little forty dollar divas for your home: $40 and under luxe

boho-balkan by Marimekko

Here’s the deal – the recession is wrapping up but not fast enough to get your home accessories budget much above $40. Boring necessentials like rent, health insurance (maybe) and take-out are taking precedence right now, I understand.  No problem, here are some ideas to add maximum luxury-maximum fab quotient, on as little as $40.

Pink polka dots for everyone! by FLOR

First, a rant about your $40 home budget. This is coming from Uber-Frug herself (they know me by name at my local cheapie trifecta: Walmart, Target and IKEA, and there’s nary a garage sale I don’t visit.) There is nothing wrong with being frugal and buying at these stores  – but if it’s a fabulous pick-me-up that’s needed, or something to make an impact - take a break from functional and dip into the realm of self-expression with these purchases – stay out of these stores for now.

Most people take a $40 home accessory budget and stretch it way too far – sickeningly-sweet cheap candles, linens meant to live inside plastic packaging rather than next to your body, a lamp that screams “tween sleepover.”  If it’s punchy design impact you’re after, (and who isn’t?) rather than simply filling your space – make your $40 count and buy unique, quality, high-impact goods that make a statement and draw attention to themselves – little $40 divas. Here are some of my faves that do just that for your living room.

Think aboout two accessory categories and leave the rest alone – pillows and flooring. You’ll need greater than $40 for properly-sized and framed artwork and furniture without bedbugs. And although you can paint your room a fabulous new color for about $40 – it’s not really luxury if you have to put on old sweats, butter up to a guy you don’t like or use a chit with your husband to get it done – that’s a project. So keep it simple  – a fabulously unique (key word) pillow and boldly unique (still key) flooring.

The key to design these days is personal – no more catalogue copying – so express yourself and and choose what you like and what speaks to you.

Pillows of the “throw” variety command hundreds of dollars these days and like everything else, thanks to the far east, they are also available for nearly free, mostly at the cheapie-trifecta mentioned above. The key is to be selective – skip the cheap ones -you don’t need eleven throw pillows – nothing says, “I want to hide my couch” like a herd of throw pillows. Pick 1, 2 or 3, depending on the length of your couch, and go for maximum punch.  Like chic t-shirts for your living room –express something – whether it’s anarchy, nature-rules, or your love for Rumi.

ikat is so i-catching in orange

I love Pillowsandthrows.com for well-designed, modern-leaning, pillows that range from about $30 to well above. Whether it’s classic Marimekko mod prints or Inhabit’s line that remind me of nature’s night out on the town – they’re beautiful and affordable and they can quite possibly change a room. (Check out their sale page.) Another great source for quirky, fabulous, up-cycled, artisanal pillows, if you will – is etsy.com – last time I checked there were over 100 choices at $40 or under…. Etsy offers fabulous stuff in all categories made by individuals – usually there are only a few created and they go fast – if you are looking for quirky, interesting  things no one else will possibly have, visit planet etsy.

london on acid from etsy.com

Say you already have your fabulous statement-making throw pillows – perhaps a recycled Bosnian blanket from your grandmother setting the perfect boho–balkan vibe – great. But you need flooring options too. White walls just might be a statement – bare floors say “my room is unfinished” no matter how pretty your hard wood is. And if you have carpet -all the more reason – define space, make a colorful statement – give your feet something to feel good about – create an inexpensive area rug – yes, right on top of your wall-to-wall carpeting.

Thank goodness for FLOR. Flor is unique because you put your own area rug together – not in a project-way – in a 1) pick the ones you like, 2) assemble a pattern that’s cool and buy online and 3) put them on your floor – sort of way – no handiness or skills needed besides opening up a UPS box. Flor tiles are squares of carpet that just sit on your floor in any arrangement you’d like – whether you’d like to create a unique soft rainbow mosaic or a monochromatic masterpiece, (they have probably 30 different blues) pick your poison.

What I love about FLOR is that they are super-affordable, available in a wide range of colors and price points and can be purchased over time – so if you are aiming to create an 8×10 area rug, you can start with a few. ($40 worth which will likely translate to as many as 8 tiles or as few as 3 tiles – they are about 20” x 20” each and range from $5 to $15 a square) So perhaps you space gets a small area rug or the start of a much bigger one, over time. And you can add to your masterpiece as your budget allows – maybe you get there sooner by eating egg salad instead of take-out…I know, it’s a toss-up.

 I, for one, am in the middle of creating a Billie-Jean-(as in – you’re not my lover) inspired area rug for my primary-color doused living room, using FLOR, and purchasing them as the budget allows. That is luxury in my book – you pick what you want, and you pay when you want, as you go – lots of choice – very small chance for anything but fabulous results.