Is John Rosselli Watching Over Me?

Yesterday, I recounted how cheered I was by the advice of high-end decor maven John Rosselli. The advice: simply cover your shabby sofa with some fabric. Who am I to argue with a luminary?

Well, I took a trip back to the thrift store to check on delivery of my sofa (not till next week). While I was there, I looked around. I saw a big white lump. It was labeled "king size comforter cover $5.00." It felt like linen. I stuck my head inside and found an Eileen Fisher Home label. I think these are made for Garnet Hill, the fancy catalogue I have mooned over for many, many years. So thrilled was I that I bought it within 5 seconds: it would be the perfect cover for my sofa.  I did not do my usual inspection.

When I got home, I unfurled it and discovered a bunch of holes. UGH. I think the previous owner must have been overzealous with the bleach: linen doesn't like bleach.

I was feeling kind of bad about wasting my money. Then I realized that the previous owner would not have donated it sans holes. I can live with the holes.  They don't really show--and have a certain je ne sais quoi-- and I can have Miss Em do some mending when she returns from Serbia.

Imperfect as it is, I still think this will be the perfect cover for my sofa. I wish I could ask Mr Rosselli if he would use a linen cover with holes. I think he might.

Would you?

Upscale Designer to the Rescue! Thanks, John Rosselli!

One of my major bad habits involves reading shelter magazines while sitting in my messy house. One enters a pastoral world, an enclosed space that makes, in the words of William Empson, author of Some Versions of Pastoral, "the complex into the simple." Kind of like the characters in Shakespeare's As You Like It trooping into the Forest of Arden, eventually returning to the "real" world to remake it. I guess that means I should clean up after reading a magazine.

I had an idea a while back to clip frugal ideas from these magazines. Of course, most of the frugal ideas aren't very frugal for those of us in the middle class. I did clip one, however.

The featured luminary is John Rosselli, who sells elegant goods in a New York City shop. His idea IS frugal and it pertains precisely to my "sofa issue" recounted in my last post.

Does John Rosselli have new slipcovers made? Does he reupholster? No, he does not.

It’s been years since I’ve recovered a sofa. That’s because I have dogs. I simply wrap chairs and sofa cushions in fabric or in Indian cotton bedspreads. Or buy a sheet that’s the same color as the sofa, wrap it around the cushions, and throw it in the wash when it gets dirty.

THANK YOU, Mr Rosselli. Image from his website. Love the socks!



And thank you, Mr Empson. Image from New Directions website.

Oops, I Did It Again

On the same thrift store foray where I spoke to the smug and loud Chevron volunteers, I bought a sofa. This was not a good idea. I have been resisting well-made but unnecessary sofas for several years, even (and this pains me) a down filled number with the signatures of all who were involved in its construction. You see, I will not need a sofa for around 2 years, when my current one will have reached a sufficiently bedraggled state. 

Then the Food Bank Thrift received a GOOD sofa. upholstered. The sofa had been there for at least a week. No one wanted it. Every time I said I liked it, I was offered a better price. Eventually, the manager said I could have it for $25. I was the only one who had expressed interest.

And free delivery! On that fateful day, I caved. You see, it's a sofa by Sherrill. That is--as far as I can tell--a good brand. Well-made. The fabric has some issues, of course.

I do not consider this a $25.00 sofa. That is because the fabric looks bad in some spots (though mostly hidden ones). Reupholstery or slipcovers=expensive. The couch might end up costing as much as a new one. Still, it would cost FAR LESS than a new sofa of comparable quality. 

Almost thirty years ago, when I taught at a little college in a decimated-by-unemployment small town in Michigan, I saw a chair at a yard sale. It was a quarter. I passed. Later, the wife of a colleague invited me over to see her 25 cent chair. It was, of course, the same one. I asked her how much the upholstery job had cost. $300.00! It makes a better story to refer to it as a 25 cent chair. I just did a search on the colleague and his wife and discovered that they were divorced many years ago. I wonder what became of that chair.

I guess I should stop regarding thrift store trips as rescue missions. Still, check out the beautiful chairs belonging to Frugalshrink, a favorite blogger. I think she got some gorgeous chairs at a good price, even after one takes the upholstery costs into account.

