Let me first start by saying that while I may often complain about our weather, Manchester is still a pretty great place to live. I love that I live 10 minutes from a bustling city with amazing theatre, music, restaurants and bars. That we have some top notch galleries and impressive Universities. It’s got everything that a big city like London has but because it’s small, it feels manageable and never feels particularly overwhelming. In fact, you could easily cover the entire city centre by foot in a leisurely day but there’s really no need when you have the Metrolink, the largest tram system in the UK.

We have cool hotspots like The Northern Quarter in the city centre and Canal Street in the Gay Village which will ensure you get an amazingly fun night out. Then you have smaller towns like Didsbury (a 5 minute drive from my home) and Chorlton which have an incredible selection of cool bars and restaurants. I also love that I can travel 10 minutes in the opposite direction and I’ve got beautiful countryside and parks with little pubs and great beer gardens in stunning surroundings. Travel just a little further out and we’ve got the Peak District a short ride away and the Lake District not much further than that. It’s a stunning part of the country that really doesn’t disappoint.

However, one thing that I feel we really lack is small independent homeware shops with cool and quirky offerings. Whilst London boasts plenty of fabulous interior design shops for every style imaginable, Manchester seems to come a little short and when people ask me where the great places to shop for home are in this area, I always come up a little blank. Sure, we have HomeSense and Zara Home and some of those bigger High Street chains but smaller independents? Well, I have to admit to doing most of my interiors shopping online.

So you can imagine my delight when I heard that one of my favourite independent shops was opening their first showroom in Altrincham, just a short drive away from my home.

Rose and Grey is the brainchild of Guy and Lyndsey Goodger who were passionate about interior design and so started their online shop in 2008 offering an eclectic mix of industrial, vintage and contemporary style homewares and furniture.

Understanding that sometimes people like to be able to see their stock in person to really appreciate the quality, they recently have opened a new showroom that backs on to their warehouse and I was privileged enough to visit them just before the official opening to see for myself all those gorgeous items I’d admired online.

The showroom epitomises the collected style of the website and it was a total feast for the eyes with each separate area a tantalising mix of texture and colour.

Here, you are able to see for yourself the quality of the larger furniture and I fell in love with this soft leather sofa. Now if only I had a larger living room…

Of course, there are plenty of smaller decorative items as well and these are the kinds of things that are not only affordable but also unusual which is part of what I love about independent shops – it’s just not the same stuff you’ll find on the High Street so you can really get an entirely unique vibe going in your home.

There is also lighting and a gorgeous selection of high quality rugs to peruse. I have loved these feather lights for a very long time. They are just so textural and soft and the light cast is rather amazing in person.

The shop is well lit and welcoming and with lots of great choices and there really is something for everyone, no matter what your particular style. Also, I just had to mention that the tile effect on the floor was actually created with spray paint and stencils. Fab idea, don’t you think?

They also carry Abigail Ahern’s faux plants and flowers so if you wanted to see how gorgeous they are in person but don’t fancy hopping a train all the way to London, here’s your chance.

So, finally, when people ask me where I would recommend for interior shopping in the Manchester area, I would encourage a visit to Rose and Grey. It’s a cool welcoming shop with lovely owners who made me feel incredibly welcome.

Rose and Grey is located on 31 Atlantic Street, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 5FA. If you pop by, tell them I sent you!

Is this a shop you’d like to visit? Any other really cool independent shops you love in Manchester or perhaps your own city that you’d recommend? I’d love to hear about it if so!

P.S. This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share!