Poverty Barn

Those of you who know me a little better (probably than you want to--heh, heh), know that besides my camera, I have two wordly loves.  It's okay to have one or two of those. . . or three.  But no more than that.  I have a minor obsession with my Gap Card and I love, LOVE Pottery Barn.  Whereas I pride myself in finding smokin' deals at Gap (and I justify it with my 5 dress-up dolls. . . I mean kids), it is rare to find a really good deal at Pottery Barn.  Yet I love it still.

Now that we have ventured further into cheap living than I ever wanted to, we have had to become creative.  A full-time MBA student for a husband and no income will do that to you.  And I am no good at no income . . . . my tastes haven't seemed to change.  Too bad.

So, my handy husband sometimes caters to my requests to build things.  And not just anything--I show him the catalog and say, "That is what I want it to look like."  And he is very handy and makes it happen.  And there you have it. . . . my very own Poverty Barn.

Let me show you . . . .

Here is the Pottery Barn dollhouse every little girl (and, in my case, big girl) wants:

And here is our Poverty Barn dollhouse:

(And let me tell you, those shingles were fuh-un to hand shape. . . and just look--he installed baseboards.  I mean, who does that?  I think we may just have one-upped Pottery Barn on that one.)

Here is the Pottery Barn Rustic Ladder, which sells for around $5,000,000. . . . or something like that:

And here is what Rich built for me--a Poverty Barn Rustic Ladder (for I think $25):

This is the Pottery Barn Surfboard Shelf (which for a hefty price, does NOT include the coral):

And here is the Poverty Barn version, which because of the "poverty" part, will remain empty a little longer:

Now what do you think Rich will say to this little project?

Maybe just the table. . . . . okay, okay, the chairs, too.