Design Inspiration - The Best Online Home Stores

Online Home Stores 🏠

For today’s article, we have compiled a list of 10 online home stores that are at the top of their game to provide you all with some web design inspiration.

These examples are some of the best ecommerce sites around, as savvy features such as; innovative layouts and user-friendly navigation have been implemented to improve the shopping experience for consumers.

No matter whether you are preparing to launch an ecommerce business for the very first time, or are looking for a new route to spark off the next website redesign for your business, you’ve clicked on the right article.

So, let's kick things off with the first homeware store on our list, known as the White Company:

N0.1: The White Company

For over 27 years, The White Company has been making impeccably stylish and beautifully designed products. Principally in white, The White Company’s products have become a household name, bringing timeless styles and attention to detail into fruition.

From the store’s hand-finished bed linen to their second-to-none customer service, The White Company has it all.

From waking up in crisp white sheets to the feel of super-soft cashmere against your skin, the brand believes that pleasure can be found in the simplest of moments.

The brand itself is beloved by many for its simple and bespoke pleasures. The White Company website displays the latest products with; clean-cut grids, aesthetically pleasing imagery and a huge play on the utilisation of white space.

We couldn’t imagine any company owning this approach to web design quite like these guys and who better to make use of this strategy than The White Company themselves?

The brand also stocks décor for every space, making every house truly feel like home alongside; clothing, candles, fragrances, beauty and spa products for its customers.

So, this business goes beyond what interiors may lie within the home and extends to the everyday comforts that can be enjoyed, making The White Company one of the best ecommerce sites on the net.

N0.2: Handmade Christmas Co.

The next of the online home stores to be featured within today’s guide is none other than the seasonal store known as - Handmade Christmas Co.

Founded in 2012, The Handmade Christmas Co. was established to offer consumers a modern alternative to the traditional Christmas stocking. After reaching more than 500,000 customers over 7 years later, the company now reaches and serves shoppers around the world.

The Handmade Christmas Co. has become the go-to destination for personalised gifts such as; Christmas sacks, stockings, baubles, gift wrapping, Christmas Eve boxes and so much more.

As a result, the team produces seasonal goods here in the UK, with all products hand-finished in the brand’s London-based studio and with the holidays fast approaching, we couldn’t think of a better store to review. We just adore this site’s aesthetic colourway and product selection.

Once on the Handmade Christmas Co.’s homepage, users are greeted with a prompt slideshow that displays the latest product collections alongside the items that can be purchased for the holidays.

Take a flick through or use the navigation bar to head to the collection that you’d like to shop. Christmas is coming, so there’s no time to waste.

N0.3: Oliver Bonas

Oliver Bonas is the next of the online home stores that will be featured within today’s guide.

In 1993 the very first Oliver Bonus store opened and in 2021, Olly’s exploratory spirit is channelled into the brand’s fashion and homeware collections.

The team at Oliver Bonas believe that design has the power to positively affect how we feel. So, when new designs land in-store and online every week the store’s mission is to make its customers feel happy and content with unique designs.

Over the years, the business has grown to serve its customers in nearly 80 stores across the UK and in Ireland, bringing new ideas to life in these locations.

The company values are “Work Hard, Play Hard & Be Kind” and we can most definitely detect this ethos from their current choice of company operations as displayed on the website.

From the light and airy imagery that represents Olly’s playful flair to the generous efforts that give back to the environment and how the team chooses to work with their suppliers, kindness is at the heart of this company and its products.

Take a look around this homeware site to discover how the company has made their mark by merging the brand and its ethos with a complimentary web design.

N0.4: Habitat

In 1964, the online home store - Habitat was established. Since this time, the team have brought many innovative designs to the UK - from the wok to the duvet and flat-pack furniture, the store’s heritage has seen it all.

For the established merchants who are looking to redesign their store’s design, Habitat is one of the best ecommerce sites to look to for inspiration.

As the business was established long ago, this brand is a primary example of how a company can thrive from its heritage. If you head to the ‘Our Heritage’ page on Habitat's website, the company has a very vivid recollection of their achievements from each decade.

This section of the Habitat website is very informative, unique and eye-opening in its approach for consumers in regards to how much ground this business has covered since its opening over 50 years ago.

Today, Habitat offers its customers a wide range of well-presented homeware products that demonstrate a strong emphasis on quality and craftsmanship that can be purchased via shoppable gallery images on the homepage.

N0.5: Barker and Stonehouse

At the end of WWII, two young Royal Air Force troops known as Charles Barker and Alex Stonehouse decided to embark upon a new mission after working at Binns - the region's top department.

In 1946, the duo set about creating a furniture store that aimed to deliver a little pizzazz to a weary post-war Britain and opened their very first store in Stockton on Tees.

However, it wasn’t just in those early days that the team strived to serve, as the website currently displays Trustpilot reviews alongside an advertisement for multiple ways to pay.

Barker and Stonehouse is a brand that puts trust, credibility and ease of use on the map for its users and the brand takes pride in its earned status of becoming the UK's first retailer of its kind to be awarded the Carbon Neutral Plus status.

Now in 2021, the business is celebrating 75 years in the industry and to mark the occasion, Barker and Stonehouse have packed the year full of; exciting design collaborations, sustainable initiatives and a raft of inspiring products.

