The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Located inside
of Alexandria City Centre, Home Centre is massive furniture and home accessory
department store franchise that offers everything you could possibly need for
your house.

 As the only branch to open in Egypt so far,
the Alexandria branch of Home Centre is massive and divided into several
spaces. One large part of the store is divided into spaces for kitchen
accessories, bathroom accessories and so on, while the other part is filled
with bedroom sets, living room sets and children’s furniture.

As you
enter Home Centre, the front right side of the department store displays garden
furniture mostly arranged in sets, so you can choose from a set of a wooden
table with eight wooden folding chairs for 4500LE or a set of one wicker couch,
two wicker seats and a coffee table for 10,000LE. You can also purchase a
gazebo or a wicker chaise longue, or perhaps an air revitalizing system, if
that’s your thing.

Further
into the space, you’ll find the space divided into prints, frames and mirrors
on one side and kitchen utensils and accessories on the other. The prints come
in all sizes and start at around 40LE up to 200Le for the largest size. Some
prints are quite funky and interesting, including pop-art prints of Audrey
Hepburn and Michael Jackson, as well as photographs of iconic landmarks in New
York City and London.

Wall clocks
and alarm clocks are also available in all sizes for around 200LE, while
further along, a large selection of table lamps, light fixtures and chandeliers
is versatile and includes kid-friendly choices as well as rather flamboyant
chandeliers. Table lamps reach up to 500LE while chandeliers range between
600LE and 1200LE.

On the
other side, you can find everything you could possibly need for your kitchen,
from moderately priced pots and pans of all sizes, to salt and pepper shakers,
rolling pins, cutting boards, table mats, Pyrex dishes and plastic food
containers. Most of these items are under 100LE.

Once you’re
past the selection of door mats, rugs and shag carpets, you’ll find the
bathroom section, with everything from plastic shower curtains to clothes
hampers and bathroom soap holder sets. The clothes hampers come in various
pretty colours ranging from baby blue to baby pink, and include a few wicker
baskets with pretty fabric lining that could also work as clothes storage
baskets.

If your
mind is already hurting from all the items you’ve browsed, your next section is
the curtain and curtain rod section, which has a few horrendous designs and a
few passable options. Further on, you can find duvets, duvet covers, sheets,
pillows, throw cushions and cushions, as well as a kids’ section with
everything from the bed to the bedding and wallpaper stencils.

When it
comes to the furniture itself, you’ll find several living room sets of couches
with chairs and tables for around 4000LE and upwards in materials that range
from cotton to leather. You can find two-seater couches for around 2000LE, as
well as pull-out beds and lazy boys. The rest of the space focuses on bedroom
sets, where you can literally buy everything except for the walls themselves.

At the
front of the shop, you’ll find more home accessories including a large
collection of sweet-smelling candles, bath soap sets and wall decorations. Sets
of china plates, cups, mugs and tea sets are for sale, with each item sold separately
or in a set if you choose.

The colours
at Home Centre are bright, young and funky, with most materials either plastic
or china. It’s not the best quality that you’ll find in Egypt, nor are the prices as low as you’d wish them to be, but you do find good deals here and there. The shop seems to be catering to young customers with its
furniture’s patterns and versatile products that fit in anywhere.