Tag Archives: Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn Knock-off – Silver Wood Elevated Riser

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Julie

If I had all the money in the world, I would buy everything I wanted at full price.

Not.

I might buy a few things at full price, but quite honestly, I think I would still try to knock some things off on my own.

Not only do I hate paying full price for most things, but I don’t like buying something I know I can make for myself at a fraction of the retail cost.

I call that FUN!

The other day I was shopping at one of my favorite stores…Pottery Barn.

I saw a gorgeous Christmas tablescape similar to this one found on their web site.

via Pottery Barn

Nestled in among the beautiful linens and dishes and garlands was a cute little silver riser.

via Pottery Barn

I thought it was fun and funky. Sparkly, yet rustic.

Then I turned it over and saw the price tag. $49.

Ouch.

I knew I could knock it off.

silver wood riser

I went to the craft store and bought a wood slice and a package of 3 wooden “knobs.”

I painted them with silver spray paint, and then I darkened it up with some Annie Sloan dark wax for a rustic look.

A few bits of the bark chipped off when I applied the wax, but I kept it that way instead of going over it with another layer of spray paint.

I think the chippy-ness just adds to the rustic charm.

My little “bun” feet aren’t like the real Pottery Barn legs that are shaped like little tree branches, but I’m okay with that.

I attached the legs with hot glue because it was fast and easy. So far they’re holding up great!

Total cost for my project? Around $10. Love that!

silver wood riser

I created this project as part of the Holiday Edition of the Rock Your Knock-off Tour:

Ready to see some more fun knock-off projects?

Here is the complete line-up:

Monday, November 10th
Dio Home Improvements
Snazzy Little Things
Postcards from the Ridge
ConfessionsofaSerialDo-it-Yourselfer
Restoration Redoux

Tuesday, November 11th
mommyiscoocoo
Artsy Chicks Rule
Our Southern Home
Curb Alert!
Sweet Pea

Wednesday, November 12th
Lilacs & Longhorns
What Meegan Makes
H2OBungalow
PinkWhen
Country Design Style
Cupcakes and Crinoline

Thursday, Novbember 13th

House on the Way

Friday, November 14th

H2OBungalow
diy180

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks so much for stopping by today.

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Savvy Southern Style

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POSTED IN: Christmas decor, crafts, holiday decor, Pottery Barn

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Spring Front Porch Inspiration

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Julie

It’s the first day of spring and we finally have some beautiful spring weather! The sunshine and warmer temperatures lift my spirits and get me thinking about my yard.

As a result, I have been busy getting my yard ready for planting and doing several yard-related projects. We just finished getting a drip irrigation system installed in all of our beds and, oh boy, did we need that! I’m so hopeful that this new system will help keep more plants alive. I’ve lost so many during these past few years with the drought.

Hopefully, I’ll be sharing some of my completed yard projects soon (they’re still in progress)!

One “project” I’m working on is getting my front porch all spruced up. I want to get some new outdoor pillows, move a few things around and freshen a piece or two up with some paint. So I started doing a little playing with a mood board to help me get a vision. When I have lots of ideas in my head swirling around, it always helps me to put things together where I can see them.

Here’s my spring front porch inspiration:

I am going for a more colorful look on the front porch this year.

I am loving this fabric from fabric.com

I think it’s so fresh and colorful. It feels like summer just looking at it!

I also love these galvanized planters from Pottery Barn:

They add a casual, rustic charm I think.

The best part is, you can get this look for a lot cheaper than major retailer prices. I’ve seen buckets at the hardware store that would look just as cute for a fraction of the price.

I’m getting so anxious to get things moving outside, but the forecast still calls for some more chilly nights so I can’t go all out yet.

In the meantime, I think I’ll be ordering that cute fabric so I can sew a couple of pillows.

How about you? Are you planning for spring yet?

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POSTED IN: Fabric, front porch, outdoor decor, porch, Pottery Barn, Spring

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Fourth of July Pottery Barn Knock-off {Tutorial}

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Julie

I was browsing through Pottery Barn the other day and spotted these:

Pottery Barn Fourth of July burlap stars

I had seen them in one of the catalogs, but thought they were even more stunning in person. They are much bigger than I expected…one is 16″ and the other 18″ in diameter!

They’re already sold out online. In the store, I think the price was somewhere around $19 for the one I saw.

I immediately knew this was something I could create at home — especially because I already had everything I needed and wouldn’t need to spend any money.

My 8-year-old was up for the challenge and couldn’t wait to get started! (It’s nice having a helper!)

We began by making a paper prototype and then practiced folding some burlap to see if the fabric I had would fold nicely. We quickly decided that making the chevron stripes and cuts might be a little more than we wanted to figure out, so we stuck with making a circle.

The first step: Cutting the fabric

When I did my paper prototype I came to the mistaken conclusion that I would need two individual squares of fabric. Duh! One long rectangle would have been much better. I guess my brain is foggy from the rain and humidity!

I cut two 18″ by 18″ squares, so if I were to do it again, I would cut an 18″ x 36″ piece of burlap.

Step Two: Measure the stripes

I used a ruler to measure the distance between stripes so when I pinched the ends together to make a complete circle all the lines would match up perfectly.

