The Look for Less
Inspirational Pieces found at More Reasonable Prices
The Headboard Hunt
The first thing I wanted to tackle when I moved into my new place was my bedroom. I had old furniture that had been passed down to me over the years or was purchased at garage or estate sales. My bed consisted of a cherry finished, scratched up old wood simple headboard that was purchased at an estate sale many years ago. I had a dark brown comforter with blue accent pillows and dark brown sheets. The room felt very dark and had no visual interest whatsoever. I needed a little bit of inspiration to bring my bedroom to life.
First, I went on an online search for a headboard. I knew I wanted something soft and light so I narrowed my search to the upholstered headboards. During my online search I realized that I wanted a piece I could use for a long time and that would never go out of style. So I was in need of a neutral color that was simple, yet elegant. Nail head trim and large patterns seemed a little less versatile to me so something basic was what I desired. Here is what I found at Pottery Barn:
First, I went on an online search for a headboard. I knew I wanted something soft and light so I narrowed my search to the upholstered headboards. During my online search I realized that I wanted a piece I could use for a long time and that would never go out of style. So I was in need of a neutral color that was simple, yet elegant. Nail head trim and large patterns seemed a little less versatile to me so something basic was what I desired. Here is what I found at Pottery Barn:
This Pottery Barn headboard is simple and versatile. However, the price tag for just the Queen size headboard is $799.00 with a $75 delivery surcharge. Yikes....
And so my search slowed as I was demotivated from the prices of upholstered headboards. But needless to say, I continued to search and found another headboard that was exactly what I wanted. It was tall, it made a statement, it was neutral and it was definitely more in my price range. Here is the Elle Queen Headboard that I found at Kirklands:
And so my search slowed as I was demotivated from the prices of upholstered headboards. But needless to say, I continued to search and found another headboard that was exactly what I wanted. It was tall, it made a statement, it was neutral and it was definitely more in my price range. Here is the Elle Queen Headboard that I found at Kirklands:
And the best thing about the one I found at Kirklands was the price tag: $259.98. AND if you ordered it online, there was a $50 discount on orders over $200. Plus, they can ship to all Kirklands locations for free. So I just had them ship it to the store and I picked it up there. Total cost of the headboard after discount and taxes was $224.68. I would say I got a pretty good deal! This headboard turned out great in my bedroom as it was taller then the pottery barn headboard and made more of a statement in the room. I am definitely happy with my purchase and encourage everyone to keep shopping around until you find what you want in a more reasonable price range.
The Luxury of Lighting
Ok.... why on earth are lamps like $250.00 or more each? Lamps add so much to a room and the perfect one is hard to find. I searched for MONTHS trying to find lamps that had a rustic feel but didn't look like a hand me down lamp that I just painted. I loved the thick wood lamps that looked a little aged and distressed like these (minus the bee shade):
Well I knew what I wanted, but I knew I didn't want to pay $200.00 for a lamp. Plus, I needed 2 of them, one for each side of my bed. So the search continued... and continued... and continued. I searched online frequently trying to find something remotely close to the above lamps but more in my desired price range and just was not finding much. One day I was in the mall and just happened to spot a pretty decorative cross in the window at Kirklands that I thought would look great on an empty wall in my house. I found the cross in the store and it just so happened to be next to the sale section. I glanced through the sale items quickly and too my surprise, saw some lamps on sale that were very similar to what I was looking for. The lamp is simply called the "Vintage Blue Table Lamp" and is regularly priced at $49.99 but was happily on sale for $39.99. Plus the shade matched my new headboard perfectly.
