Is Aldi Your Next Go-To for Home Décor?

When it comes to clothing, I'm a bit of a brand name shopper. Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, American Eagle, Calvin Klein are among the names in my closet and drawers. Not just because of the brand's cache, but because I've found pieces in their collections that I really like. For Calvin Klein, it's the underwear; American Eagle jeans make up the majority of my denim and I even buy a particular style of chinos over and over again at Old Navy. However, I tend to buy the more expensive brands second hand, mostly via eBay. Re-purposing pre-loved clothing is good for the soul! Home décor-wise, my radar is constantly spinning 360 degrees. I subscribe to a couple of magazines and spend an endless amount of time searching auctions and antiques shops, both for my retail booth at Twin Elm Farm and for my own home. I'm not as brand driven when it comes to home décor. For instance, though I'm not always the biggest Walmart fan, I always see these gorgeous print ads in Better Homes & Gardens for some really attractive home décor and furniture from the BH&G line at Walmart. In fact, I replaced an antique marble-topped, round coffee table in my living room with a round brass and glass one from Walmart. It's more modern and visually lighter than the old one and I really like it. Recently, I've been surprised to hear more than a little buzz about Aldi supermarkets as a good source for home décor. A supermarket? And one that's known for a no-frills presentation? I guess so. I've only shopped at the Aldi in Keene a couple times when they first opened probably ten years ago. Again, I'd heard a bit of buzz about a fig-topped flatbread pizza and indeed, it was quite tasty! Aldi supermarkets are of German origin, and they specialize in a relatively low-cost, no frills grocery shopping experience… kind of like the warehouse model of the 90s (think Edwards and early Sun Foods). A lot of their products are their own store brands though they do offer a handful of national brands in most categories. There's a definite European feel to Aldi and I appreciate the exposure to some less common grocery items. For me, the shopping experience feels a little… je ne sais quois… exotic? Anyway, I'm not the best judge of a supermarket since I don't do our weekly grocery shopping, but I do like the feeling I get wandering around Aldi. I popped into the Keene store today to refresh my sense of the place before writing this piece. The buzz I'd been hearing about Aldi as a home décor source mainly came from Tik Tok videos I happened to bump into while looking at other stuff online. And, oh my goodness, there's a ton of them! It's a fun way to fritter through a half hour. These (mostly) women are so excited about the weekly and monthly Aldi "finds" it's hard not to be swept up in their enthusiasm. When I got there, I didn't opt for a cart because I didn't really intend to buy anything, but I appreciate they've stuck to their quarter slot to unlock one cart from the rest. I like it and it gives you a chance to offer your cart to another incoming shopper when you're done. A quarter gets you a really nice feel-good moment. The produce looked very nice. Mostly displayed in boxes like they just landed from the truck. It was fairly busy for a Monday morning, and I recognized a couple faces in an "around town" sort of way. I wasn't there to buy food, though, and headed towards the front center of the store where the home goods stuff was. And, there it was: a whole aisle and a half of stuff for your home. The décor wasn't the same as what you'd find at Walmart. Maybe a little more like Target. There were poufs (those round floor pillows I wonder if anyone actually sits on), various dishes including some noodle bowls that came with chopsticks and a huge wooden salad bowl. A couple different styles of large ceramic bowls that look like you'd use to display something like fruit. Speaking of fruit, they had fake plastic fruit as well. They called them bowl fillers and more than just those lemons, they had faux moss balls and boxwood balls. I saw throws, drapery panels, lots of different stylish storage options and really cute animal-shaped scent diffusers that looked perfect for a nursery. Someone bumped into me from behind and I turned to find my real estate colleague, Mandy. I told her how amazed I was to find this cool new source of home goods and she told me she was well versed in the store. It's the first stop on her weekly shopping trip. I spotted a really cool 28" gold rimmed wall mirror and pointed it out to her. Before I could snap a pic, off she went with it in her cart. Impulse shopping at its best!