Model Home Inspiration...Pottery Barn Knock Off

To me there is nothing better then spending a Saturday afternoon at a model home. 

I could spend hours touring model homes getting ideas and dreaming about future homes.  I have been know to snap a few photos from time to time so I can use them later as inspiration.   I actually have a file saved on my computer of pictures that I have taken of models that I love.

While looking to buy our townhouse in Va I came across a model home that I fell in love with.  One of our local builders, Van Metre uses Pottery Barn Design Services on some of their models.  Pottery Barn will send local designers into their models to decorate them, they are completely done with everything you could think of from Pottery Barn.  If you ever get a chance to tour one you are lucky!!!  These model homes are absolutely stunning!!

My favorite happens to be the Astoria Model in Stone Ridge, VA, this is my dream home if Pottery Barn could come and do my home top to bottom.  Below are a few of the photos from the model that I got from the Builder's Web Site. 

I have the same Sienna Bedding, after seeing it here I had to buy it.  I love it.

There is a great collage of clocks behind the couch.

The did a great job of mixing different textures in the master. 

One of my favorite ideas from this model is the kitchen table in a dark stain and the blue painted chairs.  I love the mix of casual and formal.   The painted chairs and the stained table the complement each other and you get a good mix of painted furniture without going overboard.

You can see the table and chairs in the back ground.

I have been dreaming of the table and chairs for months, my husband is so tired of hearing me talk about them that we decided to go buy the set.  We went to the store and they have discontinued their Queen Ann Chairs, oh no!!  Not only were the chairs discontinued but so was the table.  While looking at a similar table that was $800 I got an idea why don't we buy a knock off table and buy some chairs that I could paint in a similar color? 

Let the craigslist searching begin!!  I am proud to report that I have found my table for $120 (it came with 5 chairs that I will be selling because they don't work) and I found knock off chairs for $20 (for all 4, steal of a deal).  Now I just need to restain the table and paint the chairs to achieve my knock off look.  Stay tuned for my update with the finished project, after a year of drooling I can't wait to get this project done.

laura.liveloudoun.com

Did someone say free landscaping!!!

We bought our town home almost a year ago.  I love that we have a corner lot since we have more room to do landscaping.  When we bought the house the builder just put in minimal landscaping.  We also had tons of grass on the side yard which without a sprinkler system (in Virginia it's rare to have a sprinkler systems) it would be hard to water all the grass and mow all the time.  Last August my husband and I decided to rip out a lot of the grass and build a flower bed to cut down on the watering and mowing.

We were only able to afford a few hydrangeas, a few green shrubs and 2 crepe myrtle bushes.  We installed everything in one weekend.  I never really liked how we finished it but shortly after we installed everything I found out I was pregnant and life just took over.  I knew that we would revisit the yard this summer and add more plants.

Finally after having baby Madison I was ready to get out there and finish the yard. Our neighbor works for another home builder and is always getting free landscaping from the model homes that they are closing out.  Knowing this I have been waiting for our builder to sell the last town home and single family home so I could ask for some of the landscaping.  Typically a builder will rip out all of the landscaping near parking lots and their models and throw it in the dumpster.  Crazy!!  I know.  It is such a waste. 

The day finally arrived and I saw the foreman out there with the workers I asked if I could have some of the plants and they said whatever we could dig out I could have.  I could see in my husband's face that he was not looking forward to digging everything up and transplanting but when I told him how much money we were going to save his face changed.

My husband, father in law and I dug up 6 rose bushes, 3 green shrubs, and about 15 little green bushes to add to our landscaping.  It only took us about 3 hours to do everything and boy did it make a huge difference in our side yard.  We had a few things left over so I added a few of the items to our new planter boxes in the back yard. (stay tuned for another post on our flower beds)

 Not bad for free.  All the plants would be around $400 if we had bought it at a Lowes or Home Depot.  All we had to do was ask, dig everything up and transplant everything.  The one lesson I learned was when I asked I specifically said the rose bushes, I should have said everything.  There was this great crepe myrtle tree that I would have loved but another neighbor had asked about it and the builder gave it to her.  Please learn from my mistake and asked for everything that you want.  So next time you see a builder closing out a neighborhood go ahead and ask about the landscaping, you never know they may let you take everything. 

