The Look For Less: Pottery Barn Toile Bedroom

I haven't done one of these in a while, so I thought this could be a fun exercise for today. I love the look of this Pottery Barn room.

I love the contrast of the crisp white against the dark chocolate walls, I love the toile bedding, I love the airy curtains framing the bed, and I love the cute little mirror above the bed.

Honestly though, it would be impossible for me to go out and buy everything in this room from Pottery Barn. I'm not picking on PB here, I love them, but I just don't have that kind of dough. So let's look at other ways to create this same look, shall we?

Bedding:

The Pottery Barn Matine Toile Duvet cover is $149.00 for a Queen, and standard shams are $29 each. That's not terrible, but let's look at other options.

The photo below is from Overstock.com. I know this pattern isn't "toile", but it does give the same feel. The best part? It's $39.99 for a queen sized duvet AND 2 shams. Are you liking it better now?

This appears to be the same pattern to me. I found this on Ebay (here's the link). The 3 piece set is listed for $79.99.
Here's another option for you, sew. I know, it's a scary option, but I promise the sewing machine won't bite. And here's some incentive for you; this option gives you the freedom to create exactly what you want for CHEAP!

For example, here are two brown toile fabrics I found on Fabric.com.

P. Kauffman Central Park Toile in Chocolate: On Sale for $10.19/yard

Premier Prints Jamestown Toile Brown/Natural: $6.98/Yard

To make a queen sized duvet cover you'd need about 5 yards of fabric, and a flat sheet (which you may already have). At the fabric prices listed above, you could have your own toile duvet for $35-$50.

Tired of me beating you over the head? It's okay...You don't have to sew if you don't want to. Really, I won't make you...I'm not going to come to your house to check up on you. Just giving you options here :-).

Sheer, Flowy Curtains/Something to Hang them On:

The lovely Pottery Barn curtains surrounding the bed are $25-$30 each.

These curtains at Ikea are $4.99...a PAIR! These curtains are $9.99 each at JC Penney (they come in white).

But what do you hang the curtains on if you don't have a canopy bed? How 'bout a ceiling mounted curtain rod? Like this one from JC Penney's?

Or, you could get super creative like this gal and build a wood frame on the ceiling and staple the curtains on the inside.

I would also scour Craigslist and fleamarkets for canopy beds that you could pick up for cheap.

Finally, Paint:

The paint color used in the Pottery Barn room is Benjamin Moore Kona (AF-165). It is really dark, though, so only go this dark if your room gets a ton of natural light. Also, I wouldn't recommend picking a paint color until you actually have your bedding since you want to make sure the browns match. I know...I'm being ultra helpful here :-).

So Let's Price Things Out:

The Pottery Barn Room: Bedding $207; Sheers (4) $100; Bed $1,299

Our Super Creative Option: Bedding $39-79; Sheers $10-40; Ceiling Mounts for Sheers $20-60

And...that's how I shop. That's how super-tight-income-little-'ol-me can afford to beautify my home. I hope this exercise gives you some hope that you can too.