What a super idea and you did extremely well!
I agree totally about those prices, I hope they read this as well.

Sweet finds especially those green/floral chairs. Great post.

Love this post! More posts like this would be welcomed. Those green chairs are adorable!

I agree, more posts like this would be great!

These are great! Please make this a regular feature!

Love this! Thanks for an inspiring post and awesome resources.

#4 - Pair of vintage metal chairs -- free at my grandmother's house...

Fantastic post! I am addicted to etsy and love what you've found

Three cheers for far more affordable products. I doubt Anthro will lower their prices because of demand, but that's fine with me. I'll continue supporting the small business and artisan community while saving myself lots of pretty pennies.

I agree with the other comments - this is awesome and I would love it as a regular feature!

Love this post! Wish it would come back as a regular feature.

I agree about making this a regular feature! The Etsy options are considerably more affordable, and look great too. Well done.

I also like the idea that purchases from Etsy support the individual making the product, rather than a corporation.

Love it! I love Etsy for this very reason, and you're supporting local artists. Win win!

Love this concept as well and look forward to more of them.

As far as lamp #5, the Anthro version looks fresh, well-made, and stylish. To me the Etsy version looks like a garage sale find. it's nice in its own way, but nowhere near the visual appeal of the lamp on the left unless you really want the full bowling pin treatment.

There has been a bowling pin lamp in a storage room of my parent's house forever, can't wait to share with my dad that his wood shop creation is a $298 Antrho home good.

great post - i'm joining the crowd in saying this should be a regular feature!

This is amazing. Take that anthropologie! I absolutely love that rocker by the way...

Yeah, you did a fabulous job of finding similar items. I'd love to see it as a feature. (And I love Etsy!)

Just want to say...Anthro has great sales, for the patient. But great finds here, I agree.

Regular feature! And it doesn't necessarily only have to be for anthro.

Love the post. Maybe this should be a feature. Love the rug most. The funny part is that Anthropologie was most likely attempting to copy the real Moroccan boucherouite that you found on etsy, as well as everything else. I love Anthropologie's styles, but they value engineer their products and the prices aren't on par with the quality.

Great post. More like this, please.

Agreed! Love this and would love to see something similar for a wide variety of stores. I sometimes find Etsy a maze to browse through, so always appreciate articles that highlight items and sellers I might not find on my own.

I liked all the Etsys better. Especially the rug.

What a great post! Love it!

It has gotten to the point where I use Anthropologie -- their stores and their catalogs -- as idea sources only. Their prices are beyond ridiculous (with a few exceptions) and way too much of their stuff is made (cheaply) in China.

I love this post too! I will definitely search Etsy the next time I am looking at Anthro furniture I cannot afford!

I found the rope chair for even cheaper on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/96836811/mid-century-rope-rocking-chair-wegner?ref=sr_gallery_13&ga_search_query=rope+chair&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=vintage

I agree with everyone-please do more of these posts! I went into Anthropologie the other day and as much as I covet some of their things (love their hardware) I just can't spend the money. Sure I can afford a couple of $8 knobs, but when I need 10 of them.. no way! As Pippigirl said above I also use them as an idea source. I just go home and search on ebay and etsy to find similar pieces. Thank you for this post and MORE PLEASE!!

I also highly recommend the Worldstock section in Overstock.com which features beautiful creations from artisans around the world and the shipping on anything is $2.95. I found a couple of gorgeous wool rugs there for a fraction of the Anthro price.

Apart from Anthopologie's prices I'm surprised that no one has commented that a better reason not to shop there is the fact that their CEO is a bigot and someone who promotes a racist agenda in one of the sister stores Urban Outfitters!

Man, I thought this was going to be more like http://www.regretsy.com/2011/01/19/new-game/

Anthropologie has some really awesome ideas, just as many horrendously tacky ugly ideas, and all of them are absurdly overpriced. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel sort of bad for people who actually shop there.

Now can you tell me where I can get their clothes for a fraction of the price?

You rock! This should be a REGULAR POST! DO YOU HEAR ME APARTMENT THERAPY?!!!! THIS IS GENIUS!!! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! I've been reading your blog for years and this is the first post I've been impressed with in a VERY long time.