Top 10 Favorite Stores for Thrifty Decor

I get asked all the time for my top 10 favorite stores to shop for thrifty decor.  So I thought I would put together a list of my favorite stores:

Home Goods 

I don't know anyone who doesn't love this place, it is the best place to find inexpensive yet unique times.  The key to finding the best stuff before anyone else is to talk to the store employees and find out which day or days the new truck comes and is unloaded.  I found out my favorite store gets it's truck on Tuesdays and Fridays..  So Tuesday afternoon and evening is prime picking time, as well as Saturday morning.  So go ahead and befriend the employees!  My other piece of advice is if you see it buy it, or it might not be there the next time. 

Garden Ridge

When I first discovered this place I thought that it was a garden center, boy was I wrong.  They have tons of patio furniture cushions and garden decor but much, much more. There are rows and rows of pictures, mirrors, lamps, lamp shades, bedding, area rugs, and other home decor items at great prices. You do need to have a list of what you are looking for (of you will be over whelmed) and you might need to dig for that perfect item but it is well worth it for the price. 

Christmas Tree Shops

With a name like this you would think they only had Christmas items all year around, but they don't.  They have awesome home decor and seasonal holiday items for every holiday.  I have bought awesome Halloween, Thanksgiving, and 4th of July decor for out side of my house.  I always get compliments on the items I buy there.  I also bought 2 awesome night stands for my guest room for only $25 each, I just had to screw on the legs and presto I had new night stands.  Great place to find the unexpected. 

Big Lots

Another great store for home decor and holiday decor.  They have great prices on close outs from other stores.  I get most of my holiday decor from here, great selection of out door decor.  My husband and I bought our Broyhill bed room set at a local furniture store when they were closing out the heirloom cherry collection.  Unfortunately they didn't have another night stand we happened to go buy Big Lots that week and there it was for less than the other store.  We loved that collection so much we bought the coffee table and end tables to match at Big Lots all for a whopping $150. What a steal for 3 pieces of real wood furniture!!

Home Decorators

While this store is mainly online you can find some of their pieces at your local Home Depot Stores, Home Depot owns them.  Crazy I know!  I have loved this store since I can remember, we used to have a Home Depot Expo store in my home town when they closed they moved everything online plus more.   Great place to find inspiration and home decor.  I will let you in on a little secret if you see something you like you can wait for it to go on sale and get it for a steal!!! Or sign up for their coupons and shipping specials, I don't buy anything that I don't have a shipping special on.  We have bought furniture from their site for my husbands man room that we adore, but each piece was 75 lbs so thankful for my coupon or the shipping would have been an arm and a leg. 

Ross Stores

Not only is this a great place for clothes but home decor. They have a great selection of accent furniture, pictures, mirrors, and unique vases.  I have been shopping here since I moved into my first apartment.  In fact my husband loves to remind me of the time we went to the Ross Store in San Francisco while on vacation.  We needed to kill an hour before our dinner reservation when I noticed a great picture frame shaped like a window pane that holds 20 photos, 1 in each pane. My poor husband had to carry it 3 blocks on his head back to the hotel, to this day I never hear the end of it.  If you ever go to San Francisco please stop by there 4 story Ross Store.   I have never seen a better Ross in my life. 

Habitat for Humanity

What can I say about this place other than amazing.  Each store is unique as everything is donated by the community and the profits go to Habitat so they can build homes for much deserving families.  I have shopped at stores in Ca and now here in VA.  Both stores have great things but its first come first serve.  So if you see it, you like it, then buy it!!  They have great building materials that you can transform into anything, just like my laundry room sign. I have also bought amazing furniture there that I restored.  Great place especially if you are starting out and are looking for great furniture. 

Cost Plus World Market

I love this store for curtains and pictures for your walls. They have a great selection of pictures for every room in your house.  They curtain selection is equally great if you are looking for 84 inch or 95 inch curtains.  Plus they generally have coupons for 20% off online, via email or with my iphone app.  I have also bought a fabulous pair of towels for my powder room, they have some unusual patterns that are a little out of the box to help jazz up a boring powder room.

JCPenney

I love this place for its curtains.  If you are looking for curtains for any room at a great price this should be your first stop, especially for unique lengths like 108 inch.  We bought are living room curtains here last year for $25 a curtain, that was a great price for 108 inch thermal black out curtains.  I couldn't beat that price anywhere else, plus I had a coupon for more money off. 

