This £22 Matalan cave shelf is £100s cheaper than designer lookalikes
Plus, it's the perfect alternative to the sold out viral George Home version


As much as we love designer homeware and furniture pieces, we’re usually not so keen on the accompanying price tag. So when we see a good dupe for those high-end designs, that makes us very excited indeed. And Matalan has just made us very happy with its cave shelves, which are just the perfect lookalike for many designer styles and make for a lovely decorative bathroom shelving idea.
For the past few weeks, we’ve been checking almost daily whether the viral sculptural Cream Cabinet With Shelves from George Home is back in stock as it’s been sold out for a depressingly long time. Retailing at £35, this was one of the few affordable cave cabinets available on the market. But now that Matalan has released its Multilayer Cove Shelf for £22, this beauty has shot to the top of our wish lists.
If you’re into the cave shelf look too and have either been deterred by the high price point of the likes of Woood Display Cabinet at Wayfair or have been impatiently waiting for the George Home shelves to come back, then we advise you to bag this one while you still can. We predict it won’t take long for it to sell out too.
Matalan cave shelves
The cave shelf micro trend falls under the larger home decor trend of curved interiors. And as we are all loving all things curved, it’s no surprise these shelves have enjoyed so much popularity as of late
With a height of 54cm and a width of 40cm, the Matalan cove shelf is certainly the smallest but not by all that much. And considering the £22 price point, we'll take it any day and put it in our bathroom for toiletries.
‘Curved shelves are statement pieces that will create a designer look in any home,’ Lucy Mather, interior design expert at Arighi Bianchi. ‘As well as the curved trend, they also feed into a rustic aesthetic, with paired back and textured finishes.'
'Think rustic, Mediterranean styling and bare plaster. As summer approaches we are predicting this trend will gain even more momentum as people look to recreate the summer-retreat vibe in their home.’
That’s right. This design look takes inspiration from Mediterranean aesthetic and cave-like interiors, where shelves are built straight into plaster walls.
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And judging by Matalan’s most recent scalloped homeware range which has gone viral all over social media and has been consistently selling out, the Matalan cove shelf is likely to enjoy a similar level of popularity.
So we say run, don’t walk.

Sara Hesikova has been a Content Editor at Ideal Home since June 2024, starting at the title as a News Writer in July 2023. She is now also the Ideal Home Certified Expert in Training on Furniture, and so far has tested over 150 different sofas.
Graduating from London College of Fashion with a bachelor’s degree in fashion journalism in 2016, she got her start in niche fashion and lifestyle magazines like Glass and Alvar as a writer and editor before making the leap into interiors, working with the likes of 91 Magazine and copywriting for luxury bed linen brand Yves Delorme among others.
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