Affordable Luxe

I have heard it said that luxury is expensive.  And, up until now, I believed it to be true.  Back in my woefully ignorant past, I thought that one could only buy furniture in a big box store for big store prices.  I am embarrassed to even say how much I paid for my bedroom set.  I realized recently, while staring at the mountains of clothing that were being stored "temporarily" in suitcases, that we were in dire need of another dresser.  But paying full retail for a quality dresser was just not within the realm of possibility. And so the night before going out "saling", I made a heartfelt wish for an affordable dresser.  The next day, I saw a tallboy dresser that had me do a double take.  I recognized it as from the same line of furniture as my bedroom set so I knew that, new, it's retail price was well over four figures.  After a bit of an internal struggle over its merits (affordable at well under $100, made of maple, made in Canada) and a bit of haggling with the owner,  this tallboy came home with us.

It is across from the master bed.  Now I know that it isn't "done" to have matchy-matchy furniture sets but the room does look so polished & together now.   Besides the extra storage, looking at it first thing in the morning makes me extraordinarily happy,  I think it reminds me that wishes, even small, frivolous ones, are heard and granted.  

It really is a tallboy as it is just under 5 feet tall with deep, spacious drawers.  No excuse now for haphazard piles of clothes any more.  Looking at the tablescape makes me happy as well.  Beribboned padded bulletin boards are one of those crafter/DIY "musts" that fly around with regularity on the blogosphere.  The problem was that I never seemed to get around to making one.  And then what do I see while out saling?  A padded, bulletin board crisscrossed not just with ribbon the exact shade of lilac as my pillowcases but studded with twinkly rhinestone buttons as well!  I figured the $3 price tag was less than the cost of materials and well worth sparing this crafter neophyte hours of hairpulling frustration.

Funnily enough, even though my taste has been veering more and more in the direction of vintage of late, especially Art Deco and MCM, I don't have a lot of vintage things on the dresser except the paperweight.  Well, I suppose one can't really count the geode which is as old as the planet.  I guess there aren't too many vintage-y things that are lilac or lavender.

My growing obsession with vintage paperweights is a story for another day.  For now, all I will say is that  it is possible to have lovely, beautiful things in one's life even on a shoestring budget.  Luxury really is affordable and within reach.

I'm linking up with Southern Hospitality, Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, Thrifty Groove, My Romantic Home, Apron Thrift Girl.