Have you ever "rescued" some unappreciated item?

We Interrupt Regularly Scheduled Broadcasting....Reno Show!

Sorry Readers. Today will not be a report on how I struck out at the thrift store or--oh joy!--found some milk reduced for quick sale on the very day we needed to make yogurt. Such are my usual simple pleasures.

No. I am here to say that the make-over show that picked the house Frugal Son lives in finished work yesterday. The make-over took one week. The show will air in December. I have never seen the show (it is fairly new and it features Amish people). In fact, we've never seen a DIY or HGTV show.

This opportunity fell on us out of the sky when one of Frugal Son's roommates was working as a gofer on a tv production in Mississippi. The producer asked if he knew of a neat house in New Orleans that needed a makeover. He said, "How about mine?" Thank you, Colin!

I haven't seen the finished results yet, but Frugal Son likes them and is rather reeling over the whole experience.  I don't think we can post pics till after the episode airs in any case. The only hint I've had of the treasures within is on the Facebook page of one of the companies involved.

I had a nice chat with the Amish fellow on the right (if you click on the Facebook page above). He overheard my saying that I was hungry and he offered to share his po-boy with me. I accepted.

Thrift Store Fun, Thrift Store Folly

Unlike many of the financial "experts" in the blogosphere, who counsel us to "make more money" (as they did, by selling their blogs for several million dollars), I am a big believer in saving dollars here and dollars there. The financial bloggers, many of whom have retired on the proceeds of their blogs, also counsel us to "negotiate for more money." Hear that legislators???? My pennies and dollars are all that remain in my control.

Hence my killer grocery shopping skills and my thrift store acumen. Perhaps I was karmically sent to my town because we have--no question--about the best and cheapest thrift stores I have encountered. Plus, in a small town, you see the same people every time you go to a thrift, so one has some social interaction.

Today, when I got home from administering my last final, I was completely exhausted from sucking up all the panic and misery of my students. I HAD to go to a thrift store for the spa experience. A trip to Goodwill--about 3 miles--was too much, so I contented myself with the little Food Bank thrift, which is about 1/2 mile away.

Well! Paul, the former manager of the thrift shop, who has since been promoted to an administrative position at the food bank, was at the register and boy was he crabby. You see, the people working at the thrift have been running 1/2 price sales and playing "let's make a deal" for a few weeks. They also missed a Dooney and Bourke bag and put it in the $1 bin. Paul saw that. (No, I was not the lucky buyer.) He told me that REVENUE WAS DOWN. WAY DOWN.

EVERY SINGLE customer whined about the renewal of full prices (i.e. $2.50 for most clothing). EVERY SINGLE customer asked Paul to lower the prices. I was too scared to ask him! I did point out that prices had to be low at thrifts because people made a lot of mistakes in purchasing. Some items have damage that one doesn't see till one gets home. ETCETERA. He finds me rather amusing, so I did cheer him up a tiny bit.

Anyway, I bought some beautiful fabric samples. Don't ask me why. I can't sew. I do have a love for fabric and seeing gorgeous linen blend fabrics--some toiles, many printed in England-- just wiped me out. I could not resist. I'm hoping the creative Miss Em will help me figure out what to do with them. Some of the pieces are pretty big, 18" by 45," though most are smaller.

The one useful thing I got was a little cuisinart mini-prep processor. I have one, but I got it for Frugal Son, a fabulous cook. I even plugged it in to see if it worked.

When I got home, Mr FS sighed about the fabric. He took one look at the mini-prep and said, "There's no blade." OOPS. I, the usually careful shopper, had just wasted a few dollars on a defective item. Just as I had told Paul. If he's not too crabby, I'm going to tell him next time I see him.

Still, I helped support the food bank.

A Hays Town: In the Midst of Stress, Beauty (Frugal for Me)

After a day so stressful I could hardly speak (the stressful pinnacle was notice of a certified letter from the Dreaded Dentist), Mr FS and I went to a musical event organized by some music-loving acquaintances. After Katrina, this pro-active, supportive of musicians duo began hosting soirees in their home. They invite VERY good musicians (lots of choose from in the area) and the guests bring a dish to share and about $15 a head to pay the musicians. This being Louisiana, the food is as good as the music. We count ourselves fortunate to be on the guest list of these events.

