Frugal Fridays - Adjustable Price

While decorating the nursery, I was on the hunt for the perfect side table. It needed to be small enough to fit in between the bed and chair, but big enough for a lamp, clock and drink for me. (I’ll leave the kind of drink to your imagination.) I’d mentally catalogued of a bunch of potential suitors before settling on the West Elm Martini, and this adjustable accent table was one of them. And then, dun dun dun, I actually went to check it out at Design Within Reach. … “does that seriously say $1,150? Uhhh, what dude??” Needless to say, I crossed it off the list. Enter Overstock.com, where I’m convinced I should probably look for accent pieces like this before checking out any other place. Seriously, does anyone else wonder what could be THAT different that charging $1,000 more is justified? Don’t get me wrong, I love me some DWR, but that’s a lot of shoes/handbags/wine. I’m just sayin’.

(Eileen Gray Stainless Steel Accent Table from Overstock.com and Adjustable Table E1027 from Design Within Reach)

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Frugal Fridays - Best Foot Forward

I know I know, it's been a LONG time since I've done a Frugal Friday post. And I also know I normally focus on home decor, but I just couldn't resist. So yeah, we're breaking all the rules today. You in? The thing is, kankles with a side of Flintstone feet SUCK and I find myself having serious shoe envy lately. It's not that I don't love my flip flops day in and day out, but it'd be super sweet to have options. Options like these fun espadrille-esque flats...especially for $14. Stupid Flintstone feet.

(Kate Spade lido flats, mossimo supply co. ownah stripe espadrilles at Target)

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Frugal Fridays - Don a New Day

Can't you just see Don Draper passed out here? Empty bottle of booze in one hand, half-lit cig in the other. Pending a disastrous fire, me thinks that's a hot enough scene to try and recreate in my own home. No pun intended.

(Design Within Reach Bantam Sofa, Urban Outfitters Night and Day Convertible Sofa)

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Frugal Fridays - Nice Curves

Okay, okay, so these chairs are not identical, but something about the lines makes them similar. And fun. And stackable. And did I mention fun? 'Cause they are.

(spark side chair from Design Within Reach, Ikea urban chair)

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Frugal Fridays - Parsons School of Design

It's a universal fact that one can never have too much shelving. I've always loved the Parsons unit from West Elm, partly because I have the Parsons desk and partly because it's well, white, shiny and simple. Duh. What's not simple is how much they charge for it. $499. Seriously? No thank you. Therefore, I was thrilled to come across this little gem from Home Decorators. Though I'd probably still hit Ikea before picking this up, I'm all about the options. And more shelves. And various other things I won't bore you with today. Happy Friday, peeps.

(parsons bookshelf from Home Decorators Collection, parsons tower from West Elm)

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Frugal Fridays - Short Stories

With all the ugly counter stools out there, Ikea's Sebastian makes me happy. Pay no mind to the fact that I purchased them awhile back only to get them home and realize I’d picked up the smaller of the two sizes. Now everyone who sits on them looks like a 4-year old, but hey, they still look pretty. Now if only I had taller friends.

(Crate and Barrel 30" felix stool, Ikea 29" sebastian stool)

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Frugal Fridays - A Pouf That Would Make Snooki Proud

Pouf! And just like that, Nate Berkus makes life all kinds of easier. Bless his sweet little wavy-haired head.

(metallic poof by Nate Berkus for HSN, metallic moroccan pod at Pieces)

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Frugal Fridays - Bargain Barn

My days of associating the word "barn" with Old MacDonald, an annoying purple dinosaur and the Dress Barn are over. A friend recently directed me to the site, Barn Light Electric and I've barely been able to pry myself away. I mean, their tagline alone - "Where vintage and modern collide" - makes my heart skip a beat. After all, I've found about 100 things I'd like to collide with. Oh and P.S.? This particular fixture comes in various sizes and offers nearly ever finish, mounting option and color imaginable. (DWR only offers three). So go forth this Friday and find yourself some fabulous lighting. Just don’t blame me if you end up needing a big red structure to house it in.

