apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, let's hear it for Andrée, and let's have more posts like this, please!

He did an awesome job!

Inspiring! I love how it was posted, as well, with the price differences.

Awesome! I was wondering how we could do this sort of thing on AT on a consistent basis, and I think Andree hit the nail on the head. Nice.

AT should make this a regular feature! And you should hire Andree. Great job!

Agreed, regular feature, please!

I tip my hat to you Andree, you did a great job with this.

Not to stray too far off topic, BUT I don't understand the appeal of bird cages as decor. I have three parrots and live in 450 square feet (upgrading to 650 next month). Incorporating their cages is such an interior design headache--actually, make that a migraine--I'm incredulous that anyone would choose to bring such an irksome object into their home.

Great Stuff Andree!!! Yes, more posts like this.

Great job. And I love the World Market paper shades best of all the lamps!

This is great! Although, how much would we save if we did some DIY? I saw a DIY for the DWR lamps...

Hopefully we'll see more like this! Thanks Andrée!

I love it. High. Low. And Way Low.

Great job - and thanks for the inspiration Andree!

Thank you! Glad that people like it. I was surprised when Kayla contacted me, and wanted to put the items together to share with everyone. But I guess I should have included my middle name or specified I'm a female. LOL!

I'm not the only one, either. LOOK! There are other Andrées:
http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/putman.html

Plenty of them! Really.
http://antigonemagazine.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/andree-boucher-a-canadian-legacy-2/

Also, the bird cage pictured above is from the first batch, and it's $64.00 for one. The set of three were in white. I like the dark one shown above better.

I'd love to keep on doing this, when people request it. And if anyone else wants to pitch in at any point with their finds, that would be swell! I tend to look at the same sources, and having new online sources would be excellent.

I specifically went looking for things that anyone can order. Or may well be able to find locally. No need to check an antique store or specialty store located across the country, no hidden to-the-trade items, no drag racing over to someone's home to be the first buyer for an item found on Craigslist.

Thank you, Kayla for putting it all together and showing all three price points. It looks really nice with the pieces in the same photo!

Thanks to AT too for keeping an open mind about what it takes to make a nice looking area. Sometimes it's not what it costs, but how it's pulled together.

great job andree

I love that Apartment Therapy (And Andree) were so prompt with this response. I second, third, and forth having more of these -- I love seeing the three cost ranges!

Great job, guys!

André is male, Andrée is female. Simple!

Ditto -- love to see more of these, and making it a scavenger hunt for readers to locate less-expensive versions would be fun.

Kayla here -

First off, SO SORRY about the gender mix up! Pit fall of the Internet...

Secondly, happy to hear everyone's enjoying this. I'm working on this sort of reader-challenge post style becoming more regular.

yes, adding one more to the pile - great job!

And even cheaper for the lamp shades - ikea sells the lamp cords for $5 and the shades for not much more =)

Yes, yes-- make this a regular feature!!

It's OK, Kayla, I've had the gender confusion name all my life, I ought to be used to it by now. While there is little doubt in person, it's the name that throws everyone off.

Like René (male) and Renée (female)...but there are plenty of exceptions for that one. Apparently "Andree" is very common for men in Germany. To make it even more difficult, it's also a last name. I suppose it falls into that wonderful grouping of "one-size-fits-all" names like Shelby or Carroll variations.

We've had lots of individual item reader participation stories via "Good Questions". Those are great. The "where can I find something I saw" and "where can I get something like this for less".

Doing the whole room is even more enjoyable. Any reader can add in something they found, without having to do the whole room. That way everyone who wants to contribute can. And we get to share sources that way too.

Like adding in the IKEA lamp cord and shade. Why pay more for something you can get for less? Especially since we might be at IKEA anyway picking up the chair and floor mirror. Yay, lovelyrita!

Very nice!

Andree . . . feel free to come redo my house any time.

great job Andree!

and i totally agree..this should be a regular feature! Get Andre a job at AT ;)

Well done! I think there's a vintage way of doing this on the cheap too, but it would take a long time to assemble all the pieces one by one.

Hire Andree! Great job and falls under the category of 'why didn't I think of this??'.

great job! while i love the lighting in the first 2, this is a great budget version!

Agreed--Andree, you did a great job and it would be great if this became a regular feature.

(It would be especially great if there could be a Canadian version with sources we too could order from without being taxed to death, but I'm sure that's way too much to ask.)

I LOVE IT !!! A regular feature would be great !!

Andrée, I really love how you chose to use material everyone could access.

I hope I'm not too late to vote for a permanent feature, too!

nice job Andrée!

Awesome, kudos to Andree. the only place I feel like there was a style tiny mismatch was in the lamps. But at the same price point you could get different looking ones from Pearl River ($12.50): http://pearlriver.com/asp/v2Detail3.asp?iPic=5324&iGroup=278

Also, if you wanted the bird and the bell jar from the vignette originally displayed you could definitely find a raven in craft stores around Halloween($7) (http://ws-inc.amazonwebstore.com/Raven-Table-Decoration-Halloween-Decorations-and/M/B000H3UFA0.htm?traffic_src=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle) and I've seen bell covers and that moss stuff at Target (I can't find it on their site, but a simalar look could be captured by inverting this vase ($16.99): http://www.target.com/Globe-Glass-Vase-11-6/dp/B000P3ZWL4/ref=sc_ri_3?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=167JJ7C6AEZ333RMW2MR&pf_rd_p=471801991&pf_rd_i=B001ELSFQA&pf_rd_s=bottom-11&pf_rd_m=A1VC38T7YXB528&pf_rd_t=201 ).

