BALANCING BUDGETS

Two of the most challenging things I deal with on a daily basis are managing clients budgets and their expectations, and quite often they never match.  One might think a client with a million dollar design budget would be a pain in the neck to work with (and they often are) but, believe it or not, it's the one with little to no budget that expects to squeeze every penny and creative thought out of me.  Which, by the way, I would expect and don't mind at all.  So, today I thought it would be fun to play a little budget game and show you some of my favorite things from this week of shopping at every budget level.  Prepare to loosen those purse strings and have some fun shopping!
UNDER $5: I mentioned solar lights last week and I think it is a complete waste to spend more than a dollar on them when these in the top photo are available at the Dollar Tree in multiple colors.  I've had the same grouping for three years now and ALL of them still work!
UNDER $50: Ikea is constantly developing modern, unique pieces at incredibly reasonable prices and this metal coffee table on wheels would be the perfect accent piece in any New York city apartment (or anywhere, for that matter).  At $49 it's hard to beat and comes in this cool blue, red, white and stainless steel.
UNDER $500: Years ago I found this cool counter top dishwasher (last photo) for a tight Manhattan apartment.  They were fairly new to the market and quite expensive, and now they're available everywhere from walmart to Best Buy.  At $375 I love this model by Danby that hooks up to any kitchen sink with ease and promises to wash up to six place settings at a time.  If you're pressed for space or need an extra dishwasher near your outdoor cooking area, this is pretty cool!
UNDER $15,000:  Sure this is a stretch for most budgets, but the kitchen photo in the middle is actually an 80 square foot cabin on wheels thanks to www.tumbleweedhouses.com who design mobile self-contained cabins from 50 to 130 square feet.  Who needs to build a new one when you can buy one of these, pull it to your favorite destination and just leave it?