Teesside's premier home furnishings store and family run company proudly serving the North-East for over 140 years.
At Home Furnishings is owned by Marcus & Ann Dicken, part of the Dicken family...
In 1878, Mr Harry T. Rodgers opened a small ironmongery business in Stockton and in 1925 Alice Dicken, Great Grandmother to Marcus Dicken, the current Managing Director, took over the business. She opened a second shop, managed by her son Harry.
In 1960 Albert Dicken, the father of Marcus, entered the company, joining his brothers Robert and Terrence. They moved onto a 1 acre site in Portrack Lane, Stockton, which is now the site of the present At Home Furnishings store. They also purchased a 9 acre farm opposite and began to develop buildings which eventually formed the popular DIY Hypermarket, which attracted thousands of customers from all around the area, as this was the forerunner of today's large DIY stores.
In 1970, Dickens began aggressive TV advertising and, in 1976, ran the first 2 minute TV commercial (with a guest appearance from Marcus Dicken at 6 years old), still a rare event today. View this advert by clicking here.
In 1978, the company was bought by the Montague L. Meyer Group and Albert Dicken remained as Chairman. 1980 saw the Shiremoor store opened by Noel Edmonds. Being the TV idol hosting Swap Shop, he attracted thousands of people, causing major traffic jams on all the approach roads. In 1982 Montague L. Meyer merged with International Timber and Albert Dicken purchased the company back in October 1983. The following year, the Washington, Tyne & Wear store was opened, the largest DIY superstore in Europe.
In 1988, Marcus Dicken joined the company and in 1991, Ann joined. Four years later they were married. 1993 saw another link with Noel Edmonds, but this time it was his sidekick Mr Blobby from Noel's House Party. Famous for their Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad January Sales, Dickens booked the mad Mr Blobby to open the sale. Mr Blobby incredibly had the Christmas number one, and again thousands flocked to see this unlikely pop idol.
Two more large Hypermarkets were opened in Darlington and Newcastle before, in 1999, B&Q made an offer the Dicken family could not refuse and bought the company in April 1999.
So, in 2000, Marcus and Ann started At Home Furnishings and opened their first in Cannon Park, Middlesbrough before moving back to Portrack Lane, Stockton in 2007.
In December 2008 Marcus & Ann opened The Funky Rug Shop, Teesside's only dedicated specialist rug shop, in a unit next to their furniture shop.
In January 2010 At Home Furnishings entered the lighting market by opening the regions largest lighting store in the same retail park on Portrack Lane. Two floors of exceptional lights covering all styles and budgets.
October 2015 saw the opening of "Snug" a new bed & bedroom furniture department. To take the confusion out of buying a bed, after a year of research, they hand-picked a range of mattresses and bases from a select array of quality British suppliers to produce a concise range of comfort levels to suit almost everyone.
At Home Furnishings have been trading online since 2005. Our experienced team are happy to discuss your requirements either in-store, over the phone, or on social media.
We would love to see you in person. It's great to see a product, to touch it and to feel it. We also have great, well trained friendly staff. You won't get a hard sell here, just honest information to help you choose your perfect piece of furniture, light or home adornment. Not all items are always on display so it's always best to ring or message us to make sure we have what you are looking for before you make a special journey.
Monday |
9.30am until 6.00pm |
Tuesday |
9.30am until 6.00pm |
Wednesday |
9.30am until 6.00pm |
Thursday |
9.30am until 6.00pm |
Friday |
9.30am until 6.00pm
|
Saturday |
9.30am until 6.00pm
|
Sunday |
10.30am until 4.30pm
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We love our jobs so much we are open most Bank Holidays, however we are CLOSED Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day & Easter Sunday