Now the events are hosted by many people, at least those with homes big enough (ours is not) to accommodate 25 plus guests plus a musician or three. Yesterday, we were in a home designed by A Hays Town, an eminent architect who died in 2005 at 101 years of age. Most of Town's homes are very large, built for very wealthy people. This one was of more human (to me) dimensions.

Town is famous for using old regional materials: wood and bricks especially. This house was designed for some friends and so was more modest than his usual work. The front part of the house was a cottage from the 1830s (moved from South Louisiana), onto which was appended an addition of old bricks and wood (old bricks and wood=frugal!!). I can hardly describe how beautiful the home was.  One guest said the house even smelled good.

The current owners bought the house from the original owners after Katrina. I am glad I got to visit (and we were all told we could visit any time). While we were all waxing ecstatic about the privilege of living in such a masterpiece, the owner said the house was extremely high maintenance. The husband mows the 7.5 acres with a tractor (ugh). The house itself takes a lot of care.

I might fantasize about living in such a beautiful space, but I see that the beauty is a frugal experience for visitors, but not for the owners. Still, it has long been my fantasy to be INSIDE one of Town's homes and now I have realized that fantasy.


I own this beautiful book, which some madman donated to Goodwill many years ago.

For more views of Town's houses, you can google about. I like the interiors better than the exteriors, most of which are too massive for my humble aesthetic.

Frugal Redecorating: Use What You Have

I've mentioned Lauri Ward's books before: her motto is "use what you have." Frugal, green, and--believe it or not--quick. Her books--especially the first one, which remains the most useful--don't present beautiful pictures or fantasy environments a la Architectural Digest. Most of us couldn't afford the pillows in an AD spread, much less the Picasso gracing the wall.

So much of our mood depends upon our environment. Ward's blog is usually kind of meh, but I check back now and again. Her most recent post shows a room filled with furniture that is either the same as ours or worse! What a relief! Yet look how nice the room looks when the furniture is rearranged.

She explains how to rearrange in her first book. I followed her ideas and--no kidding--instant improvement.

Have you tried her techniques?

Can You Bargain on Furniture?

In spite of my frugal ways, I am not good at bargaining. I guess I have a fear of rejection! I've heard here and there that it is possible to bargain in furniture stores. As an early-bird planner, I am already thinking about the couch I will buy in a year or two. So far, I like one at Crate and Barrel. When we were in Boston, we walked right by a CandB. We went in and tried the sofa. We liked it. The nice sales guy (Kenny) said that, instead of buying on-line, I should give him a call. The shipping is shockingly expensive, so I'm hoping for a deal of some sort. So the question is: can you bargain at a store like Crate and Barrel? Yay or Nay?

Frugal Valances: And A How Much Fabric Query

Even though I am a Plain Jane as far as window treatments go, I have for a while had a hankering for fabric covered valances. My mother has some, designed by the decor-guru Susan Heller, who suggested paint colors for me. They were SOOOOOOO expensive.

The hankering has returned. This is because I have some transoms in my living room that hit 10 feet. My three beautiful windows are nine feet. After I got some cheap but chic burlap curtains for the windows, I realized that I should have gone up to 10 feet to make an even line all around.

I explored curtain-lengthening options. ERGH. And, of course, I am a non-sewer. So my thoughts returned to valances that I could put over the top of the nine foot windows making a faux ten foot window!

Those valance boards are pricy, running around $150 EACH at Joann Fabrics.

Then I found this: DIY.
That's for a valance--or cornice--or pelmet--made of wood. There's also a genius DIY-er who has made some out of insulation board!

Mr. FS is--as always--eager to take on this project for me. How I dote on the fellow! He will make the boards. Miss Em--the only family member with fine motor skills and general handy-girl confidence--will help me figure out how to wrap with fabric. (SHHHHH. I haven't revealed this to her yet.)

Question to sewers of handy-people: how much fabric for a 12-16 inch valance with side pieces of about 5 inches? Joann Fabric says I need 3 yard each, but that seems like a lot.

