A Few of My Favorite Bargains–Updated

Several bargain buys caught my eye this week:

Who doesn’t love a lit a la polonaise? This picture is from World of Interiors via Trouvais (thanks Trish!) The problem with these beds is you need quite a lot of money to recreate this look.

The French just do design better than anyone.   Recreating this bed, though, is out of the budget for most of us.

So beautiful – new or old.

From The Selby HERE, Herve Pierre used a checked fabric, a relatively inexpensive choice, to decorate his bedroom.   Of course, the bed is pricey, but by choosing a reasonable fabric, you can keep the expense down. Gorgeous? Not him! The bed!!!!

If the lit a la Polonaise is definitely out of the question, a less expensive choice is the Italian Campaign bed.   I first fell in love with this bed when I saw Mimmi O’Connell’s work. She’s been using variations of this bed, with and without the draping, for decades.

The Group Sibuet hotel in Provence uses an assortment of campaign beds in their rooms.

While original campaign beds are hard to come by, Niermann Weeks has two new versions. Here, Phillip Sides used a beautiful Brunschwig and Fils blue check to decorate this NW bed.

And Mario Buatta used the same Niermann Weeks iron bed here in an luscious room, typical of his opulent style.   But, what if NW is out of your price range?

Anthropologie HERE makes this wonderful copy – at a fraction of the cost. Here, the frame is left bare which shows of its beautiful oval top.

And, if you are really on a strict budget, Pottery Barn Teen HERE has this version. Here, Grant Gibson uses the PBTeen bed in his own apartment. He installed a back headboard to rest upon. Unfortunately, to everyone’s distress, PBTeen discontinued this bed for a year or two. Recently, they brought it back. I wonder if they listened to the blogger backlash over this discontinuation?

Recently, my partner on the Skirted Roundtable, Linda Merrill, used the Anthropologie bed in this young girls room. She also installed head and back rests for safety reasons.   Read the story of this adorable makeover HERE.

For my own daughter’s makeover, I also used the Anthropologie bed, in the twin size.   At the time, the PBTeen bed was discontinued. Truthfully, I would have saved the money and used that bed had it been available, although I do like the Anthropologie bed better.

I did not install the head or foot board.   The pillows do a good enough job to keep Lizzy in the bed, but it’s a nice sized gap and the headboard is probably a good idea.

PRICES:

The Pottery Barn Teen bed runs from $699 to $999, for the queen – no king size available. These prices are crazy cheap! What a chic look for not a lot of money!

The Anthropologie bed runs from $1,250 for a twin to $1800. for a king. Still reasonable, but more expensive than the PBTeen.

Niermann Weeks – this iron bed retails for around $9,900.00. Now, that is retail. Depending on your contract with your interior designer, you may pay a lot less or even more.

This Niermann Weeks bed retails for around $12,000.00   Hmmm.   It is beautiful, no doubt. It is probably much sturdier too. The gap in the headboard is no issue here. You get what you pay for. But, before you ask, I am very happy with the quality of the Anthropologie bed.

Ektorp Slipcovered Furniture:

If you read this blog, you know I think that Ikea’s Ektorp slipcovered furniture line is the best bargain out there.    For those with almost no budget at all, this furniture gives you a great look and leaves you with no excuse not to have a well designed space! Case in point, these Ikea Ektorp chairs paired with two wicker PB chairs look wonderful.    I love when I spy Ektorp furniture on the internet or when people send me pictures of their spaces using these pieces.   The white slipcovered sofa is just $399 – an unheard of price.   I also like the new gray slips, slightly higher at $599 for the sofa.   I would mix the gray with the white pieces, but all gray pieces is great, also.

Jenny Grumbles from Uptown Country, the cute online shop HERE, used the Ektorp sofa and chairs in her pink and white Dallas apartment.

Recently, while looking at houses for rent in Provence, I was surprised to come upon the Ektorp gray slipcovered furniture in Provence – one of the chicest area in the world to live in.   Now, I do realize this house could use some styling:

Like this one. This rental in Provence shows the same gray slips with styling.

An Ikea Makeover:

BEFORE:

A few weeks ago, the blogger Holly Mathis HERE from nearby Hempstead, Texas, showed a redo she had just completed for an online client.    The client lives in Austin with a hodge podge collection of family room furniture she was ready to repurpose.      Since they were on a tight budget, Holly came up with some cost saving ideas.

BEFORE:   Some of the furniture was reused, and other pieces were moved out the of living room.

AFTER:

Holly had her client buy the Ikea Ektorp slipcovered furniture and the change was drastic!    The curtains were made with fabric bought online.   The chairs were moved from another room and the ottoman/coffee table is new, as is the rug.   Notice the chandelier – that’s from Ballard Designs for just $299! Yes!

AFTER:

Holly had the client paint the armoire a blue gray which makes all the difference.    To read about this redo, see Holly Mathis Interiors HERE.

The fixture they used in the living room is new from Ballard Designs and comes in two sizes for just $199 and $299.   HERE.     Holly used the bigger size. I was surprised to see how large it looked in the room. It’s a lot of look for just $299.

Lanterns:

Holly also recently redid her dining room. For a while it was being used as a bedroom after her new baby arrived.   I love how it looks now and how she tied it in with the kitchen by using the printed curtains and repainting the kitchen the dusty pink which is found in the curtains.   But what really caught my eye was the lantern!   It’s fabulous.

Holly’s kitchen.   So charming!

Her office space off her kitchen and next to the dining room.   I love her desk with its linen skirt.

So, where DID Holly buy her new lantern from?    The yoke is what makes it really authentic looking.

It’s from Pottery Barn for just $349.   Amazing!   While the lantern comes with a copper top, Holly painted hers all black. I would use this lantern everywhere – in the foyer, the living room, the dining room, kitchen, bedroom or library.   You can tell from Holly’s dining room picture that the scale is big enough that the lantern makes a statement. Personally, I love the copper detailing, but Holly didn’t.

Another great Pottery Barn lantern is this model for $499.   Slightly more expensive, it’s still so much cheaper than the antique versions.

Until the PB Lantern came out, this was my favorite budget lantern. Shown here in Lauren Liess’ office, this lantern is just $139, HERE.

If you have any great budget favorites or makeovers – email me!

COTE DE TEXAS SPONSOR NEWS:

Last week, I showed a house that Pam Pierce designed 8 years ago, that is now for sale.   One of the CdT sponsors, Bonny Neiman Antiques had some fun with that story.

She took every picture from the Pam Pierce designed house and showed how her own antiques tied in with the story. So, if you were interested in recreating that look, please read this story – it’s really interesting and informative and fun!   Go HERE to read it.

Another CdT sponsor, The Bella Cottage is having a sale. Go HERE to read all about it.

These chairs are new addition to the Bella Cottage and I just love these!!!! They remind me of the chair in Elisabeth’s room. I really like just a just of gilt in living room and bedrooms.

And finally, I was sooooo excited to see that Charlotte Moss has a new book coming out in April. I love the cover picture – all the green is so trendy right now.

To pre-order your copy from Amazon, click on the title to the right of the picture below:

Charlotte Moss Decorates: The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms