Curious about curios?

If dainty glass figurines from Venice did not make it to your showcase back home in Mumbai, Sidewalks of the World at Chapel Road, Bandra, is where you need to head to.

Bandra is home to one of the quirkiest furniture and home décor stores and Sidewalks of the World is no exception. This enchanting three-storeyed, glass-fronted shop will have you feasting your eyes on the quaint pieces of art displayed within. Launched in July last year, the store is owned by Future Group's Rajiv Biyani, who himself has collected more than 700 magnets from his travels across the world.

The store, choc-a-bloc with opulent artefacts and curios from the world over has an entire wall dedicated to miniature supermarket supplies—olive oil bottles and spaghetti pasta packets among other things. The store's basement has kitchen and bathroom accessories and a whole lot of porcelain figurines. Vintage posters for the kitchen, metal containers and plates with clever lines—you can redecorate your house using these if you are into shabby chic. You can find anything here, from a giant tuba and pretty sewing machines that serve as lamps to a Charley armchair and a four-heeled console table from Versailles!

Dorene Marwein, a Bandra resident who visits Sidewalks of the World says, "The store is a one-of-the-kind, which houses unique vintage stuff. Good to feast your eyes on but a little too steep on the prices though."

A couple of things that caught my fancy were the Seletti Bouche Lamp and a Tony Carter teapot, which is actually a tea cup perched on top of a stack of books—a perfect gift for a reader. The range of kitschy and classy is so varied that you can pick a fridge magnet for Rs 890 and a bar stool for Rs 75990. While artworks from Jagannath Paul, S H Raza, Akbar Padamsee and Asit Patnaik adorn the walls of the store, the mezzanine floor has a selection of carefully curated cushion covers.

Zsa Zsa Sawain, who lives near Chapel Road, says, "I feel the store is as creatively assorted as a beautiful secret garden in the midst of a shiny plastic strip mall. Perhaps that would suffice to explain the atrociously expensive labels. You can find unique works of art right from the cobbled street peddlers to high-end artisans."

Sidewalks of the World, Westside Building, Chapel Road, near Mt. Carmel Church, Reclamation, Bandra (W)