Window Shopping: Golly Gee Anthropologie…
… you sure have been full of lovely eye candy lately. Don’t think we didn’t notice.
In fact, here’s a round-up of the stuff that we loved so much we just had to share. And the good news is that many Anthro ideas can be DIYed on the cheap. Take these pretty numbered canisters for instance. Couldn’t you see yourself stenciling on numbers a la these?
And if you don’t want to lift a finger, these guys are only five bucks a pop, so they won’t break the bank. We could see them holding everything from sea salt and other spices to bathroom stuff like cotton balls and q-tips. They would also look super cute anywhere from a mantel to a windowsill as decorative objects that display a meaningful number (like your anniversary, house number, etc).
We also couldn’t tear our eyes away from this amazing DIY mantel.
All you need for your own made-it-myself version are some light pine boards cut to varying lengths and stained a variety of tones for a layered and lovely look. We also think the sides would look super finished if they were stained the darkest tone for a polished effect. Of course it would be safer to do this project to create a non-working fireplace (or over an existing non-working one) where you burn candles occasionally as opposed to giant flaming logs.
And in other fireplace related news, we love the idea of grabbing some super long matches and storing them in a glass container like this next to a working fireplace.
Gotta love something decorative and functional. Of course you can tuck a piece of sandpaper in the jar to use as a striking strip, and places like Target or Walmart sell those jumbo glass containers for under $8.
Then there are these amazing nautical burlap pillows. Sigh.
You may want to stencil on your own anchor to get the look, or even cut one out of navy fabric and sew it onto a burlap pillow for a similar effect. We also love the red diagonally striped pillows, so anything from red ribbon to adding stripes with fabric paint could recreate the mouthwatering mix on a dime.
And we can’t forget this other genius use of burlap that had us lusting for about fifty yards of the stuff. How great would household art looked matted on burlap instead of a blank white mat? Love that texture.
And we can’t walk through Anthroplogie without smiling at their assortment of monogrammed mugs. They make such great personalized gifts for just $6 a pop, and you can fill them with candy or colored pencils or anything else the giftee might enjoy.
Best of all, there’s no gift wrapping necessary. We add any little “filler” like candy or hot cocoa mix, leave them right in the chic little Anthro bag with their pretty tissue paper and hand ‘em over right in the original packaging. People never fail to squeal that they love Anthropologie and it feels nice and special without having to splurge for pricey packaging or create extra waste. Every little eco act counts, right?
And of course we had to snap a photo of one of their $12 ceramic egg crates…
… since I bought something similar years ago in NYC and still use it to organize my jewelry to this day.
You know me and white ceramic things. It’s a sickness, people.
So in summary: Thanks for the memories (and the inspiration) Anthropologie. I’m sure we’ll be back soon to drool some more. What about you guys. Have you spotted any Anthro must-haves or items that have you inspired to DIY something of your own? Snagged anything else at another store that has you weak in the knees? Do tell.
Note: No Youngsters were paid or otherwise rewarded by Anthropologie for this post. We’re just loving their wares these days and wanted to share a few of our favorite things with you.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Hey Jess,
We would try any local craft store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby to hopefully turn up some awesome rub on stencils you can use. You can also just google “alphabet letters” or find fonts in Microsoft Word that you can print out and modge podge into place. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love the monogrammed mugs. I gave one as a gift to my husband and it’s now his favorite mug – he uses it all the time.
I picked up the artichoke votive yesterday (white! ceramic! adorable!) but it appears to be tough to find.
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=873560&navAction=jump&navCount=258
I also got these cute coasters:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=973102&navAction=jump&isProduct=true&search=true&parentid=SEARCH_RESULTS
I also love to pick up their cute bowls for my cat! His food sits in a prominent spot, so he has to show some style.
Anthro is amazing! I don’t go in often as I usually have my kids with me and personally consider it off limits for my energetic wee ones. But I LOVE Their kids stuff. They have darling books, toys and even occasionally clothes. About a year ago we got my daughter a little pink elephant stuffy, which became just another appendage she carried it around so much. Just a couple months ago it disappeared! I knew it was somewhere in the house by the last time I’d seen it but I looked everywhere and could not find it. So you can imagine my joy and relief when we made a quick stop by Anthro and they still had them!
I’ve also given those initial mugs as gifts before, though we have yet to buy some for ourselves. :) And I get tons of inspiration every time I walk in there. This post is definitely making me want to go now, get some fall decorating inspiration maybe. :)
The store makes me HAPPY even when I buy nothing. Unfortunately , I only get to visit when out of town once a year or so. Fortunately……we have a new Anthro opening in a neighboring city in October!!!!!!!! When frineds ask me to describe the store I say it is a “home decor, funky clothing, earthy clothing , bed linen, lace, tea cup, door knob, ceramics, lingerie, jewelry, stationary, lamp store.”
I was just in Anthro pouring over all their cool ideas in the Fashion Island, Orange County CA store. They have a huge wooden horse trough set up as a table and filled with dried colorful beans with glassware set in the beans, large glass cylinders filled with vintage matchbooks, an antique-looking wooden tripod ladder used as a shelf, “wisteria” made completely of twisted lavender-colored tissue paper and wire, and hanging mechanics’ lamps with the orange extension cords all tangled up as part of the decoration. While the last one was a little weird, everything else was utterly inspiring! (Especially since I’m planning a wedding!)
I wish we had Anthropologie in Australia! We do have some great stores, but I’d particularly like to browse that one.
I’m still crossing my fingers that I can get in early enough for a mood board from you…. I think next week I will just sit on the refresh button to try to buy one when they’re released!
We were in there last weekend, and was in love with the white ceramic egg crate. So so cute… and the mini red butter dish… ohhh and the little timers. I love them.
Just got the cutest egg plate and 3 part olive dish, both white ceramic, at Whole Foods to use for jewelry, thank for the idea!
Oooh…thanks for the photos of Anthropologie! Living in Sydney, who knows if I’ll ever get to set foot in a store, so I will continue to live vicariously through US bloggers and friends. :-)
I love Anthro also…We have 2 stores in the area and it is so much fun just to browse around for ideas, I also love their catalog…super filled with inspiration.