elements of style: cheap decor

Showing posts with label cheap decor. Show all posts

10.12.2009

New Faves from Ballard Designs.

This weekend my new Ballard catalog came. I am, to put it mildly, obsessed with Ballard for their varied styles, amazing price points, COM capabilities and custom fabric options. Not to mention, the quality is great too. So I was thrilled to see some new items in their catalog and wanted to share my picks with you this morning (I have lots of classic Ballard items I love, but these are the newbies!)

The Macau armchair not only now comes in new finishes like silver, green, chocolate, but they lowered the price too!

I would love to use one of the Stevenson whitewashed wood headboards at a beach house, or a pair of the nail head quatrefoil cutout upholstered headboards in a little girls room!

I am LOVING this new tufted dining chair. I am going to get one for my new desk chair since the one I bought is about as comfortable as a cactus. I am also loving this corner upholstered daybed- available in a bevy of fabrics!

I think I have a "thing" for daybeds- I would love this one in my office!

Cowhide rugs for layering over a sisal in any room, and this sleek meets rustic side table. All good.

A couple new chandeliers- one a vintage looking empire style chandy for a Paris flea market look, or this wood carved one for a chic country look- love 'em both!

Table lamps for any decor- casual or formal.

Alos loving this ikat pillow and the brain sack pillows available in different sizes!

Or how about this little birdcage pendant lights? Adorable in a powder room with aviary/chinoiserie style wallpaper!

Awesome large sunburst mirror and a ol' favorite of mine that is now on SALE!

Ballard is also a great place to find large scale affordable art for those space you just have no idea what to do with!

And a gift giving favorite of mine, their cheap (the large is $26) monogrammed burlap mags- fill 'em with goodies for holiday time for a really personal touch!

10.01.2009

A Plea to West Elm

Dear West Elm,

Please, please, PLEASE make this rug again. It's the most perfect rug in the history of affordable floor coverings and I keep seeing it in magazines- even now, two years after I bought my own! My clients need them. I need them. Pretty please with a cherry on top?

xo,

Erin

P.S. While your at it, make the big pillows again too. Muchas gracias.

9.28.2009

Dorm Disaster Revisited!

When my freshman year roommate Laura (also a blogger) sent me this picture of our dorm room and asked me to do a post with her redesigning it I thought it was a great idea. And I was absolutely HORRIFIED by what I saw. I cannot remember it looking like this- a tapestry with Ralph Lauren floral bedding? Stacked plastic crates? Had I not gotten contacts yet? UGH! What I do remember was that it was the smallest dorm room in history! There wasn't Target, IKEA and the like to allow us to decorate cleverly on a budget. So here is my room re-do utilizing all the amazing resources out there today for parents and kids looking to make their dorm rooms look lovely without going broke (after all, in true college fashion, you'll want to throw oout most of it at the end of the year from it's pure nastiness).

A pair of large graphic chinoiserie (removable) wall decals would go on the slanted ceiling to make it feel like there were birds and branches overhead. No damage to the wall and a clever way to make a room like this look beautiful and custom! I'd use this one in brown with pink birds.

Instead of the ubiquitous college futon I would splurge on this daybed from West Elm (using the school provided twin mattress to save $$) so it could serve as a sofa for friends as well as a bed- leaving plenty of room underneath for underbed storage, which I really needed!

I obviously was in need of more storage than just underbed, so I'd get this Expedit bookcase and put it on the floor lengthwise next to the bed under the slanted ceiling so it could serve as a nightstand and a place to put books and stuff- I'd add a few baskets to conceal clutter. I'd also top it with a cute little light for reading and homework

Can you believe this adorable orange and white trellis bedding is from Walmart?

These gorgeous throw pillows from Etsy are made of vintage dress fabric and are $40! Love them!And with some solid pink pillows from Target they would make a lovely little ensemble!

To feel cozy on the feet on those chilly New England mornings in the old drafty dorm, a sheepskin rug

A graphic Audrey canvas would go on the wall above the bed in homage to my style guru. Laura mentions that we would probably both have Robert Pattinson posters up considering we both are obsessed with Twilight, even as 30 year olds. I would vote that we go all the way and get the life size stand up cut out to share. So he could serve a purpose (as all items in a small room should) we could use him to keep all our necklaces and scarves on. Thanks Rob!

This fun little mirror would go above the desk to assist in primping for a night out on campus and nearby a little zebra (it is ME after all) bulletin board for pics and reminders.

Thanks for the post suggestion Laura (her room redo here)- I only WISH our room could have looked like this then!

8.19.2009

Tarjay, mi amor!

I popped onto the Target site this morning to see what was new over at my fave discount retailer and I went on a bit of cyber shopping spree- so I thought I'd share my finds with you!

These ikat accent chairs are AMAZING! I love the blue one, it would be ever so lovely in a bedroom with a small table next to it for reading:

These ottomans come in the same prints, but also loving these tufted small ottomans (that come in other colors too):

Some other great accent chairs- high design, low cost:

This sofa set reminds me of Crate & Barrel's Petrie sofa and chair- but way less:

A really good looking entertainment unit:

DwellStudio has branched out from just making baby furniture for them to making adult furniture- the Silver Lake bedroom set is quite lovely and modern. I adore the side table and dresser the most:

A Chinese Chippendale influenced dining set:

This set has great potential- the backs of the chairs are a woven cane type material and if the seats were covered in a great patterned fabric it could really look lovely:

A sleek, modern desk for a kids room:

This almost knocked me over- an affordable version of a much more expensive freestanding fireplace! Still not super cheap ($799), but cheaper than installing a gas fireplace and so cool looking!

Nesting trunks that look vintage and nesting lucite tables that look, well... awesome:

These woven rattan chairs mix modern and natural in a cool way- they'd look really great in a modern loft space. This silver woven-look screen would nicely conceal anything that needs concealing in a room- but also could be used as a headboard:

A few modern designer knock-offs:

Some adorable mirrored accent tables:

I am simply mad about their upholstered beds and headboards- available in a myriad of fabrics and styles they give an expensive, custom look at a fraction of the price!