Nice job.

I've found Copy Cat Chic to be a good resource for high and low versions of furniture and accessories.

http://www.copycatchic.com/

Awesome job, Andree.



Regular Feature, YES!!!

Dianska, you have TWO IKEAs in your area. Richmond would probably be the closest.

Overstock will ship to Canada. Says on their site they will ship to 30 countries. Check this page (where you can also have the prices converted to Canadian dollars):
http://www.overstock.com/intlcountryselect

Did you see this story on pedestal tables?:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/tables-dining-occasional/high-and-low-12-pedestal-tables-059517

Next, you have a JCPenney in Bellingham, WA. Their notoriously long links I've tamed via TinyURL, ...

Franklin Cherry Dining Table, $129:

Table measures 42" diam. x 30"H and has a pedestal base with curved feet. Asian hardwood with a rich cherry finish. Assembly required.
http://tinyurl.com/lzqztl
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Their "regular" or "generic" pedestal table is one they mix with many different chairs throughout their dining section. Available in black, white, and mahogany colors. $199:

Ideal for a cozy breakfast nook, this round table with traditional pedestal base creates an intimate feeling and brings diners closer together. In your choice of antique black, antique white or mahogany finishes. Constructed of solid wood for durability. Assembly required.
Measures 42"diam.x29"H.
http://tinyurl.com/kvgrqd
--------------------------------------------------

The Taylor table is much heavier looking, but falls in the same price range in a medium wood tone, $199:

This distinctive table creates the perfect setting, whether enjoying a formal dinner or a casual game of cards.

* intricate carvings on table top and pedestal base
* crafted of solid woods, MDF and birch veneers with a classic cherry finish

Dining table measures 42" diameter x 30"H.
http://tinyurl.com/njxozh
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After you mentioned Canada, I didn't want anyone to feel left out...except I don't KNOW all the stores that might carry really good bargain IN Canada. I did check Sears, Costco, and Canadian Tire. Those are places to keep checking for sales or stock updates/new items.

I found all kinds of great furniture stores IN Vancouver, none of which wanted to list their prices. If they won't list the prices, and they can't be ordered online, I don't shop there...or do a lot of browsing.

For me, the idea was to find reasonably priced items to create the look shown. I'm not an interior designer, and I didn't create the original look. The person who created the original look is the one with the design talent. I just matched shapes. LOL! And I didn't create the photo posted either, that was all Kayla!

Not only to create the look, but for at least U.S. readers and those in Canada to be able to order right now, everything. Without leaving their home. Without having to hunt. Yes, taxes are not included and they suck. Shipping can be costly for large or heavy-weight items.

But taxes and shipping weren't included with the Boston story either. Nor were any designer fees. Shipping or taxes can't be included, because we all don't live in the same area.

Obviously it will cost a lot less if you live next door to IKEA and have a couple of beefy buddies with bulging biceps who live to move furniture for fun. And a lot more if you live in an area far away so that you HAVE to have it shipped.

The good news is that if it is less expensive, it should be less taxes. Right? Only you can decide if it is a good deal. It's your money, and you can compare the price of the Overstock table being shipped to Canada vs. local items. Is it a better overall deal or not? Is it less costly to take a trip to JCP for one of the other tables, not paying shipping, but having to pay gas and have a big enough vehicle to put the table in, and still having to declare it at customs and pay tax? I can't make that decision for you (for anyone!).

The Overstock table was 36" and the above tables are larger. You'd need a pretty big entryway to put a 42" table in for a landing strip. There's yet another solution...pub tables. They run about 30" but are taller. This is more costly at JCP, but it's an example:
http://tinyurl.com/n4s356

All of this is a very good reason to have many people participate in future "Let's do it for less" type posts. If it can be found online and ordered online and shipped throughout the U.S. and Canada, then post it. Or if it's a very common item, like the paper lanterns, which people probably can find in many places.

If it can't be found online, don't post it in a "Let's do it for less" post. It can't be put in a picture like Kayla created.

Whether or not it ends up being included in the image created by Kayla isn't nearly as important as many people offering up suggestions and links. Because the whole thread becomes a resource.

What if just 5 people participate per item? That's FIVE lamp sources, FIVE chair sources, FIVE table sources, etc. There's a lot of mix/match potential too with several contributors.

Kind of like "Decorating by Numbers"...LOL! Or "Garanimal Interiors".

Just going to plug this in, in case anyone still hits the thread, check out today's San Francisco Scavenger...one of the DWR lights and a good deal on a West Elm table:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/scavenger/dwr-globus-chairs-100-san-francisco-scavenger-091003

#9 you have made some real good contributions to this post -
but I disagree with the idea that if it isn't available to everyone, don't post it.
This is a huge freakin' continent!
So everything isn't available to everyone.
But those who don't live next door to Ikea with beefy friends might have access to fresh air and a pristine selection of yard sale furniture. It's a big world.
I think that part of making our homes is making them home where we are.

I want to get just one birdcage..who wants to split a set ;-)