Don't bother with the Home Depot Urban store in West Vancouver if you're the type of hardware shopper who, like me, gets a thrill watching hunky construction workers hauling out loads of lumber.
This new "boutique" branch (the first of its kind in Canada) of the ubiquitous home improvement chain with bulk-buying power does not cater to tradesmen, or the working class. Opened last month on the heels of a similar shop in Manhattan, which boasts a concierge, it offers designer fixtures and specialized services that have been tailored to the needs of the affluent homeowners who populate this exclusive mountainside enclave on Vancouver's North Shore -- perhaps better known as the most expensive postal code in the country.
The store is located in the Village at Park Royal, a new open-air mall, where society ladies and funky kids stroll between Lululemon and the Urban Tea Merchant along winding blocks of brick sidewalks dotted with quaint, faux-gas street lamps.
I suppose this grandiosely titled "lifestyle centre" is modelled on the Grove, the upscale, outdoor shopping mall in central Los Angeles (without its popular farmers market or the weather of California). But to the tell the truth, it reminds me more of Main Street, USA in Disney World's Magic Kingdom. (What's with the 70-foot-tall lighthouse standing next to Old Navy?)
The first thing you'll notice about the new Home Depot is that they've done away with the big-box warehouse format. This store is actually round, like a coliseum, with a peaked red brick storefront to conjure up a fuzzy, small-town feeling. Instead of the normal Harvey's burger stand, it has a Starbucks.
On a recent Saturday, I arrived just in time to catch one of several free in-store seminars: How to Install a Toilet. It was empty. I imagine there was a much bigger turnout for last week's session with HGTV's Designer Guys, Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman.
Or perhaps the whole DIY aesthetic has been replaced by the Expert Installation service. Why install your own toilet -- or hire a plumber off the street -- when you can order someone to do the job the very next day? Of course, the toilet -- or brushed nickel faucets or whatever item it is you need installed -- has to be purchased at Home Depot.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find many toilets -- or the bookshelves I wanted. Unlike most Home Depots, where I've been known to spend long voyeuristic afternoons ducking forklifts while fingering an endless array of doorknobs I don't need, this store seems a little spare on the merchandise.
A friendly handyman at the home-service counter summed up how the West Van store differs from the rest in the chain: "At other Home Depot stores, the motto is 'You can do it, we can help,' " he said. "Here, it's more of a we-can-do-it-for-you store."
I suppose the professional interior designers on staff have loads of catalogues to choose from. But when I went up to the mezzanine level to find a decorator to help me design my dream bathroom, no one answered my knocks at the row of closed office doors.
Back on the lower level, I could only find two types of wood shelves -- none long enough for my wall. There were, however, dozens of different sea grass sweater baskets and rattan stacking shelves -- but there's an even larger selection of the same at the HomeSense store right across the street.
In the end, I never did get my shelves. But I did buy a Stud Finder for only $19.95. Maybe if I'm lucky, he'll take me to a regular Home Depot, order some custom-cut planks and hang them himself.
Alexandra Gill