Furniture Shopping in Alameda

Furniture shopping in Alameda is amazingly easy. For an Island City that offers no major department store, such as Macy’s, with its own furniture department, the variety is pretty good. Staying within Alameda’s borders is particularly a good idea if you’re well past the student furniture phase, meaning you expect pieces to last and don’t consider cinderblocks half of a bookshelf.

Your first furniture shopping stop in Alameda might be at Danish Interiors, 1325 Park Street, 510-521-7470. Clean, elegant lines are the hallmarks of this special furniture store. With two stories of bookshelves, desks, beds, dining tables, sofas, and all other furniture types, there is something to fit just about every taste and budget. Prices ranged from around $150 to $200 for smaller, less expensive pieces to thousands of dollars for high-end, high-quality teak and leather furniture. The store will deliver the furniture, too – including putting it together, if that is needed. If you’re looking for beautiful furniture that is also simple and functional, this is the place.

While you’re on Park Street, you might also want to check out a few of the antique shops, which also carry furniture. If you remember some piece of furniture from your childhood, or your days spent at Grandma’s house, this might be the place for it. With older furniture often reflecting more ornate styles, this is also the place to go if you just must have furniture with the special curlicues or well-weathered look. Pauline’s Antiques is located at 1427 Park Street (510-523-9941), while Regency Restoration Antique Shop is at 1424 Park Street (510-522-2020).

Regardless of your style, you simply must drop in to Pillow Park Plaza (1419 Park Street, 510-521-6227). While the store is best known for finding just the right pieces that fit in both modern mansions and lovingly restored Victorians, there are also many pieces of furniture and other home furnishings that fit well in other types of decor. If you’re shopping for a rocking chair, this is the place to do it. Their occasional chairs and other small items are the kinds of things you say you’re buying for a gift, but you really want for yourself.

At the foot of Park Street, near Otis Drive, is the primary shopping center in Alameda, and that is the location of Blue Tomatoes Furniture (2298 South Shore Center, 510-749-9925). This store’s solid pieces come in a wide variety of colors, making it the place to go for sturdy yet simple wood furniture, Americana in the 21st century. For a new store, however, it always seems a bit overcrowded with stock (don’t go with your baby in a stroller), and their prices seem way out of line for what is being offered. Still, it’s worth a look if you desire simple furniture – you may hit a sale that makes a purchase worthwhile.