With the hardware war about to kick off in earnest, Dan Nancarrow headed to the new Tingalpa Masters ahead of the chain's opening in Queensland next week.

The first thing you notice when you walk into the new Masters Home Improvement store is the bright white lights and spacious aisles.

This isn't a dingy warehouse stacked with tools which could moonlight as an aircraft hangar.

This is a well-lit shopping mecca which carries an ambience more familiar with the aisles of your larger shopping centres.

When the store opens to the public on Tuesday it will be just the third Masters operating in Australia, with the company expecting each store to generate more than $23 million in annual sales.

Bunnings might be hailed as the suburban bloke's paradise but Masters, backed by Woolworths and hoping to shake-up Australia's hardware market, has staked its claim as the female-friendly home improvement chain.