High style, low cost - with a side note on controlling clutter

In an earlier post, I talk about fabulous finds for cheap in the Global Bazaar section at Target. That was a surprise, for me anyway. Less of a surprise and a notch up from Target is West Elm. Their style is decidedly modern but, because they have a global flair, many of their pieces can work well within any other style that doesn't mind bending a bit. And their prices are excellent, as is the quality of their goods.

Although my own style is more traditional, in an eclectic sort of way (Arts & Crafts meets British Colonial and other global styles meets flea market meets sidewalk finds, with an occasional modern twist), I've gotten a number of wonderful, reasonably priced items from West Elm. My latest were on-sale linen curtains for my in-progress dining room reinvention (more on that down the road), along with some natural fiber rugs in wonderful colors and textures (including the one pictured above), and some floating shelves to help manage my husband's ever-expanding family (his family) shrine, which I try to confine to two rooms--his studio and the spare bedroom, which doubles as his office.

I should mention, in case this is a sensitive issue for some readers, that I'm not opposed at all to family shrines. I think it's wonderful to include personal family photos as part of ones home decor. It's only when these shrines include only one side of the family and cover everything from a grandmother's Palmer Method Handwriting certificate to an unedited collection of children's drawings that I would recommend some selectivity and, possibly, rotation of favorites, while the remaining items might be stored away as cherished keepsakes and memorabilia that one wishes to keep but not necessarily display. This strategy also offers a peace-keeping compromise to couples with differing preferences in this area. It works for us.

This matter, of course, raises another important decorating issue--clutter control, a topic that has become so popular in recent times that, as most of us know, there now are stores (online and off) dedicated exclusively to containers and storage items. The Container Store is one excellent example.

To me, this says at least two important things relating to making a house comfortable and aesthetic:

1. Most of us have way too much stuff and it's suffocating our living space and clogging up our lives.

2. You can't have an aesthetically pleasing living space if you have too much stuff in it, no matter how lovely or sentimentally meaningful that stuff is.

So, maybe another, more extensive, post can be done on this topic of clutter control, a topic near and dear to my heart, being myself a recovering clutterholic. For now, I hope these little tidbits are useful and thought-provoking!

Back to West Elm and their great style at reasonable prices. Do check their website and try their products. I think you'll be pleased. By the way, they have a number of attractive shelves and containers for storage!

Resources:

West Elm
The Container Store