Target

Who doesn't love this place?  They have great prices on everything for your home from bedding to picture frames.  My favorite home decor isle is the seasonal decor, this isle is usually located on an end cap of a major isle.  Great accent pieces in fabulous colors.  Keep your eye out for this isle as it changes often and you can score some great deals when they start marking things down.  I bought 2 purple bottle vases for my guest bedroom for under $5.  Someone returned them and they were sitting at an end cap at the back of the store on the bottom shelf when I spotted them. I had seen them weeks earlier for $15 each.  That reminds me walk the back of the home decor isles and look at the end caps for great clearance deals.  Don't be afraid to dig and look on the bottom shelves for great deals. 

These are just a few of my favorite stores.  I have others that I like to score a great deal at as well.  What stores do you love to find a good deal at?

New Mirrors From Big Lots

While at Big Lots the other day I came across these great silver mirrors for only $5 each., what a steal of a deal!

I have been wanting something to place over my dresser in our bedroom, for a while now.   When I saw these mirrors, I knew they would be perfect to go with the silver sage and brown decor we have in our bedroom.  

I purchased two mirrors to place on the wall above my dresser, for just $10.  Usually you can't find one great mirror for under $10 much less 2 mirrors for $10.  To finish off my dresser I added two vases that I got at Home Goods for $11.99 that match the silver sage bedding that I purchased from Restoration Hardware.  I also found a little vase with white hydrangeas in the clearance section at my local Target for $4.  

This is one of my favorite corners of my home, I love the way the mirrors reflect the light in our bedroom and coordinate with the other decor items in our room.

What great finds have you found at your local Big Lots?

Chair Cover From a Pillow?

You can find fabric to cover the seat of a chair any where, not just at your favorite fabric store.

We live in Northern California and are lucky to have a Restoration Hardware Outlet within driving distance.  I like to plan a trip there a few times a year.  On my last trip I found these great Silver Sage and Tan pillows in their clearance section.  They were $5 each, WOW!!!  Unfortunately they only had two, and I needed at least 4 for my living room, what s a girl to do.  I bought them knowing I would find them a home, at some point.

Well I finally found a home for my 2 pillows, as chair seat covers.  I took a seam ripper to the seams which gave me four pieces of fabric which was just enough for my four chairs.  I will say that Restoration Hardware makes good quality pillows, it took forever to get the stitches out of the pillows.

I took the 4 fabric squares and attached them to the seat by using my staple gun, it took a matter of minutes per chair.  I love them, the fabric matches my dinning room perfectly and the fabric is very durable.  

Not bad for a $10 re-cover.

Before and After: It Doesn't Hurt to Ask for a Discount

I love a good discount or clearance sale, but sometimes there are discounts in a store that aren't advertised you just need to ask.

I have always hated my entry way cabinet, it has been around for over 10 years and has served many purposes.  It has been beaten up pretty bad over the last few moves, and has been painted many different colors over it's life.  The other down side to this table is there is not much space on the top, which would be nice.  I would like to create a space for us to drop our keys or mail when we walk threw the door.  It is time to retire the entry table and buy a new one, let the shopping begin.

While shopping at our local Ross store I found an entry way cabinet that I just fell in love with at first sight.  The price tag however was very high.  The price was $179, ouch!  I walked away.  While shopping the rest of the store I couldn't get the cabinet out of my mind, so I decided to take one more look.  While moving it around I noticed that the back has some issues as did the front corner.  The back had a hole in it about the size of a quarter and a tiny crack.  The front left corner had a little repair job (which most people wouldn't notice).

I had the employees bring the cabinet to the front, then got ready to talk to a manager about the damages.  Ross is very good about discounting items if it is imperfect, you just have to ask.  Sometimes you can get 20%-50% off, you just need to bring it up an ask.  The manager on duty that day said how about 30%, I said no because I need to fix the hole then I was offered 50% off, SOLD!!!  I got this amazing cabinet for under $100, Happy Birthday to me.

The great thing about the hole is it is on the back, you will never see because the cabinet will always be against the wall.  The hole is also behind the drawer so you won't see it threw the doors. I won't need to fix the hole or the tiny crack, only my husband, me and now you know about it.

While browsing my local Pier 1 the other day I found the matching cabinet and bench to my table, guess the price?  The Messena Bench was $349.95 and the Messena Cabinet was $450.  I couldn't believe it, what a steal of a deal.  I love my cabinet and I think the redo of my entry way looks great!

Here is the before of my entry way, boring.

Here is the new and improved entry way.

Love the new area for my husband to put his keys, no more lost keys.

I hope I have inspired you to ask for a discount, you never know what you might get, the worst they can say is no. Tell me about your good deal.