I am now at a stopping point for our phase 1. Thought I would share my inspired finds...
First, the furniture - Once I had my inspiration piece picked out, I went straight to craigslist to start my search. I was specific; searching for "Camden" the name RH gives to this piece. That pulled up an ad for the "Pottery Barn" piece from a seller in Norcross, GA. By doing a google search on the company name, I was able to find the entire collection through Atlantic Bedding and Furniture (tell 'em Amy Ouellette sent ya!). For less than the price of the one piece from RH, I purchased the dresser, chest, and two nightstands! If all pieces would have been purchased from RH, the bill would total $3577.50!
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This is my inspiration piece from Restoration Hardware. |
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This is my find. Purchased a dresser, chest, and 2 nightstands for $950. |
Second, the bedding - Again, inspiration came from RH. I have never purchased expensive bedding. I usually find something at Target that I like. Once I decided I really wanted the RH bedding, I turned to Ebay. (Not sure I would purchase used bedding off CL, but it is always a possibility.) At first, I purchased this bedding in "fog" based on the RH web picture of the color. When it arrived, I hated it! But what could I do? It wasn't the sellers fault that I hated the color. So, I called RH. Explained the situation and since the bedding was in brand new, never used, never opened condition, they let me exchange it! Kudos to RH for their outstanding customer service. She even assisted me with paint colors, which I'll get to in a minute. So, I got the color I meant to get and saved money by purchasing via Ebay. Via RH, $367 for the King duvet and two standard shams. Via Ebay, $199 shipped!
Third, the paint - Yes, I even saved money on the paint by buying from Lowes instead of RH. By taking the RH paint cards and doing a color match with Lowes, not only was I able to tweak the colors to be a bit lighter, BUT I saved $10 per gallon on the cost. The pictures are not the best, but you can see that I decided to paint the crown molding a darker color. I had just been in a new model home a few weeks earlier and really like the dark trim color. But when you have a home that already has white trim, switching over is a huge pain (I tried it in my old house when everybody was painting the trim the same as the wall color.) I still wanted to get in that Craftsman look, even to the point that I got a quote for doing a coffer moldings in my trey. A $1500-$2000 quote later, and I have opted for something just as interesting for way less. More on that in the weeks to come.

Lastly, the curtains and lamps - I love fabric.com for DIY projects, so I had placed an order for lots of fabric swatches. However, while in Ross over the weekend, I found these... faux silk lined drapes for $9.99 a panel. After that trip to our Ross, a second trip to our Ross, and a trip to the Alpharetta Ross, I had 4 matching drapes for less than I could have made them. The Ross package had the retail on the drapes at $18, but I had priced similar for much higher than that. The rods also came from Ross with about a 50% off retail savings. As for the lamp, it was love at first sight! It didn't hurt that it was half the price I would have paid elsewhere. TJ Maxx is the best place I have found for lamps. They have a great selection for all tastes and styles. I purchased these for only $50 per lamp including the shade! I was checking out some much less fashionable lamps at Walmart today and they were $19 and I would have still had to by a shade. Love my lamp find!
Final results for Phase 1 -
The "bedroom" will now become the sitting room. The dresser in the pic above which is barely visible on the right will have a flat screen hung above. And I am currently on the hunt for a pottery barn style loveseat to place in the large area at the foot of the bed facing the TV. Notice Mamaw's table is still in the room. Can't bare the thought of taking it out so in the words of Mr. Gunn, I'll just have to "make it work." lol
The "sitting" room will now be the bedroom. (Never mind the queen
mattresses sitting on the floor. They will be replaced soon.)
So, if you are keeping track, our inspiration room price tag is at around $4500 while our total spent so far is $1226.90.
Per my husband, phase 1 really isn't over because we have purchased the bed and mattress, but they are not here yet. So, I will get pics, prices of that up asap. Then it is off to Phase 2...
Phase 2 includes (but it not limited to): chandeliers, TV, loveseat, and really cool ceiling application! Oh, and a sofa table DIY project that won't cost a penny!