(barn lamp at DWR, barn light warehouse pendant from Barn Light Electric)

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Frugal Fridays - Mirror, mirror on the floor...

...who is the cheapest without being a whore? I dunno, I couldn’t think of anything else that rhymed. Regardless, I have a thing for mirrored dressers after seeing one in a nursery inside Domino back in the day (RIP). I mean, I'm not interested in a full blown affair or anything, but an innocent crush at the very least.

(iris mirrored chest from Horchow, versailles chest from JC Penney)

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Frugal Fridays - A Gaffe and a Giveaway

Before I picked up the Paul McCobb piece for my living room, I was continuously perplexed by the legend of the coffee table. Though undoubtedly functional for housing everything from books to beer bottles, I’d seen it go SO horribly wrong one time too often. You know what I’m talking about; the glass rings ingrained into wood, the dirty shoe scuffs and fingerprints on glass, the plethora of remotes on display…the sheer horror of it all. Even though I’m falling more in love with my vintage coffee table every day, I still have a soft spot for acrylic. The idea that utility disappear to take a backseat to fabulous décor is well, fabulous. I know there’s the possibility that it becomes scratched or worse, cracked, but seriously? If you put these nesting tables in your house for even just a year, your CPU is about $.38 a day. A day, people! What else can you get for that price? Besides 10% of a Starbucks grande latte and ¼ of the newspaper, that is. I mean, I’m just sayin’.

Another thing I’m saying’? The folks at CSN were nice enough to offer you guys another $40 gift card. Woot! Just leave a comment telling me your thoughts on coffee tables, acrylic, the weather, whatevs – I’m easy. One lucky winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday to spend frivolously on CSN.com (coincidentally, they too love acrylic). Brew ya. How’s that for frugal fun day?

(peekaboo clear nesting tables from CB2, acrylic nesting tables at Overstock.com)

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Frugal Fridays - A Persuasive Kartell

So there we were. My mom and I minding our own business, walking down a decidedly stylish street in San Fran. And then, through the fog, the red light of Kartell’s store sign. Like a beacon it drew us into its clutches. All acrylic and white glossy lacquer – pulling us in like a moth to a flame. Before we knew it, my mom had purchased eight of these beauties, and I was drooling all over their showroom floor. Two months later? The chairs have yet to arrive and let’s just say there’s a bit of buyer’s remorse flying around. Dun dun dun, daughter to the rescue! “Ring ring, hey Mom, it’s me. Just thought I’d tell you Crate & Barrel has an almost identical version of your Kartell chair.” Click. And so the CPU process begins. Stay tuned...

(Kartell Lizz Chair available at Y Living, Ypsilon side chair from Crate & Barrel)

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Frugal Fridays - Paging Emily Henderson

I admit it; today’s Frugal Friday is a rip-off of another blogger’s post. Luckily I wanted to pimp her out anyhow since she happens to be my blogging buddy, Emily Henderson, of The Brass Petal. Oh, and did I mention she was also the winner of a little show called HGTV Design Star and subsequent host of her very own upcoming show, Secrets from a Stylist? Well she is. Brew ya. Check out her fantabulous style (yep, it’s a word, look it up) and quick wit here, and set that DVR for 10 p.m. this Sunday on HGTV, people. As I told her, Emmys Schmemmys. Nothing’s more important than good design! I'm just sayin'.

(halogen white credenza at CB2, torsby sideboard at Ikea)

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Frugal Fridays - Xhibition

To make up for all the talking/rambling I did yesterday, today I shall simply say: This x-base bench rocks. You should buy it. Thank you.

(x-base bench from BA Sofas, crosby stool from Williams Sonoma Home)

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Frugal Fridays - Woodstalk

I love me some Restoration Hardware, but I love saving money more. Especially on a nearly identical piece of furniture. I know my loyalties are fickle...yet I'm strangely okay with it.

(holbrook coffee table from Home Decorators Collection, brickmaker's table from Restoration Hardware)

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Frugal Fridays - Table Dance

I've always loved this table from Propellar. In lieu of glass that needs to be cleaned, it begs to be written on and carved into. Not that I would, but I'm a fan of options. Not to mention the option to save $2,301. Yep, I'm down with all that noise.

