Can it be done? Sometimes you think not. Flipping through interior design magazines reveals timber floors, super high ceilings, designer lighting and ridiculously expensive furniture. I am not a scrapbooker and keeping a look book seems nerdy to me. I do all my researching online and simply find things at low prices.
This week I have been desperately searching for an aqua lamp base. The cheapest I could find (when Ebay had nothing on offer) was $320! I needed two. So off I went to Target and found cheap and cheerful aqua lamp shades in two sizes. With their mix and match lamp bases I varied the look but it has the same impact as what I saw in a magazine, and at only $14 each I am well ahead.
Ikea is a mate of mine. I know that their stuff is fairly commonplace these days but I think it's how you put it together. I wouldn't do an entire room in Ikea but there's something from there in every room in my house. I especially like Expedit and Malm for form and function. The colour choices are cool as well. A large Besta storage unit saved my bacon when we moved houses. There was nowhere for the books. There is a ladder to reach the higher shelves and this adds a quirky and groovy feel to the family room.
My next Ikea purchases will include the following (coastal style):