Look For Less: Bohemian Beach Shack

Even more than a makeover show, I am a total sucker for those "look for less" shows and magazine columns.  I guess it's just the bargain hunter in me, but it's super satisfying to see a high-end look pulled off on a budget.  Did you ever watch HGTV's Double Take?  It was a favorite of mine.  They would make this huge deal about how a couple's inspiration room cost, like, $100K, and then they'd replicate it for "a fraction of the budget" (usually around two grand.)

Fun fact: my former roommate was one of the two design experts on the show! ("As a magazine editor with 10 years experience, I have to say, I'm impressed!")

At any rate, after posting Peter Dunham's cozy beach shack last week, I found myself inspired to pull a similar design together for peanuts.

The Inspiration Room:

And my room:

Ta da!  Pretty good, right?

I used retail sources only, including total budget spots like Overstock.com (the red ottoman) and Home Decorators Collection (couch and side tables), and a whole lot of Pottery Barn since they do the whole cottage thing so well (wall art, glass lamps, striped pillows, braided rug).

The "splurge" here was the spool chair:  you just can't get a good, cheap knock off of a piece with that kind of detailing.  And even this one isn't insanely expensive at just about $1000 (from Layla Grace), and the fabric is from the Iman collection at Calico Corners and costs under $30/yard, I think.  Not terrible with the small yardage you would need, and the big, big scale is just what the chair (and the room) needs.  The slipcovered armchair is not cheap-cheap either, but in real life I would buy something from craigslist and cover it in that rough linen ticking with the red stripe, also from Calico Corners (the background is a bit whiter in real life).

On Double Take, the design experts would always be super impressed with the results, but one of them would say "the big miss for me is...."  Here, the side tables stray the furthest from the original design, but I like them and feel they are in keeping with the spirit of the space (and they're about $100 a piece).  I thought the straight leg of the ottoman was gonna bug me, but with the other pieces in the room it doesn't need a turned leg a la the inspiration room.  So I think the big miss for me is the little ottomans.  It's the patchwork that really makes them in the Dunham room.  And the round shape against the more squared-off pieces.  I found a patchwork version but it was a little too soft and beanbag-ish, and the look got sloppy.

If you link to the board on olioboard, you can check out more details on the sources.

Anyway.  What do you think?  I dig it.

Do you have a look you'd like to see "for less"?  Send it to me, I'll see what I can do!