Anyone know?

And how 'bout those DIYers?

Rummage Sale! What to Do with Linen Panels?

Since I go to thrift stores all too much (though only on my regular errand route...usually), I have sworn off rummage and yard sales. The only exception is the Episcopal Church a few minutes away (on foot) whose members are the wealthy of my little town.

When there I see our children's pediatrician, who seems to be a frugal fellow and devotes a lot of time to medical missionary work. Lucky for me, because I bought 2 table lamps (they were on my "list") and 4 curtain panels that were too big to carry.

Mr FS and I got there about 5 minutes after opening and all the good stuff seemed gone. Mr FS bought a few CDs and left. I then spotted the lamps and panels. The panels (somewhat dirty and marked at 50 cents) were nice quality, I thought. When I got home, I discovered that I was right: they are Libeco linen from Restoration Hardware, 50 X 84.

The kind doctor dropped me at home. We gave him some greens from our garden (he doesn't seem too familiar with greens). We also arranged to buy some eggs from the chickens his children raise in their small backyard.

What do you think I should do? Have them cleaned and wait for the right set of windows? Or should I cut off the linen and use for something else? If I did that, could I wash them?

Buy Local?

As we all know, it is good to support local businesses, even if, at times, they are a bit more expensive. So I began my quest for a new piece of furniture in my little downtown, which has a number of specialty shops.

Store 1: Run by a nice, but crazy lady who used to live down the street from me. I would be afraid to give her my credit card number!
Store 2: I didn't really like the quality of the piece, even though the store is rather high end. The owner was very nice to me, however.
Store 3: A definite possibilty! But the owner was rather short with me. He seemed so bored by my questions. That's how he was a few months ago when I went on a different mission.

Just to check, I looked up the prices on-line. The piece carried by Store 3 is also carried by a fancy on-line company, at several hundred dollars higher.

It's also carried by another on-line retailer and would come to about 10-15% less than the local store.

This isn't a pressing issue. I start my shopping AT LEAST a year in advance. By the time the year is up, I often decide that I don't really want whatever it was I thought I wanted.

But my question is this. Would you buy local even though the owner was curt and indifferent?

Thrift Store Karma Again

Every time I think that I should just buy whatever and be done with it (within reason, of course0, my efforts are thwarted. I recently posted about all the little bargains i missed while I was away from home and the internet. Duchesse suggested I get a smartphone. Honestly, I think a smartphone would feed my obsessive ways and also cost MORE than whatever money I was saving!

Once I was home, I, of course, headed to the two local thrift shops. Amazingly, at Goodwill, I found a pair of floor lamps from Home Depot. These were in the box. They are not my FAVORITE lamps of all--those would be from some fancy shop that features items from MOMA's Design Collection--but they were about as nice as the ones from Ballard Designs that I had been looking at. The lamps were $20 each, a lot for Goodwill, but, hey, they were new.

Then, I found a small wool rug. Not bad. Someone had removed the price tag, so the harried manager marked it at $1.99.

So I managed to cross three items off my list of desired items after all. It seems to be my destiny to shop at thrift stores. I rather like it. Not for the prices only, but for the absence of choices. There are zillions of lamps as nice as mine at Home Depot and similar; I got the only PAIR of floor lamps I've seen at a thrift in a long, long while.

Making a List

In my latest effort not to OVERBUY, I made a list of what I needed. This is not a new method, of course, but once I have a list, I find I can wait for a good price or free shipping. The list calms the impulse to buy RIGHT NOW.

On my list:
2 floor lamps. Really, I still have lamps from graduate school and cheapies from Walmart. I was looking at some on slight sale from http://www.ballarddesigns.com/julian-apothecary-floor-lamp/lighting/top-sellers/199010. Ballard sent me a 15% off coupon for my birthday and I was thinking of buying some pillows too. Total cost: under $200. Within the budget.

Some wool rugs for my bathrooms. I hate bathroom rugs because they get disgusting. Then I had the brilliant idea of getting some reasonable wool rugs. I discovered that lots of stylish types do this. So I picked out this rug from Garnet Hill and decided to wait for free shipping. Hate going to stores. Love mail order. Hate shipping charges. Cost: around $35.