I found that measuring from the outside in worked best. The center line needs to be dead center.

Step Three: Painting the Lines

My daughter decided to get creative and make a line consisting of circles. It turned out to be the fastest, too! Our tight-woven burlap really absorbed paint.

Also…our center line turned out to be way too thin and didn’t show up well when we folded and fanned the burlap. I would recommend making this line at least three inches thick, maybe even four.

Step Four: Bake and Eat Oatmeal Cookies!

Okay…this isn’t a necessary step, but this was the part where we let our paint dry and my daughter was dying to bake cookies, so we did!

I’m only sharing this because the recipe was SO GOOD!!

It’s from the blog, “Nine and Sixteen.” You have got to try it!

Step Five: Accordian Fold the Fabric

(My daughter is folding our test fabric here)

Try to get the folds as evenly as possible. Our burlap held a crease pretty well, but I still ran an iron over it to make sure the creases held.

Step Six: Tie the Middle

I used a piece of twine to bind my middle together. I cut off the excess and then moved on to Step 7.

Step Seven: Hot Glue the Edges Together to Form a Circle

My daughter was at Art Camp when I did this step so I don’t have a picture of doing it, but you just pull your fabric so the ends meet and the fabric fans out to create a giant circle. Watch your fingers because it’s very easy to burn yourself when doing this step!

Step Eight: Hot Glue Twine for Hanging

The best place to hot glue this is in one of the seams so try to do this at the same time as Step 7.

Step Eight: Hang and Enjoy!!

Even though mine is a circle and not a star, I think it’s every bit as cute as the Pottery Barn version.

You can see that I added a center circle because my paint line wasn’t very big. I just painted and cut a piece of burlap and hot-glued it on to the front. Easy!

I love it!

Thanks for reading,

Linking up to:
Savvy Southern Style
Marty’s Musings
The Shabby Creek Cottage

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POSTED IN: Burlap, fourth of July, holiday decor, Independence Day, July 4th, Knock-off decor, Pottery Barn

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Pottery Barn Knock-Off – DIY Chalkboard & Fun Font

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Julie

I love Pottery Barn. I don’t always love their prices, though. That’s why I’m always looking to make super easy, super simple DIY Pottery Barn knock-offs.

Here’s the picture that caught my eye in their latest catalog featuring Halloween decorating:

Pottery Barn Hanging Bat

Isn’t it fun?! I love the whole vignette. Several things caught my eye but particularly the large chalkboard. I also love the cute Halloween font on the board and figured I could make my board look just the same — the perfect background for my Halloween decorating.

You Can Do It!
The whole chalkboard and spooky printing is very easy. Seriously, you don’t need mad artistic or DIY skills to make the chalk board or copy the handwriting freehand.

Again…here’s Pottery Barn’s:

Here’s mine:

Pretty similar, huh?!
The Pottery Barn chalkboard costs $169. Mine cost a fraction of that and I actually like mine better! Love that.

Making the Chalkboard
To make the chalkboard, I bought a large open-back frame from Hobby Lobby when they were 50% off.

Source: HobbyLobby.com

I’ve had the frame for a long time (I used it to frame something else a few years ago) so I’m guessing I paid around $25 for it at the time. It’s a very large frame…something like 30″ x 40″. Yours doesn’t have to be this big. Pottery Barn’s comes in a couple of sizes. The largest is 36″ x 48″.

To fill the frame I went to Lowe’s and bought a large piece of hardboard.

Source

It’s very affordable. You can get a 4′ x 6′ piece for around eight bucks. I could make several chalkboards with a piece that size. You can also get smaller pieces for just a few dollars. The nice people at Lowe’s cut my hardboard to my exact measurements and even cut a few extra sizes for me.
Then I came home and primed the board, then painted it with 3 coats of chalkboard paint with a sponge paint roller. (I’m sorry I don’t have pictures of these steps, but I know you all know how to paint!)

I already had the paint so it didn’t cost me a thing. A quart-sized can of chalkboard paint will set you back around around $11 or so, maybe less.

Make Chalkboard Paint Yourself
You can also make it yourself with any latex or acrylic paint. I’ve found several recipes online. A Beautiful Mess gives you a recipe using tile grout. Martha Stewart also has a recipe on her website. Just google it and you’ll find several, affordable methods.

Once everything dried I put the finished chalkboard into the frame (just as you would with a mat or picture). Then I took a piece of chipboard (cardboard) that I bought at Hobby Lobby for just a few dollars and stapled it to the back of the frame and then taped it at the top and bottom.

Voila! Done!

Given that I already had most of the supplies this project only cost me around $10. LOVE it!

As for the printing. I simply kept the PB catalog by my side when I copied the text and the spider webs.

I discovered that the trick to doing the web and the font is to go over the text several times so the web doesn’t compete with the text. It was very, very easy…if you can draw a line, you can copy this font.

There you have it!

In the coming weeks I’ll show you some of my other DIY Halloween projects. Like the Arsenic bottle, the skulls and a white pumpkin that also looks like the ones found at PB. More super simple, super cheap projects!

Linking up to:

DIY Showoff

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Elizabeth & Co.

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Primp

The Shabby Creek Cottage

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