With its; eye-catching imagery, scrollable product galleries and colourful designs this furniture store offers something for every room in the home.

So, if your business embodies a quirky spin on home décor, Barker and Stonehouse would be a great source of inspiration for your business website.

N0.6: Graham and Green

The Graham and Green story began with a woman’s trip to India in 1974 and that woman's name was Antonia.

Antonia strove to be independent, working with a movement of traders to forge her path to support her family. So, she decided to create the very first lifestyle brand that imported exotic homewares from; India, Morocco and Europe to the UK.

Then, on Easter Monday in 1974, the first Graham and Green store opened on Elgin Crescent in Notting Hill.

Shortly afterwards the store became home to Antonia’s exotic and eclectic finds from around the globe and customers can still find the team in the same spot today.

If you take a look at the Graham and Green website, you may notice the design’s usage of large typography and alternating message alerts that run across the top of the homepage screen.

The purpose of the large font is to grab the user's attention, while the flashing text is to alert the site’s customers in regards to the active; sales events and discount codes that can be utilised.

Additionally, the Graham and Green site offers a sleek appearance for online users to enjoy a seamless and user-friendly experience with ease of navigation.

If you’ve visited this home décor store, let us know what your thoughts are on this brand’s design.

N0.7: Maisons du Monde

Next on our list of the best online home stores is Maisons du Monde, where everything began over 20 years ago.

The visionary behind the brand is Xavier Marie and decided that the business was to become a home decoration and furnishing store, inspired by influences from around the world.

With the original four stores opening in; Bordeaux, Lyon, Quimper and Vichy the headquarters then moved to Nantes which is where the company’s story of growth and evolution truly took off.

Since this time, Maisons du Monde has a cleverly developed business model based on key factors which is what makes this brand so unique and its ecommerce site is no exception to this rule.

Just like the Habitat website, this store has made use of a story-like timeline approach to enable its visitors to truly understand the path which the company has taken since its establishment in 1996.

If you’re thinking about joining the community of online home stores that embody a strikingly elegant yet bold feel, Maisons du Monde is a great example to follow.

N0.8: Nordic House

Since 2009, Nordic House has pioneered Scandi-inspired living and the hygge way of life. As a furnishing company, the brand has a passion for slow living, devoting true meaning not just to the aesthetics but the meaning behind them.

Nordic House is one of the online home stores that flourishes and thrives on delivering exceptional and exquisite interior designs to its customers and each design has been sourced or created in collaboration with; Scandinavian, European and/ or British makers.

The soft rustic influences of a typically cosy home can be detected easily when browsing the Nordic House website, through its choice of; imagery, colour palette and layout.

Do you know what they say? The attention is in the detail and with the online experience that this store offers, we can most definitely agree that this is true.

With features in; Homes & Gardens, GoodHomes, Country Homes & Interiors, Livingetc, Homes & Antiques and IdealHome, Nordic House has not been short of attention or detail.

So, if your store resembles this brand in any way, head on over to this website and check out its inspiration design.

N0.9: The Cotswold Company

Over 25 years ago The Cotswold Company opened their very first shop, at Bourton-on-the-Water in the heart of the Cotswolds.

Since this time, the business has grown significantly and the brand needed somewhere bigger that they could call home. So, now their store can be found a short distance away in a neighbouring town called Stow-on-the-Wold.

From the brand’s perspective, this very special patch of rural England will always inspire the furniture and accessories that are designed and made, as well as the idea of the home that they hold dear.

We all adore beautiful and well-made things that are built to last and so, The Cotswold Company ensures that their products flow with the rhythms of nature, allowing the changing seasons to refresh both spirits and living spaces.

The brand’s "come on in and make yourself comfy" ethos is something which we can get on board with, as we feel pretty at ease when surfing this online store.

Needless to say that finding the perfect product(s) for the home is all about being able to conveniently research exactly what you’re looking for and the search bar provides the exact solution for this consumer demand.

As a business, The Cotswold Company is on hand to help its customers make a home for life that feels; real, loved and lived-in. Where the cherished possessions grow more characterful as time passes; telling stories of; family, friendship, comfort and happy times.

N0.10: Laura Ashley

Since 1953, Laura Ashley has been serving its customers with iconic feminine prints and elegant designs so, it’s no surprise to us that the website plays host to an array of seamless visual elements to draw in the attention of its viewers.

This store also makes great use of call to action buttons, especially on the homepage where many customers will initially be directed.

Laura Ashley has made it so that their brand can be found across social media channels such as; Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, whilst offering their contact information so that their customer service team can be reached with ease.

Nowadays, having a presence on social media and contact information at the ready is pretty standard when it comes to the world of ecommerce, however, you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t have these two steps checked off of their list.

If your business cannot be found online, or if a form of contact is not offered, this can be perceived as a little sketchy and untrustworthy, which is why all of the top brands will be sure to put contact outlets within the footer section of their website - right where customers expect to find them.

Have we missed out on one of the best online home stores that deserves to be featured within today's guide? Reach out and let us know.

If you’re actively looking to work with a Shopify agency designer or developer to assist you with your business, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch to get started!