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Pottery Barn Style on a Grocery Store Budget

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Every time I open my mailbox and find a new Pottery Barn catalog waiting on me, I do a little happy dance right there at our neighborhood’s mail kiosk. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m insane, but I’m also sure it’s not the first time that they have thought that about me.

I never actually buy anything at Pottery Barn. In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of items we have in our home from the store, and most of them were given to us as gifts. You see, my neighbors may think that I am insane, but I think the prices at Pottery Barn are what’s really insane.

Why do I get excited about the Pottery Barn catalog then? Well, because I use it as inspiration, of course! It’s easy to get Pottery Barn style on a much more reasonable budget. Starting today, I’m going to begin showing you how, and I’ll have more examples in the coming weeks and months ahead. I think I’ll even make a little series of it.

In the most recent issue, one of the layouts I was particularly drawn to was this one:

As a cyclist, I love the tandem bike stretched over the four canvases. As a starfish fan, I love the collection of white starfish in the glass display box. What I really love about this photo, though, is the floral arrangement.

I might be biased as peonies are my favorite flower, but I absolutely love the combination of the flowers and the seashells at the bottom of the vase. How gorgeous! I knew I could easily put this arrangement together in my own home, and you can, too.

I found a small bouquet of freshly cut pink peonies at the grocery store. I just bought one small bouquet since I wanted to put together a smaller scale version of the Pottery Barn arrangement. Maybe one day, I’ll plant some peonies in my backyard and I won’t have to buy the blooms at the grocery store. Sigh…

Next, I added a few handfuls of seashells to the bottom of a small, fishbowl style vase. I have a ton of seashells lying around that I purchased at my last trip to the beach, but you can buy them at craft stores or even dollar stores if you don’t have any on hand.

I filled the vase about three-quarters full of water and cut my flower stems so that the blooms were just above the top of the vase.

I added the arrangement to the top of one of the end tables in my living room. It looks very, well, Pottery Barn, doesn’t it?

I am absolutely in love. The peonies are very fragrant and fill the entire room with their deliciousness. I rarely treat myself to fresh flowers, but I think I may have to start doing so more often!

Inspiration is everywhere – even right there in your mailbox. You just have to know where to look!

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Comments

  1. Songbirdtiff says

    I do exactly the same thing with PB catelog. There are so many good ideas for do-it-yourself projects. My favorite pb knock of is my kitchen table. I saved $1000 just by repainting what I already had! (there's a link to the table from my most recent post, if you haven't seen it)

    Reply

  2. A Touch of Country says

    ooh I love it! The odd thing is I have looked at this photo several times in the catalog and never saw the starfish in the glass container!

    Can't wait to see your other pottery barn look a likes!

    Happy Summer & Happy Decorating!

    Reply

  3. southerninspiration says

    Oh, I bet mine will be in the mailbox today…..I too will do a little happy dance. I only buy things at PB at 75% off….have been fortunate to find some great things on clearance…but nothing Big. Love the peonies!!!

    Suzanne

    Reply

  7. Stephanie says

    I love doing the same thing, in fact last night, I was working on replicating some candlesticks I saw in PB. Who knows, I may end up liking my version even more! 🙂

    Reply

  8. Kim says

    Why thank you girlie – for a truly wonderful, inspirational post! I will of course be making that beautiful arrangement myself!

    Reply

  10. gina says

    Great idea! Making flower arrangements seems so scary- but you make it look easy! Just followed your blog- especially 'cuz you'll be doing more of these kinds of posts I hope. 🙂

    Reply

  11. Gwen says

    Glad to hear that I am not the only one that does a happy dance at the mailbox.

    I like your version of the peonies much better:)

    Reply

  14. Tina says

    I love that… I picked up two bags of seashells at the thrift store for $2.00. Can't wait to start decorating with them! And let's see a close-up of that wedding photo!

    Reply

  15. Andi says

    Okay….THAT is FanTabUlous!!!! Lurve it! But wait, is that a BLACK end table with a BROWN couch???? I like that even more 😉 Is the table actually black, or more of an espresso??? I am trying really hard to mix my browns and blacks.

