Ikat fabric: Slip it on

I've been a big fan of painter, designer and textile maven Madeline Weinrib for as long as I can remember. I love her fabrics, her carpets, and her upholstered furniture. The patterns are fresh. The designs are built to last. But here's the thing, my pockets aren't deep enough to afford her creations. One of her 6x9-foot rugs, for example, can cost up to $2,000, and the prices of her furniture pieces are even more. But what gets to me the most is that her beautiful fabrics, like the awesome Blue Luce Ikat pattern I've recently been lusting after (above), are only available to the trade. So, there goes my plan of convincing my parents to foot the bill for said fabric so I can reupholster a slipper chair I picked up at a flea market the other day. What's a girl to do?          

Well, rather than focusing on what I couldn't have, I opted to stay positive and look for an affordable alternative. And thanks to searching for an ottoman on Target's website (a whole other story in itself), I found the solution to my slipper chair situation: The Diamond Upholstered Chair in blue. Yes, even though my original plan was to test my talents at recovering my existing chair all by myself, at only $299 (not to mention the 15% discount you get on orders over $125, and the free shipping), I think I can find a way to squeeze another seat into my living room (or maybe it will go in my bedroom). And the reupholstering project? That can wait. But back to this great Target find. It has an Ikat-like pattern dyed onto 100% cotton fabric, comes with an accent pillow in the same design, and it has chunky wood feet. I think it's kind of great. And it's from Target no less! I'm impressed.

So even though a Weinrib purchase would bust my budget, if you can afford her price tags you really should take a look around her website, and search for retailers in your area that carry her goods. She makes awesome home accessories, too.