My backup wool rug was from LL Bean. It looked something like this. Cost: around $35.

Mirroru from Big Lots. I was hoping for a 20% off coupon.

Soooooooo. Mr FS and I want to California to see his aged P or Parent, as Mr. Wemmick says in Great Expectations. We left on January 25. We knew we would have no internet---unless we made the trek to the public library in the next town.

The day before we left, I got an email from my pals at Big Lots announcing a 20% off coupon FOR a DAY WE WERE IN CALIFORNIA. OK.

Then I learned after the fact that Garnet Hill had a one-day 20% off PLUS FREE SHIPPING SALE. On the 25th.

Then LLBean had a sale on the rug I liked and it sold out before I could order it.

Oh yeah, I let my Ballard coupon lapse. Don't know why.

Total spent: 0. Items remaining on list: all.

Is this karma or what? The price difference isn't huge, but I decided to remain mellow and trust to karma.

Paying the Price

It's easy enough to think frugality and cheapness are the same thing, that we should strive for the lowest cost. I do it myself sometimes. Sometimes, I have to resist the lure of the low price.

It is not worth it to drive to even a nearby grocery store to buy apples that are 20 cents less a pound than usual.

I have been engaged in grocery resistance for a while now. As of this year, I am trying to get to the next step and here are my first projects.

1. Beauty in my Surroundings. Susan Heller, my mother's decorating pal, suggested a fabric for my living room. Two, actually. I already bought one. It was easy because I found it on sale somewhere or other and the site had free shipping. There it sits, 4 yards on the bolt. The other one is more difficult. It is almost $40.00 a yard and all polyester. Yuck. The pictures do not show how good these fabrics look together and how the blue matches my newly painted walls AND picks up a tiny spot of blue in my grandparents' old rug.

Of course, I could go to a fabric store and look. Last time I did that, it took about two hours (of driving and looking) and none of the swatches ended up working. I was also depressed and covered with a film of sweat! Stress does that to me. The total savings would be at most $40, since I need two yards for a few pillows.

So I should JUST DO IT. Then, of course, I have to have the pillows made, since I can't do even the most elementary sewing.

2. Satisfying Miss Em's Material Desires. And she has many, being 20 years old. She is not as dementedly frugal as I can be, but she has some moments. I got a glimpse of myself (the dark side of frugality) when I witnessed Miss Em trying to get some make-up at Ulta: it was BUY 2, GET 1 FREE and she had a $3 coupon. She went crazy! That is because there were only two of the face powders she wanted. Finally--partly because I find make-up stores rather boring and poor Mr FS was waiting in the car--I said: JUST BUY ONE. She did, with gratitude.

The other thing Miss Em wants is camisoles from Banana Republic. They are $25! So, while I was having my nervous breakdown, she sweetly asked if she could use the $15 birthday coupon they send me every January. Sure. Sometimes it's not worth the time to find a SINGLE item you want on sale.

Of course, once you relax in the demented frugality department, you receive karmic rewards. I was getting something at a drugstore, when I saw some face powders marked down to 75 cents. They were a Paula Begoun recommended brand, so I got three for Miss Em. Now she won't need face powder for at least a year.

Then, when I was creating the link to the overpriced Banana cami, I saw that they were having a 30% off sale. Better than nothing. I think I will get Miss Em 3 or 4 (4 will get free shipping too), so we will not have to think about that for a year.

OK karmic forces: where's the fabric?

Seriously, for what kind of things do you "pay the price" because seeking out a bargain will cost too much in time or end in failure anyway?

See Funny About Money's related post on having a hated tree cut down.

In Defense of Making Do: Diana Phipps

Or should I say "An Apology for Making Do"? That would be an echo of Sir Philip Sidney's Defense of Poesy, which also goes by the title Apology for Poetry. How to defend something that seems frivolous, useless, and even deceitful? If you're really interested, I'll let you know how Sir Philip Sidney did it.

