Low-cost lookalikes

I was browsing through the Pottery Barn sale yesterday and came across this white bench, which looks almost exactly like two others from JCPenney and Overstock.com. While I can't vouch for the quality of any of the benches (nor any of the products I feature here, for that matter!), the less expensive benches may be a good deal if you're not willing to pay $299 or $399 (depending on the color) for a bench. Plus, you crafty types could totally sew your own cushion and make it your own--while saving money!

Overstock.com, $114.99

JCPenney, $249.99 (comes with a wall shelf)

Hot seat of the week

Go here to enter to win the Cole Chair from Room & Board from Apartment Therapy! Depending on your set-up, it would make a great complement to your living room or bedroom. Personally, I'd clear out some room in our bedroom and use it for a little reading nook.

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

The Re-Arranger

Simply re-arranging your furniture brings a fresh look and feel to any space. We recently moved a hand-me-down bookcase down to our basement so that we could use our square footage more efficiently. As you can see below in the “before” picture, the placement of the bookcase resulted in an odd “faux nook” and a crammed-together seating area.


Now, as shown in the “after” picture below, the living room looks much more open and inviting. Although we subtracted a substantial and useful piece of furniture, sometimes less is definitely more!


The rules of re-arrangement apply to every room and object in your home. On days when I enjoy an HGTV marathon and subsequently yearn for a house makeover, I reorganize my tschotkes (no duck figurines here, mind you). I often switch out my dining room table centerpiece with a fruit bowl, candlesticks or flowers. And, if our bedroom layout allowed it, I’d rearrange the boudoir every six months.

Sometimes new arrangements inspire greater creativity and a simply refreshing change—or just make you realize how many dust bunnies gather underneath your couch!

Solutions for your entryway

After a long day, most of us tend to drop everything immediately. But rather than scatter keys, mail and shoes (so many shoes!) around your place, bring it all together with a cost-effective entryway solution.

I personally use a Bombay Company end table as an entry table, and it works great. We can store all of our crap in the front drawer and drop our keys in the little re-purposed "party plate." This doesn’t solve our massive shoe problem (who knew we had so many shoes?), but we’ll just have to be better about keeping those out of sight.

If you go for a console table, which is essentially just a little wider and slightly taller than an end table, you can add additional storage space to the tabletop with a decorative basket similar in shape to this one. I don’t have to tell you that baskets like this are available everywhere for super-cheap! I’ve even gotten compliments on ones purchased from the dollar store.

Another option I’m coveting is a wooden bench with “cubby”-like storage spaces beneath it, such as this one and this one. The baskets can be filled with gloves, scarves, shoes, or anything else you want to keep tucked away.

If you don’t have the room or budget for furniture, go with a couple decorative hooks to keep your purse, scarves, and light jackets together. I scored these branch hooks on clearance from Urban Outfitters last year—keep your eye out for sales. You can also kill two birds with one stone courtesy of Etsy seller magneticboardman, as he makes coat racks that double as wall art!

Happy hunting!

Hot seat of the week

A modern, whimsical chair can certainly dress up a dull space. If you've got lighter-colored furniture, check out the Poäng from Ikea. You can choose from a multitude of slipcover options that match your color scheme. The best part is it's just $129 (a bargain when it comes to chairs).

5 low-cost coffee tables

The coffee table is usually one of the most prominent and most-used furniture pieces in the living room. Therefore, it pays to invest in a solid, stylish table that won’t fall apart within a year. Most of the tables I’ve found fall between the $160-$299 range. Depending on the style you want, you could find an even better deal. My husband and I managed to score a $130 coffee table on clearance from a local furniture store. The months-long search for a dark wood, mission-style piece with an extra shelf for storage proved difficult, but it paid off in the end.

Check out the following five (technically six) tables for some inspiration:

The Galerie coffee table from Crate & Barrel retails for $249.00 and features some simple decorative touches. It’s got enough space for your magazines, books and any other go-to items.

The modern, angled-leg coffee table from West Elm (above left) is on sale for $229.00 (plus $30 shipping). It comes in both “limed chocolate” and “cinnabar,” so you can go for a more playful color scheme. For a similar look, go with the Vejmon from Ikea (right) for just $169.00. It only comes in brown-black, but it’s got the same basic structure plus an extra shelf.

If your style is ultra-modern, check out this one from CB2. The $199 table is made entirely of glass with shiny chrome edges. I could picture this one placed atop a super-bright, fun area rug. Just make sure your other pieces are on the modern side, too!


Those of you seeking more traditional options might want to give the South Hampton cocktail table from Target a look. This one is $149.99 and comes with two baskets that keep your projects, remote controls, mail, and any other materials neatly tucked away.

If your coffee table budget is under $50, check out the Lack table from Ikea. It’s simple, sizeable and features plenty of extra storage space.

What to do with all your DVDs, CDs and books

My husband and I own so many books, CDs and DVDs that we’ll likely never read, listen to or watch ever again. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we want to throw them away or shove them all in boxes in our basement. Sometimes we like keeping these things accessible in case we feel like getting through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, reliving our middle school years with some Stone Temple Pilot jams, or watching Napoleon Dynamite for the hundredth time. But with a tight economy and the already high price of solid wood furniture, it’s not easy finding wallet-friendly bookcases and media storage solutions that don’t look too cheap.

My solution to this dilemma is a little store called Ikea. While I don’t recommend their frames, I am a big fan of their Markör bookcases and storage cabinets.
Any book collection would look fabulous on this cube-like bookcase (above), which has a casual modern feel. I would accent our hardcovers with these cute, squat vases.

We personally own this glass-door cabinet (above), which we’ve filled with our top DVDs and CDs. I like the fact that our collection is discreetly showcased; we can still see and access the discs we want, but the titles don’t look cluttered or blatantly displayed.

If you’re willing to refinish furniture, some good places for bookshelves and cabinets are flea markets and tag sales. Additionally, you can sometimes luck out in the clearance area of some national and local furniture stores. Otherwise, Ikea might be your best bet.