pottery barn copycat ideas.

pottery barn, you sell some cute stuff. your prices, however, generally suck.

upon looking through the latest catalog, i tore out some easy to DIY project ideas.

this is my little DIY board. it's right in my kitchen so it constantly motivates me to tackle projects when i have time. i know that if i kept my ideas in a book i would forget about them. i know a book works for a lot of people, but not for me. let's zoom in, shall we?

pottery barn is selling these old pepsi crates for $24 a pop. get it? pop? ha! keep your eye open at thrift stores and garage sales. i picked up these similar canada dry crates at a garage sale for $10:

i know this photo is a bit crowded, but focus on the star in the middle. it would be pretty darn simple to use a jigsaw to cut a rustic star shape from some scrap wood and layer stones or wood chips over one another with some hot glue. i didn't get pottery barn's price on this particular piece, but i imagine it's probably too much.

i love the striped border on these neutral rugs, but i loathe the $179.00-$799.00 price tag. really? it would be so easy to buy a generic rug (like my ikea runner) and hot glue a fun fabric around the edges. you really shouldn't have to spend more than $35 on this project. fyi, i plan on doing this to my runner. and of COURSE i'll share it with you if/when i do.

alright, this mirror is from serena and lily, not pottery barn. but the same frustration applies: too much money for an effing mirror. $295!? bitch, please. here's what i would do: find a framed mirror at a thrift store and spray paint it brown. find two brown leather belts at that same thrift store. hot glue one belt around the circumference of the mirror and hot glue the ends of the other belt to each side of the mirror to create the strap that will hang the mirror. super simple and super cheap. if you can't find any round mirrors, target sells this set of five round mirrors for $25:

a far cry from $295.

please don't feel like you have to settle for shelling out big bucks to bring home your favorite trendy looks. if that was the case, i'd have a completely empty house. i am not exaggerating when i say that i don't own a single piece of new furniture. everything i own is from a thrift store or a hand me down from family members. you can create a lot from a little with a bit of time and elbow grease. it also feels so dang good looking at something in your home that you created rather than something for which you paid way too much.

save yourself from that awful feeling of buyer's remorse.