In the meantime, we shall turn to another aristocrat, Diana Phipps. I've written about her before. She is an aristocrat whose family lost everything, so she turned to "making do" to have comfortable spaces. Whenever I need some aesthetic inspiration, I look at her book, as much for her attitude as for anything else. For your reading pleasure, here is an old article about her. A blogger has helpfully photographed the living room DP did in London.

I lived what I think are called my formative years in a castle. Changing political and financial circumstances played havoc with our living habits. Within the first ten years of my life, my parents twice lost and once regained their properties from occupying military forces, losing them first to the Germans, then to the Russians. After that came various stages of poverty. When we finally became emigrants to the United States, at last, once again, I had a room of my own. It was in an ugly and very small house. There I first began "making do." I built my furniture out of cardboard boxes from the grocery store. Over the boxes I glued blue-and-white gingham bought at Woolworth's. I tented my bed with the same material and had masses of ruffled cushions on the floor when floor cushions were not yet the fashion. They were stuffed with clothes waiting to be ironed.

Thirty years later, I'm still doing more or less the same thing, but now the gingham occasionally also covers a grand chair.

And thirty years after that was published, she is back in her castle, courtesy of the great Vaclav Havel. I remember reading that she used masses of pajama flannel to swath some of the beds. This site shows some pictures of the beautiful interiors.

Sir Philip Sidney couldn't say that poetry--by which he means fiction in general--makes people happy. Back in the day (1500s), that wasn't a good enough reason, so he had to come up with others. I must say: making do makes me happy.

Good Source for Temporary Slipcovers: Making Do with Uglysofa.com

While I am mulling over the definitions of making do and frugality proferred by my readers, I will give you a good source for the kind of making do (in the definite second best sense) necessary for many: slipcovers.

I am the proud owner of two vintage Henredon armchairs of pleasing shape, whose upholstery seems to have been used as scratching posts by millions of cats (of previous owner).* I am also the owner of a very shabby sofa that I got for free. Not exactly free: I bought a sofa, only to see the upholstery fabric disintegrate in less than a year. The seller (cursed be his name: Wes) said that the damage had been done by my cats. Only I didn't have any cats. I girded my frugal loins and called the company; after an investigations, they replaced the sofa and told me just to keep the old one. Thanks!

Now all three reside in my study/guest room/former room of Frugal Son. They are dispiriting to behold. Eventually, I will have slipcovers made for the chairs (at least $250 each, including fabric). Trouble is: I'm not sure where these treasures will end up and the sofa will be history pretty soon, but is useful for the nonce.

Those loosefit slipcovers which are sold everywhere are sooooooo hideous. And frugal me hates spending money on something hideous, not to mention temporary. By chance, I came upon the aptly named site: Ugly Sofa. They sell seconds from Pottery Barn: dropcloth slipcovers, and, even cheaper, the kind with separate pillows.

I bought the dropcloth because they are huge squares of fabric, which means that I can eventually use them as fabric for my "real slipcovers."

Warning: the shipping is very expensive.

Good thing: this seems to be a small family biz. One of their other offerings is Christmas stockings that came with wacky monograms. They cut the tops off and made new cuffs. Ingenious! Frugal!

Verdict: I got yards and yards of nice cotton twill that can be re-used. It doesn't look great (because I am uncoordinated and can't arrange fabric well), but it looks better than what is underneath.

I'm very happy to be making do--in this instance.

And, since I mentioned millions of cats, let me direct you to this children's book, which was a favorite of both Mr FS and his mother, Virginia. It was reprinted when our kids were little and we bought millions of copies to give as gifts.

CHEAP Decor from Cote de Texas

Now that I'm trying to improve my living space, I've discovered some of the cheap chic blogs. Of course, what these bloggers present as cheap and what I think of as cheap are often different. There are so many opportunities for inspiration--not to mention procrastination.

The other day, singlemomrichmom--a blogger whose posts I look forward to--was ruminating on the very subject of decor, wondering if she'd have to buy a bunch of junk--I mean, stuff--and hire someone to arrange it artfully. I can relate. I have lots of stuff, but I am a poor arranger.

