Pottery Barn Inspiration

The latest Pottery Barn Dream Book arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  I love love love when the dream book arrives.  I curl up on the couch and drool over every single page.  I've been inspired many times by things I've seen in the past and have been able to come pretty close but much cheaper from places like Home Goods, antique stores and even Target. 

Often times, the prices make me laugh out loud and yesterday was no exception.  I was screaming "Are you out of your mind??" at the item shown on page 5:

Pottery Barn Madness

Here is the description:

Our architectural fragment is crafted of hand-carved solid wood with a rustic white-painted finish. 

The price tag?  A mere $299.00.  Seriously Pottery Barn?  Really?  I love the look, I really do but for $299?  This is why this dream book serves more as an idea book then an actual shopping tool.  I have a favorite antique/junk store that I love to dig around in once a month or so and I just know (in fact, it is now a goal of mine!) I could find an old frame, paint it white, sand paper it to give it that distressed "architectural fragment" look, cut it down and have the exact same look.  To be continued.

Once I calmed down, I continued on.  I was particularly inspired to get crafty when I saw this pitcher:

Pottery Barn Inspiration

Love it!  I have 2 glass front cabinets in my kitchen that have been bugging the heck out of me for a while now.  They have been bulging at the seams with glasses and mugs.  Probably on a daily basis I think to myself, "I've got to do something about that." Then I move on to something more important - like grabbing one of the wine glasses and starting happy hour.

I thought that pitcher would be a really pretty addition to the glass front cabinet.  I don't have a pitcher but I do have a soup terrain that we received as a wedding gift (14 years ago!) from Pottery Barn that I have never used.

Before

 

It's been in the basement in a closet for years.  I ran and got it, dug through all my old craft supplies (don't get me started on that side of my life) and found some black rub-ons. 

I've seen on various blogs where people make signs that say 'Est. 19-fill-in-the-wedding-year' and I just love the look. So rather than buying a $59 vase to put in my kitchen, I crafted myself a free Est. 1997 bowl that I love just as much!

After

 

And the best part is that it got me to clean out those cabinets.  They look fantastic, organized, clean and I am a happy girl!

Clean, finally!