Shopping Around: Happening Hardware

If you've ever wandered, dazed and confused, up and down the aisles of Home Depot, you'll appreciate the intimate accessibility of South Lake Union's City Hardware. Owner Marc Gimbel, who opened this down-to-earth spot in September, aims to make people feel at home in his environmentally conscious and pooch-friendly neighborhood store, providing necessities like bamboo tableware ($2.79-$7.49), cleaning products from Holy Cow ($4.29-$5.79) and Miele HEPA-filter vacuum cleaners ($499). Gimbel packs the 5,000-square-foot space (which is independently owned, but part of the Ace Hardware co-op) with smart solutions for the urban dweller. And if he doesn't have what you need on hand, he'll order it from his nearby warehouse stocked with 65,000 products. You can pick your purchases up in the store at your leisure.