Then I noticed a post from the uber-blog cotedetexas, a proponent of white slipcovers, European furniture, and seagrass rugs. Most of her posts feature places waaaaaaaayyyyyy beyond my ken. Recently, though, she discussed her daughter's college apartment. This apartment features a white slipcovered sofa from Ikea (the famous Ektorp) with the matching ottoman used as a coffee table. There is a sunburst mirror (available at many price points) over the sofa--and that's about it.

It's a mighty good looking space in and of itself. And, unlike many such spaces, it's frugality itself!

Chic Surroundings: Frugal Style

My first exposure to frugal decor was in a magazine my mother got, perhaps Ladies Home Journal. My father worked at an ad agency at the time (Kenyon and Eckhart, mentioned on Madmen) and the magazine was a freebie that my mother--not much of a reader--never opened, as far as I can remember. Anyway, I remember a feature on furnishing a room where most of your budget went to a single high-ticket item: one was a piano, one was a rug, and I can't remember the others. Perhaps that article was the origin of my belief that you can always cut your spending to afford what you want. Like my trip to Europe!

I've been trying to improve my home for a while. It is a slow process, exacerbated by my frugal mindset. It would be easy enough to go to any of the elegant shops around town--even my little town--and pull out the credit card.

The internet is a great source of inspiration. It turns out zillions of clever people post their budget ideas and projects on-line.

Have you ever seen Copy Cat Chic?

Or--for the DIYer--a burlap ottoman slipcover. The handy Miss Em swears she can make this.

Any other good resources?

Cheap Chic for Your Home: Burlap and Indian Print Spreads

Aside from de-cluttering, which is free, are there any home decor items that are truly frugal? I've been giving this some thought and there don't seem to be many candidates.

Years ago, in a small town in Michigan, the town librarian bragged about her chair that cost a quarter. Further questioning uncovered the fact that she spent $250.00 on fabric and labor for reupholstery. This was in 1986.

A few years ago, one of the rich ladies in my town insisted that her couch only cost $250.00 to reupholster. After a bit, I figured out that this was exclusive of fabric.

In other words, I remain skeptical. Often, what you save in money, you spend in time, which is why antique dealers often have so much neat stuff: they spend all their time shopping.

So here are my candidates.

1. Burlap: This costs only a few dollars a yard. i first saw burlap curtains at a fancy shop in my town. It is still going strong and looks amazingly like linen (to me).

2. Indian print Bedspreads. These are still handblocked. Strangely, the French provencal fabric we all swoon over was originally made as a cheaper copy of the pricy Indian imports. Of course, this was over 100 years ago.

Two questions: can you think of anything else that would qualify?

And also: where can you buy Indian print spreads nowadays? They used to be available on every street corner, but no more.

Frugal Bathroom Remodel: Aesthetics vs Frugality

Still in the thinking stage. We had our kitchen contractor out for a look-see. He liked my idea: to add on to the larger of our two inadequate bathrooms by bumping out another small space. This would lead to a two-part room, with a sink in the entry space and the bath and toilet in the new space. Plus we could put in a little storage space. The current space does not have room for a towel rack.

The bid wasn't too bad. We could do it. And maybe we will. But then I realized how we could bump out the other bathroom and put in a tub. The current shower--which probably cost under $100, I kid you not--is tiny and the cheapest plastique. Mr. FS won't even use it and he's on the thin side. Anyway, that shower could be removed and turned into a closet! Mr. FS estimates that the cost would be around 40% of the other plan.

As usual, I start out by trying to do the conventional thing, but then my frugality comes up against the norm. That is why I don't have a backsplash in my kitchen (I don't like them and they are expensive). In spite of dire predictions, the wall looks fine.

The contractor said that we would need a tub surround and that decent quality surrounds cost about $1000 for material plus labor. Tiling--the beautiful solution--is much more expensive. Oh no! I don't want that ugly surround! I also don't want expensive tilework.

I know! Let's put in a tub with no shower--or a little hand shower.

So the combination of my aesthetics and my frugality is going to lead--once more--to a choice that will mystify others. I love my kitchen, which satisfied both aesthetics and frugality, but my sister-in-law, extremely conventional, said, when I showed her pictures, "OK, so where are the AFTER PICTURES?"

Here's what I'm reading.

Any words of wisdom?