Thursday, January 8, 2009

I Heart Pottery Barn

I have for many years been in love with Pottery Barn. I have wandered the stores. I have gathered the paint chips. I have collected the catalogs, flipping longingly through the pages, wondering how I could somehow recreate the look in my home(s). My home(s) that does/did not have the hardwood floors, the 12 foot ceilings, the interesting nooks, the pedestal sinks; basically having nothing that is essential to the PB "look". Most importantly, the bank account.

PB is too rich for my blood. I love the look, but not the price tag.

Several years ago, I uncharacteristicly got into a last-seconds bidding war on ebay for a PBKids quilt for Pinkerbelle's new big-girl bed. I ended up paying a little more than I wanted to, but I won!

She has used it in four different houses, but recently I passed our down comforter on to her when we replaced it with a larger one, and I wanted a duvet cover for her. I spent a couple months looking. I was going to make it out of sheets if need be, but couldn't even find sheets that were cute enough at a good enough price.

Just before Christmas I was in Goodwill, and took a quick look through the linens. I missed it the first time, but on my second pass, there it was. Something pretty...it was an actual duvet cover...and it was the right size (f/q)...and linens were 25% off that day! Awesome! It ended up being $15. That was a good price, even for Goodwill. A steal! But, when I got it home and looked for the tag with the washing instructions, I discovered...the authentic Pottery Barn tag! Be still my heart! Now I love it even more!

Her room is unfinished, so I'm not going to show the whole bed, but here is the cover, in all its heavy cotton/linen loveliness.


Yesterday I was at the same Goodwill and they had two of these Pottery Barn Kids chairs for $9 each. They were pink. I really thought about it hard, really hard, but in the end, I didn't get them. We have quite a few child-size chairs still, and I just didn't need them. I remember them being in the catalog, but it must have been a while ago, because the one and only mention of them that I could find online was this ad on the Denver craigslist. If you're in the Denver area, and quick, she's selling the whole set of 4 chairs and a table.

Chapter 2: one PB item that I have been coveting for the last 4 or 5 years is the PB Grand Phone. I originally wanted the wall-mounted one in red, to create this phone center that appeared in the March 2005 issue of Southern Living.

I did do the chalkboard paint, and even the red shelf above it, but had to use a plain, modern black phone. That was three houses ago, and this is a photo of a photo. You can't even see the phone, but it's next to the calendar.

They don't carry the red anymore, and I later decided I wanted the metal finish anyway. But I did not want to pay $79 for it. So for months I have been regularly watching ebay for a good deal. They often sell for nearly as much as brand new. Last week, though, I stumbled upon a just-listed buy-it-now EUC (excellent used condition) for $24.99. I snatched it up before someone else could. It's heavy, so shipping was $13, but that's still pretty good.

It arrived the other day, and I love it! The handset feels substantial, it rings like a real phone (not the modern techno screechy sound), and, let's face it, it just looks cool! And, in fact, I think I'm probably a little more cool now myself because of it.

What is not cool is that it just took me over an hour to write this post!

Julia at Hooked on Houses is have a Hooked on Fridays blog party...check it out!

20 comments:

Rob and Deanna said...

I love the quilt & duvet cover! So feminine & Pretty. Yes, I checked on snopes.com about the "lead" law before I posted it. It's ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE those phones too! I want a wall one. Do they still sell them? You find such deals, I should just set you on finding one for me. And just for the record, I have always been VERY impressed with how "PB" you can make your places look on very little money!!

Shannon said...

Wow!! So many good deals! That duvet is soooo cute and I have always liked those phones too! We used to live in a really old house so I always wanted a wall mounted one too. :)

WhisperWood Cottage said...

I heart Pottery Barn, too! Great finds!

Steph said...

Great finds! Love that phone.

Lucy Marie said...

I love the duvet cover you found for Pinkerbelle. It's so pretty. Great finds!

Marlene McGarrity said...

Fantastic Pottery Barn deals. I think once someone loves PB, they stick with it and will wait for the deals. Do you have PB outlet near you? We have one in NY and it is awesome, but still not as awesome as the deals you got!

I loved the red phone, but I have the silver on my desk. It's awesome but the wire to the receiver gets long, streched and tangled easily.

Mandi @ Sweetly Home said...

Oh girl! I love PB! When I lived in Pittsburgh, I would go to their store all of the time. Have you read any of their decorating books? They are great!

Hey, how is your Bible reading coming?

gina said...

Unbelievable finds- you are inspiring me to really think twice before I just buy. I am definitely going to try other alternatives when we start decorating the new house. Of course, we still have to buy the house. ;)

Lamp Tramp said...

What great finds. I love the duvet cover, looks so enticing!

Anonymous said...

Cool finds! I understand what you mean about Pottery Barn's prices! The phone is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

imjacobsmom said...

I love the PB, too! I wish we had an outlet nearby. I thumb through the catalogs and check out the website. I even like the PB teen things, too. Sometimes Target will emulate some of the PB things. Target has the wall phone version of the PB phone in stock now. ~ Robyn

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

You gotta love Pottery Barn. I always get inspired by their catalogs. But it's a bit pricey for me, too. We have an outlet but it's an hour or so away, so I haven't been there in over a year.

Love the phone! Great post. Thanks for joining my party! :-)

Ms. Tee said...

I really like PB, too - I wish they weren't so pricey!
Congratulations on your finds - would love to have your thrift stores near me! :0)

Mary Beth said...

I know so many people that love Pottery Barn...and...I hate to admit it...but I have never been to one. I saw a catalog at my niece's house once and wondered if she would "miss" it if it came home with me but didn't ask...just admired from afar. Your new phone looks wonderful...and p.s. You can have a cupcake anytime...I will send one over as soon as I bake my Valentine's batch!

Suze said...

I love that duvet!

The phone is cool too!

Anonymous said...

Such nice photos of such pretty things! The phone is way too cool. I love PB too but never (ok, once and once only) actually buy from them. I find cool stuff on Craigslist and at the local consignment "boutique" (it's a nice flea market with flea prices - she calls it a boutique though because it sounds nicer). Thanks for sharing your great post!

Gigi said...

Oh my gosh, those were some great finds!
Had to laugh about how long it took to write this post- isn't it the truth? Fun post though- time well spent :)

Wendy said...

I really love those phones, too. Out of curiousity, I checked ebay to see if I could find any deals on them. In case you change your mind, I saw a red wall mount one with 2 days left that's now at $15.45. I wish the red one would go with my house!

Anonymous said...

Hi Holly... Great Blog! I happen to be an Interior Designer and a Manager at one of the Pottery Barns... Just know that you can still get a great deal at one of the stores if you check out the sales at the end of the season... If what you like is still around at that time, then it was mean't to be yours. Also, If you are on the PB email list, they'll send you a invite to a free design class, if you attend, you'll get a 10 % discount on your purchase excluding furniture. good luck and thanks for loving PB. TL