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Who doesn’t love, love, love beautiful, unique accents, housewares and furniture? Even if your family isn’t as passionate about beautifying efforts as you are, there is no doubt they appreciate living in a thoughtfully-decorated, well-planned home.

One of my favorite hobbies is assessing our decor and finding what needs updating or improvement. I cherish going from room to room, pondering the perfect additions and wrapping my head around what would make each space more livable and lovable. When I’m done tweaking all the rooms, I wait a while and start over on reviving what has gotten stale. Change is good in life and in our homes.

Sometimes that change is as simple as a coat of paint, and other times it is that perfect picture or piece of furniture. Whatever choice I make, one thing is certain: I crave good deals but also beautiful quality. So, where do I go to find that sometime dubious combination? Here are a few of my favorite online and traditional stores.

Homedecorators.com. I’ve used this online and traditional catalog for as long as I’ve been decorating our homes and was thrilled when a store opened in my city a couple years ago. This company offers an amazing selection of styles, sizes, colors and finishes. If you have something very specific in mind, chances are, you will find it at homedecorators.com. While you are shopping, visit the clearance outlet, but act fast. You can garner some great deals but the selection changes rapidly.

Nellhills.com. Visiting Nell Hills is an absolute MUST if you are ever in the Midwest. Named after owner Mary Carol Garrity’s grandmother, this store is a decorator’s dream: room after overflowing room of lovely (and surprisingly affordable) accents, housewares and furniture that reflects Garrity’s warm, elegant, homespun style. Each season brings an amazing amount of new stock and ideas. If you can’t make it to a store, browse Garrity’s’ decorating books (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=mary+carol+garrity) to get a feel for her inspired taste and ideas.

Tuesday Morning (http://www.tuesdaymorning.com/indexCatalogOff.asp). I don’t always need something when I go to Tuesday Morning but I always leave with something special. This store carries lovely higher-end items that are steeply discounted. Don’t get me wrong — they don’t give their stuff away, but they offer much better deals than buying full-price. They also offer an online list of great deals that are delivered to your doorstep (https://www.tuesdaymorningoffer.com/). In addition to goodies for your home, if you are looking for wedding, baby or birthday gifts, these stores are perfect for unique items. There more than 700 locations in the U.S. so hopefully one is close to you.

I love new loot, but I also adore good deals on gently-used furniture and accents, too. I often peruse ebay.com and craigslist.com just to see what people are selling. Although you need to be careful of the prices (not always a good deal), quality and shipping charges, if applicable, there are some hidden treasures out there. It is just a matter of finding them.

Warmest regards and happy shopping!
Amy

Tags: accents, decor, housewares, interior decorating

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 9:04 pm and is filed under Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.