    Reply

  16. frillsfluffandtrucks says

    Pretty! Plus it made me smile to see your PB-inspired bouquet on the same table as your PB design books. 🙂

    ~ Sarah

    Reply

  18. Heather says

    I too love peonies and have some in my flower beds. I really like the shell idea at the bottom – most people I don't think would have even focused on the vase in the picture – great job for you!!!

    Reply

  20. Richella says

    Yes, it looks very Pottery Barn. Good job! Wonder if Pottery Barn knows how many of us just use their catalog for inspiration? I love that they have things on clearance sometimes, and I've done a good bit of clearance shopping there. But not much else–except as inspiration!

    By the way, do you think that a lot of stuff at Target has (as I call it) "the Pottery Barn look"? My favorite thing is to find things on clearance at Target. Now that's geting into my comfort zone price range.

    Reply

  21. Amy {The Red Chair Blog} says

    Very pretty floral arrangement!

    I have a suggestion if you decide that you want to try to replicate the tandem bike art:

    Muralists sometimes use an overhead projector (the kind that teachers use to project transparencies onto a screen) to project a small image onto a wall. If you borrowed a projector, you could hang canvases on the wall (pressed right up next to each other so they look like one wide canvas), project your image onto the canvases (you'd want to start with an image that is intact and not sliced up), trace the image onto the canvases, paint, and voila: art…in 20 simple steps 🙂

    Reply

  24. Elizabeth (blue clear sky) says

    I too love peonies and Pottery Barn catalogues. Great post, and I agree it is economical and fun to find inspiration and try to recreate it. I linked to a similar post today, check it out. Unfortunately we have to get ours in store in Toronto (quite the drive) as they do not deliver here.

    Reply

  25. Jennifer Poppy says

    I do the same thing with my PB catalouge!!! Peonies are my faves…wish they grew well in Central Texas.

    Reply

  32. by...K@ Ashcroft says

    If you were to put this on a shelf or at least out of the way enough to make a statement without giving away the secret, you could do this with silk flowers and the "water" could be mineral oil. You could even do it "mini" size on a book case shelf or something.

    Reply

  34. Mary says

    I LOVE Pottery Barn too! On Sunday I went to their free ‘Decorating With Color’ class. It was mostly to showchase their new fall items, but they showed how to refresh your family room by switching out accessories such as pillows and botononicals, based on the season. They showed two completely different looks with warm, then cool color combinations. I talked to several women there and they agreed that they come for the ideas and inspiration. I bought two pillow covers for my couch, and faux pears for a glass bowl – and it’s amazing how much it changed the look. They recommended that we cut all our favorite pics from their catalogs, put them in a book or file – because after awhile you will see what styles and colors you are drawn too.

    Reply

  35. Judy says

    Lindsey, you are a woman after my own heart! I do the same thing with the PB catalog and books. I even go so far as to go to the store and browse around for ideas! So glad I found your blog!

    Reply

  36. shannon says

    love pottery barn, hate the prices. It’s amazing how if you take the time to really search around you can find items that look just likes theirs for a fraction of the cost.
    Some of the things I’ve stumbled across were:
    Ikea Ektorp sofa with interchangeable slip covers $399 compared to pb’s comfort sofa
    Value city furniture Sea Island collection looks just like pb kids and teens beadboard collection. i got the bed for $250, night stand for $150 and dresser for $299.
    TJ Max is my favorite place to shop when it comes to accesories. I found a beautiful duvet identical to pb in king size with shams for $30.
    i also got at Tj Max for $20, that big oversized glass drink dispenser that pb has that is $69.
    Pb had a teen’s camouflage quilt for $179, and I got and identical one the company store kids for $79

    Reply

  37. betsirk says

    I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one obsessed with PB. LOL! I think my husband thinks I’m crazy. I’ve always told him I feel like I go off into a dreamland as I open up a PB catalog. Oh, and I’ve done the happy dance by the mailbox a few times too! I just discovered your site and I’m looking forward to visiting it often!

    Reply

  38. Carol says

    You probably knew that you can hang them up-side-down in a dark place and dry them,didn’t ya? They shrink but still lovely ?

    Reply

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