Heading out today on the hunt for a few key items I need for a staging job, I stumbled upon several great deals. Sorry, by the way, for the tiny image sizes above...don't you love when ultra-modern technology misbehaves (I have no explanation why these appear so small...). If you haven't figured it out by now, I clearly have a wandering eye for cool, inexpensive decor, and today my eyes were jumping all over the place. I pulled into a parking structure in Paramus, New Jersey where two of my resource favorites are side by side...Ikea and Target. The teeny tiny photo on top is a new item at Ikea offered as a rolling kitchen storage unit. It's metal design and cool colors make it a perfect fit in any room, so in dressing an outdoor dining area, I thought it would make a perfect serving cart (easy to roll out of your kitchen and onto a deck, etc.) It would also be perfect for organizing an office or look super trendy as a nightstand in a more modern bedroom. At $49.99 at www.ikea.com it's a
stainless-steal of a deal! Two aisles over I found another bright idea for outdoor lighting..Ikea's solar pendant lamps for $9.99 make interesting, beautiful light outdoors (to keep the bugs away purchase the smudge pots from Plow & Hearth I blogged about a few weeks ago). The pendants need 12 hours of sunlight to shine for six hours (you can turn them off to preserve solar power) and look hip and cool hanging at various levels from a tree, over your outdoor dining table or anywhere you see fit to get lit! The Queen of all domestic divas, my Mom, found this colorful, modern melamine collection at Target ($15.99 for 8 dinner plates). With bold colors and simple, chic designs, this line will make your outdoor dining experience simply divine!