Artful Attempt
In addition to the new headboard and lamps needed for my bedroom, I was also in need of new artwork to go around my bed, over my nightstands. I have a dark wood dresser in my room, so I wanted some dark wood frames to bring over the color from my dresser. Artwork can be so expensive between the actual artwork you have to buy, matting for the artwork, glass, frames, hanging stuff, etc. So I decided to sort of go after it myself. Here is the inspiration for the artwork I wanted:
I searched some flea markets and didn't really find frames in the right size that I needed so I decided to head to hobby lobby to see what they had. Turns out, every two weeks, they have something like 40% off their custom frames or standard frames. So I went after their custom frames since they looked more elegant and expensive. They also had the option of custom matting so since my bedding is white, I did white matting and had them cut the mats to where the picture was a little top heavy (i.e. the hole for the picture was cut out a little closer to the top of the mat instead of perfectly centered). Then I selected a clear glass, as there are quite a few types of glass to choose from, and found some hardware to hang them. Instead of buying prints from the store to put in the picture frames I decided to make some myself. And by make some, I mean print some images off the internet. I have always loved Leonardo da Vinci's sketches so I googled "Leonardo da Vinci sketches" and found a few I was fond of. I printed them out on normal paper and used portions of the sketches to temporarily fill the frames until I decide exactly what I want in there. Here is the finished product (sorry for the terrible pictures, I took them at about 12 am):
The project cost was broken down as follows:
4 Frames $40 each but were 50% off : $80.00
4 pieces of glass at $9.00 each: $36.00
4 custom mats $7.00 each: $28.00
1 pack of picture hangers: $2.99
Approximate total cost for all 4 custom pictures: $146.99
4 Frames $40 each but were 50% off : $80.00
4 pieces of glass at $9.00 each: $36.00
4 custom mats $7.00 each: $28.00
1 pack of picture hangers: $2.99
Approximate total cost for all 4 custom pictures: $146.99
Spring Time Finds
As the winter weather finally moves out, the warm and sunny weather has really given me the desire to spend more time outside in the sun. With that being said, I have found the need for some outside patio furniture. Nothing fancy as I only currently have a small deck, but maybe a couple of chairs and a table for chatting and relaxing with a book or something.
I have recently seen a lot of neat patio furniture, chairs and loungers, but I had no idea how expensive they were. Just one chair can range from $299 to $499 bucks! And that comes with no pillows, no side tables and in some cases, no cushions. Now I am on a mission to find something small for a better price. Here are a few images and items that inspired me:
I have recently seen a lot of neat patio furniture, chairs and loungers, but I had no idea how expensive they were. Just one chair can range from $299 to $499 bucks! And that comes with no pillows, no side tables and in some cases, no cushions. Now I am on a mission to find something small for a better price. Here are a few images and items that inspired me:
dCOR design Harrison Patio Chair
This chair is simple yet has some pretty curves to it. It looks comfortable and I also like that it is in the darker color of wicker as I prefer the dark color over the light color. Two of these chairs will run you $1,600 for a set. Wow. They don't look $800 per chair comfortable to me. Don't think these will work price wise, but a similar look would be nice.
Here are a few others I like: |
Rausch Outdoor Wicker ChairLove the simplicity of this Rausch wicker chair. I love the color as we already established and just like the overall look of this chair. These chairs are $776 each meaning a total of $1,552 since I would like to at least have 2 chairs. And once again that is largely over what I would like to spend for a small outdoor seating area.
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The Robin Patio Chair is much closer to my price range at only $119.95 each or $239.90 for a set of two.
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These chairs are from Target and are $199 each for a total of $398 for two.
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This chair is from Sears. I like the shape of the chair and the price is $237.97 each totaling $475.94 for a set of two.
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The Perfect Chair Find
I began my hunt for the chairs first looking at some of the big retailers like Home Depot and Sears and Big Lots, but I never saw anything that I really liked. Most things I found reminded me of stuff that my grandmother had and wasn't really my style. A couple of days later I stopped into my favorite home store, HomeGoods, and found these two chairs:
And they were only $79 each! Score! I love the shape of the chairs which remind me of the ghost chairs I have seen in a ton of the stars homes lately. They were also very comfortable and chic so grabbed them up quick.
The Accent Table
Since I found the perfect chairs, I had to start looking for a table and accents. I have seen a lot of those fun ceramic stools/tables in lots of magazines lately and was interested in using something like that for a side table. Here are a few inspirations:
This one is from Neiman Marcus and is $265.00
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Love the teal color of this stool from Bellacor costing $145.95
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Fun patterned Urban Trends White Ceramic Stool which is $174.00
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Accent Table Accomplishment
After doing some online research and shopping, I actually only went one place and found the perfect accent table. HomeGoods came through again and provided me with this wonderful ceramic accent table/stool for $79:
And today, I actually saw this exact one on OneKingsLane.com for $149.99 (not including shipping costs). And HomeGoods also had some great outdoor pillows to put in my new chairs that match the accent table perfectly. Not to mention they were also a great price at $19 for two pillows.
The finished product for my little outdoor retreat:
The cost breakdown:
Two Chairs at $79 each: $158
Accent Table: $79
Accent Pillows: $19
Total: $256
Two Chairs at $79 each: $158
Accent Table: $79
Accent Pillows: $19
Total: $256
The total cost for everything was cheaper than most of the chairs I found on there own, so I was very happy with the final product. I cannot wait to enjoy the warm weather in my new outdoor seating area. Happy Spring Everyone!