Affordable Find

Regina Andrew, $873

Capital Lighting, $398 (in store price was $369)

I will admit it: this is a case where you can see where the price difference comes from.  The Regina Andrew light is larger, and the finish is clearly more special.  That said, it is the trellis pattern that really gives you the impact here, and having seen them both in person, I'd say go for the bargain!

Get the Look

Welcome Back!

I spent the past 4 days almost completely unplugged from work, and I am feeling refreshed.  Hope you can all say the same.

I got an email from a reader yesterday asking if I had source information for the rug in an old post.  The image is from an old issue of Chicago Home and Gardens, and while I suppose I could go dig up their "resources" and see if they listed the rug, my gut is that it is custom, high end, or both.  The reader wondered how she could get the look.

That rug looks like a patchwork cowhide, which adds really interesting texture.  But it is really the graphic pattern that the reader is after, and there are plenty of black and white tile-style rugs out there these days.

(Sources)

Not bad, huh?

This was a fun challenge because frankly, I'm betting that everything in the inspiration space is custom or vintage.  I was talking to a new long-distance client the other day who had interviewed local designers and was dismayed when each of them started in on designing custom furniture.  I share the belief with this client (and many others!)  that a great, custom-feeling room can be created without the major expense of all custom everything.  

I will admit that the big miss for me in the above is the wing chair--the fabric is obviously a different kind of pattern than in the inspiration shot, and the shape is not quite as interesting, but it gives the overall effect, and the neutral ties in to the West Elm curtains and the Safavieh ottoman (from Sears!).

(Sources)

With the little grouping on the side, the inspiration chairs are vintage, but these camel leather sling chairs give a similar vibe.  In fact, I think I like them better because they do not introduce chrome as an element in the room.  I threw in a second rug options because, well, there are so many out there to choose from!

What do you think?  I'm still on the fence about the very mismatched chairs, but it is fun to push out of my comfort zone.

I should be around with new content all week.  Hope to see you back tomorrow!

Look for less

If you love the Samarkand prints from Schumacher and Brunchwig & Fils as much as I do....

Peter Dunham uses Brunschwig, via House Beautiful

Brunschwig, via The Designer's Attic

Schumacher in Traditional Home

Schumacher in (an earlier iteration of) my girls' room

You're going to LOVE this!

Ellis Ikat Pillow from Pottery Barn!

24" pillow cover, just $39

It's definitely closer to the Brunschwig pattern, but definitely soothes that colorful global craving at a (much) better price point.

Have you found any worthy knock offs lately?

Bobbin on a Budget

I LOVE a good bobbin chair, don't you?
It's the traditionalist part of me that wishes I lived in the South.  Or at the beach.  So easy breezy, yet so detailed--so crafted--all the same, don't you agree?

Source: caitlinwilsondesign.blogspot.com via Kristi Hansen on Pinterest

Source: mydesignchic.com via Kristy on Pinterest

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Source: elledecor.com via Casey on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Lori on Pinterest

Source: purestylehome.blogspot.com via Deb on Pinterest

Source: highstreetmarket.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Now typically I would say this is a "splurge" item, and I particularly love the ones from Lillian August with the knife edge pillow back and tight seat, looser in feel than box cushions.





BUT.

I recently noticed that Pier 1 is stocking their own version for under $500.

Not bad.  Not bad at all.

Pier 1 is one of those stores where I rarely find/buy anything, for me or others, but I am still in the habit of popping in just in case.  Do you have old haunts like that?

ALSO.

don't forget the Novica giveaway.  So many choices, anyone could do something with $75 bucks over there.  Enter here.

If you like this designer headboard, try that retail one

All of a sudden, there are a number of great headboard shapes out there that can be customized with a selection of fabrics (or, in some cases, the fabric of your choice.)  While these tend not to be cheap, they do offer you a wide range of options without hiring a designer to give you access to a tried and true workroom and trade-only fabric lines.  It offers you the option of a designer-look custom bed without much hassle.

It has been fun to try to replicate some designer looks through retail.

So, if you like this, try that:

Top row: if you like this fabulous San Francisco apartment bedroom, originally published in Domino, try that velvet upholstered headboard from Urban Outfitters. (and some knock-off Clarence House flowering quince fabric to go with it.)

Middle: if you like this fun and fabulous Annie Selke bedroom, try that fantastical bed from John Robshaw.

Bottom: If you like this updated-traditional blue fabric on a curvy shape, try this block-printed number from Serena and Lily.

Round Two!

Top tow: if you like this floral number in Lonny editor Michelle Adam's apartment, try the loose floral on a custom bed from Bassett.

Middle: if you like this vintage french look, spotted on Amber Interiors, try this inset-stripe Louis style bed from Ballard design.

Bottom: And if you like this over the top floral, spotted on Little Green Notebook, try a similar fabric on a straight-lined bed, also from Bassett.

That should get you started.  Try out the customization tools at these retailers, and let me know what you come up with!

And come on back tomorrow.  I'll try for a "best of the rest" round up of retail beds in great shapes, even if they come in a more boring array of fabrics.

Look for Less: Chilled out

Carins Schott in Domino

As it turns out, promising you a look for less based on yesterday's California chill rooms was, well, ambitious.  Some looks aren't about the mix: they are about the individual pieces.  The interesting thing about these spaces is that they work partly because the pieces aren't cheap.  When you cheapen the finishes on a really chill space, it can go college dorm on you real fast.

I found a knock off togo.

And a passable brutalist light fixture (not cheap at $750 or so)



And the truly cheap version ($64!)




And a lovely live edge coffee table (again not cheap at $1800, but FAR cheaper than many, which can easily reach to $10,000).




As I started to put these together, however, the color and the horrible micro-suede finish of the couch just couldn't touch the patina and broken in vibe of the legit leather togo (which, for a sectional, STARTS at $10K).  The chandelier was okay, but it kind of needed to be vintage.  Any art that felt like the right fit was not budget, so I threw in a Smashing Pumpkins oversize concert poster, mostly because we have it and if I was going for this look in my house it would make it in.

In the interest of transparency, I'll show you the (unfinished) board.

You can see that I was debating two pendants, and playing around with some elements.  The striped rug doesn't feel chill enough, but a super textural shag in a solid color fell flat with the flat finishes on the upholstery.

The truth is, you CAN get this look for less.  You just can't buy it all at once from websites.  You can search vintage sources like a madwoman and carefully collect just the right pieces (What, this old thing?) until you have just the right I didn't even TRY but it's perfect vibe.

(Sources: Chairs are from whiteonwhite and Serena and Lily.  White side table and horse head lamp are West Elm.  Wood candlesticks and white geometric light fixture are Urban outfitters.  Rug is Ikea.  Plants are in wooly pockets.)

What do you think?  Could you work towards a chilled out vibe?

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!