Kool thing sittin' with a kitty...

M. and I did some after-work scouting at HD Buttercup last week, looking for inspiration and maybe a few deals. Sure enough, we saw this single accent chair sitting all by itself. I thought it would make an excellent accent chair in her bedroom, so we snagged it for about $400. It has a great, feminine shape that will contrast nicely with her more angular bedroom furniture.

She asked me where HD Buttercup fell on the budget spectrum for my work. I had to be honest--at Ye Olde Dayjobbe, we don't consider it unless we're looking for "budget" items, last-minute fluff pieces, or if we're just staging a space. But for M., this store was at the very top of her budget limit.

What do you do when you can't afford a $400 accent chair (or don't want to spend that much)? It's tricky--you end up scouring thrift stores for bargains you can either reupholster/refinish or you make do with box store design and knockoffs.

M. has become a Craigslist master hunter in her spare time, sending me links to amazing things. She's figured out what she needs to do in order to live with style and stay on budget :-)