SHOP LIKE A (REAL) DESIGNER
Someone emailed me a few weeks ago asking if I ever left the aisles of Target and Ikea to find design inspiration and great deals on home decor (apparently neither store exists within a hundred mile radius of this poor individual). The short answer, of course! While this blog (like many other blogs, magazines and websites) could profile multi-million dollar mansions (and, actually often does) filled with bejeweled, bedazzled and overly-priced gilded peacocks, the truth (I've found) is that most real people don't shop at the stores advertised on the glossy pages of home magazines. Sadly, many of them don't hire designers either, so my daily tips hopefully cater to that certain someone approaching a project with little more than a paintbrush, hammer and a great idea. Take for example this months edition of Architectural Digest (Vogue Magazine for Interior Design) with its bright front page subject line, SHOP LIKE A DESIGNER. While I love AD, the subject this month is a bit misleading and should have read, SHOP LIKE A DESIGNER WORKING FOR FILTHY RICH FOLKS WHO DON'T CARE IF YOU SPEND A YEAR OF COLLEGE TUITION ON A STUPID GILDED PEACOCK! The homes profiled in Architectural Digest are spectacular, no question, but they're far from any neighborhood where I've ever lived. The exciting challenge in any project I face at home or at a clients is to make the spaces as beautiful as those sandwiched between the Mercedes Benz and Private Jet ads without selling my sole to do it. Armed with my Orla Kiely by Target coffee mug in one hand and AD in the other, I sat down yesterday to thumb through the magazine hoping to find inspiration and let out a scream when, on the first two pages, was an ad for Ralph Lauren fabric (notice the spools behind the chair in the ad and the fabric I've set the magazine on). A quick visit to a Ralph Lauren supplier and I discovered that the beautiful prints in the advertisement averaged $75/yard. The fabric I picked up last fall at Ikea (Ralph, buddy, you're a bit behind in the seasonal trend department) was $5 for five yards (that would be a dollar a yard for those of you counting pennies like me!). So, the next time you want to shop like a real designer, head to where most of us buy our goods...right where you do!
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: If you found a great fabric at a store or in a magazine, search online. You'd be shocked what you'll find. I've saved clients thousands of dollars in just a few minutes. I found this fabric in the marketplace at Ikea in under five minutes.
COST: $1/yard at Ikea stores only (not available online)
STRESS LEVEL: Using what they use without spending what they spend: LOW