While I've heard the name, I've never been to the Anthropologie store? site? It looks like you did a great job finding comparable items. Some of them are more appealing than the store version. I'm reminded of a Seinfeld episode where Rachel kept buying stuff from Pottery Barn? I think and telling Phoebe they were antiques she found.

Unbelievable! I totally agree on making this a regular feature. Great job!

So often, I see "Look For Less" type fashion or design articles and shows and think to myself, they really don't get it. It's just not the same 'feel' or 'context.' Well, YOU GOT IT. Great collection. (More, please!)

Best post ever.

I recently discovered the exact same knobs sold at Anthro can be purchased at Hobby Lobby for half the price. I show examples here: Poor Man's Anthropologie.

I'd love to see the same line up for jewelry.

Great Post. And I really appreciate Karen72's comment. I've stopped shopping at Anthopologie, Urban Outfitters and Free People after recently learning that their CEO contributes a lot of money to anti gay rights organizations and was a big supporter of Rick Santorum's campaign. I definitely won't presume to tell anyone what to think or how to spend their money, but I know that there are a lot of liberal minded people in the design community who (like me) would be very happy to be able to make a more informed choice about who they give their business to. The online design world gives Anthropologie so much free press, it would be great if we could get the word out about where our money is going if we chose to continue shopping there.

In the words of the great Motown song: "I second that emotion..." (see all of the above). Repeat please, on a regular basis! Great post!

PS Love that Etsy birch log lamp!

Love it!! Etsy is a great resource and I love having the opportunity to score something that's one-of-a-kind AND support artists. I love the Anthro look, but they are cra-zy on their prices for what seems like no justifiable reason. At least I understand why Design Within Reach is out of my reach--they're selling world renowned designers. I agree with other posters, that I would love to explore this idea further, including other retailers.

Like everyone else, I really like this post! Great detective work.

The High/Low Project comes to AT! Excellent!

Excellent post! I've always thought Anthropologie was unbelievably overpriced. Glad to see some affordable options on Etsy. I would rather support an artist than a big corporation.

You can bet Anthro Corp. has outsourced their labor, slashing costs, while raising their prices, ie., profits. Then they take the ca$h and bankroll the candidates of their choice. Sigh. So unoriginal. Let's hear it for Etsy and all the talented, creative artists out there with a great forum to offer their wares to the discriminating consumer! Love all the finds here...makes me want to spend the next 4 hours doing the same type of "reseach".

I agree with the comments above...can we make this a regular topic? It's funny to me that Anthropologie promotes such a carefree, bohemian look but it costs so much to achieve it! I love their pretty little things, but you definitely have to sprinkle in great, affordable pieces like these to say on budget.

I'm really surprised that this is a post. I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters steal ideas from Etsy artists all the time.

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/05/urban_outfitters_accused_of_kn.html

Rather than celebrating Etsy because we can find cheaper versions of mass produced items why don't we appreciate it for being a place where we can find interesting handcrafted pieces made by artists?

My pillow case is similar in style to their Arimatsu bedding!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/91724078/18-hand-dyed-shibori-cotton-pillow-case

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/shopsale-bedding/21294087.jsp

Here's a great one!!!
Anthropologie: http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/shopsale-gift/77418.jsp
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/97931725/wooden-printers-letter-stand-vintage

Great Post !
Some nice pieces on Etsy I would love to have also:

1) https://www.etsy.com/listing/107009345/bed-linen-set-100-organic-soft-linen

2) http://www.etsy.com/listing/63310099/white-mosaic-bowl-pure-dream-modern-home?ref=af_circ_favitem&atr_uid=8245837

3) http://www.etsy.com/listing/83886445/13-macbook-pro-traveler-bag-black-tan?ref=hp_tt_yt

Etsy is a great resource, but please don't assume that most of the stuff is homemade by an artisan. A lot of it looks imported, and its pretty easy to cut prices if you don't have the overhead costs of an urban storefront.

As for the politics, what kind of choices will we get if every store owner has to run his ideology through a litmus test before you buy something? Diversity of ideas is a good thing and should be encouraged. After all, we are humans, not lemmings.