopus gyunkan was my choice. It wasn't great tasting or anything. Just ordinary. I love the spicy sauce though. If I could take home a jar of it, I'll be the happiest girl ever, and I promise to eat my green salad all the time.

This is the best mug ever... because it speaks of what happened (still happening) to my money here in the city. Hahaha. Oh, and yes, it's literally just 1/2 of a mug (shaped like half moon). Available in Camel Corner for SR10.

Want more colors in your life? This lush chair is a quilt of colors! So loud and vibrant, perfect for your boring living room. I would have bought this if I still have space for it in my room... and if I have SR2000+ in my wallet. Too bad, my wallet, like my wall, is empty. Available in Home Centre, King Abdullah Road.

Yesterday afternoon, it was drizzling. It's the first sign of "rain" in the desert since summer started. I was telling the ladies that it took 5 months' worth of evaporated water for the clouds to deliver because there's little water in Saudi Arabia's surface. The drizzle was short but it produced this very nice vision in the sky. Took this at an intersection in Takhassosi Street going to Mecca Road.

So there's our first Random Thursday. Anything caught your attention? I couldn't move on from that Virginity soap. Someone tell me it works! Hahaha. So funny.