(mannerizm dining table from Propellar, terra dining table from West Elm)

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Frugal Fridays - C Jane Save (and Justify the Jenky)

Remember last week when I admitted to eating in front of the TV on a giant tray? I feel like it wouldn't be as jenky an ordeal if a c-table were in the mix. Call me crazy, but I think it could define me as pretty stylish. A trend-setter if you will. Okay, maybe not a trend-setter, but less jenky at the very least.

P.S. The term jenky is a cross between hot chocolaty mess and Fiasco McPhee and should be used with caution. Proceed.

(c table from Room & Board, framed side table at West Elm)

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Frugal Fridays - Let's Get Lit

Lighting is everything. I reminded myself of that just this morning while staring at my “laugh lines” in the bathroom mirror at work. A second to great lighting is a sweet deal. Good thing Overstock has my back on both counts. Unlike my laugh lines, which are clearly out to destroy me. Bastards.

(two-tiered pendant from Restoration Hardware, double shade pendant at Overstock.com)

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Frugal Fridays - Junk in the Trunk

I realize the issue of the clear trunk has kind of been beaten to death in the "blogosphere" (also a term I feel has been beaten to death, for the record) but I can't help myself. It's kind of like having too much chocolate/great sex/delicious wine/rich cheese. I mean really, is there such a thing? I've had the Lucite debate with my interior designer mother who feels when empty, the look can be beautiful. But when full of, well, crap, it's "unequivocally hideous." Thank you. Personally, I'm on the fence. I can picture it now, under my console table with a perfectly folded stack of gorgeous blankets tucked inside. Not that I 1.) own any gorgeous blankets or 2.) have ever folded my mediocre blankets perfectly, but whatever. Now I'm picturing it under the same table sitting empty. Instead of my mother's voice it's now my husband's, and it kinda sounds like this: "We spent how much on a storage trunk that doesn't store anything? Perfect." Obviously, I haven't figured out the CPU of this item yet. If only the thought of filling the trunk with TV remotes, mail and newspapers didn’t make me itchy. Sigh.

(Plexi-craft trunk, Serge de Troyer trunk at Vivre)

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Frugal Fridays - I Love a Good Caning

My apologies for the ridiculously late post! Somehow this day has just gotten away from me, as has my sanity. Something to snap me back to reality though, are these amazing Marcel Breuer chairs I found on eBay. Design Within Reach has just started carrying them again, and these are the real, vintage deal. Not only that, but $85…that's less than $100 people. Someone out there from Florida, you must pick them up! For all of us on the other side of the country!!! (Deep breath.) Okay, I’m done ranting now.

Happy Friday, peeps. I hope you have much relaxation and possibly cocktails in your future. Or if you're like me and the week I've had, 100 cocktails. Mmmmm, beer.

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Frugal Fridays - Deskercise Your Right to Save

I'm able to justify the purchase of certain items by calculating the CPU, otherwise known as "Cost Per Use." The conversation with myself goes something like this: "Hmmm, this purse is $300. That's a lot. But really, I'm going to use it every day for the next year which means it's actually going to cost me less than $1 a day. Hell, I'm saving money!" Done and done. That's kind of how I feel about this desk. You see, the more beautiful a desk, the more likely I am to sit at it. The more I sit at my desk, the more money I make. Therefore, it's an investment with a guaranteed return. Not to mention I’d already be saving $1,301 by purchasing the Z. Gallerie desk over the Jonathan Adler. So when you think about it, I'd actually be losing money if I didn't buy it. (Er, something.) Phew, glad I dodged that bullet!

And so concludes today’s class. Now friends, go forth and utilize this knowledge with confidence during your weekend shopping pursuits! If anyone’s looking for me, I’ll be the girl with a full cart at Target, air-writing equations during checkout.

(white lacquer channing desk by Jonathan Adler, white lacquer jett desk from Z. Gallerie)

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