Home & Garden Blog

Crate&Barrel has plenty of quality cookware, furnishings, and bathroom accessories to outfit your home, but they have a tendency to put a strain on your budget. Luckily Crate&Barrel has an online Outlet store to help us still get the quality and the look, but not the depleting bank account. The outlet store is well organized in categories from ornaments to table linens to drinkware and bar accessories. Let’s park down in the Top Rated Outlet section though, to see what fellow Crate&Barrel shoppers think is the best of the best:

Set of 12 Gibraltar Double Old-Fashioneds for $23.50, marked down from a regular price of $30.00. With a customer rating of 5 out of 5, you know these glasses live up to their durability and style.
Next up, the Confetti Individual Bowls for $4.50 each, marked down from a regular price of $5.00. It may not seem like a lot of savings, but these bowls are worth every penny: they are durable, and earth-friendly too: the Confetti bowls are made out of recycled melamine.

Finally, the biggest savings of the bunch: The Reed Coffee Table, on sale for $109.00, marked down from $349.00!! With a steel frame and burnished chestnut wood, this table is an elegant and refined statement.

Happy shopping!

Find more affordable tableware and furniture at Smarter.com.

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“This is so easy to figure out I don’t even have to explain it. I think it’s fabulous for camping, drinks, picnics, impromptu gatherings, or even when you’re too lazy to wash dishes. Tho you can use the Foldable Bowl for just about anything, I’d avoid hot foods. My only gripe is the material. Plastic, really? Do we need to go down that road again? I didn’t step into some alternate universe where plastic and nature get along fabulously right?” (Source: Yanko Design Blog)

I think this is a great idea but I DO NOT approve of the choice of material either. One of the readers commented that waxed paper would work or even making the bowls out of flattened bread thus making it completely biodegradable!

Overall though I feel the idea has merit!

Smarter Home & Garden Round-Up: 

I tend to steer clear of lucite in shoes BUT check out these wonderful Acrylic Furniture pieces that exude class and beauty.

 Super Sale at BestBuyerDiscounts - Find Outdoor Lighting for only $.025 Cents!

Wonderfully Niche and Unique - Beautiful Cedar & Wood Sake Vessels and Sake Cups 

Beauty is Born from Chaos - Utterly Stunning Multi-Faceted Mirror 

Deal of the Day - Valentine’s Day Puzzle Cards - Personal and Sweet Gift Ideas for Your Sweethearts

Cedar Sake Vessel

Designed by Shunji Kurimori and made using old cedar trees, the Cedar Sake Vessel ($140) is a sure-fire way to add a touch of authenticity to your next drink. On top of its great narrow grain, the vessel’s construction results in low-conductivity that keeps cold sake cold and hot sake warm. Pair with a set of Cedar Sake Cups ($85)

Design Within Reach offers Free Standard Shipping 

Shop for Cedar Sake Vessel and Cups - Click here!

Bamboo Sake Cup

These bamboo sake cups add a touch of authenticity to your home sake set. Not to mention the awesome price ($1.79). Plus I can also picture them as wonderfully chic tea light holders.

Shop for the Bamboo Sake Cup - Click here.

4 Pack of Masu Wooden Large Sake Cup 

I like the aesthetic of these large sake cups but, I can’t seem to shake the idea that the square shape would make drinking somewhat awkward!?

Personally I think this particular set is more decorative than functional. I could be wrong. The price is definitely a steal. (set of four - $19.04)

Shop for the Masu Wooden Large Sake Cups - Click here!

Check out the display of New Amy Sol paintings at Boing Boing …

Instead of leaving your used furniture on the curb, check out Landfair Furniture Blog for some options on donations and helping those who would consider your ratty couch simply heaven sent!

Check out the ageless artwork of Emily Martin, she is becoming more popular but her pieces are eternally special and personal to many… 2Modern Design Talk Blog.

Big NEWS in Smarter Home & Garden:

Say “hello” to LESLIE our new H&G blogger!

Great Gift Ideas - Anthropologie Mugs

French Antique Doorknobs

Rock out at work with portable speakers made from recycled material from Fashionation!

Funny Photo of the Week - Pebble Benches, green furniture is cool but doesn’t always look that comfortable?

What’s the best way to play video games and watch television? Why on a huge leather bean bag of course!

Need to release pent up anger? Check out the delightfully malicious Throwzini’s Knife Block at Gizmodo.com!

See the Giant Sculpture of a Women Made Entirely Out of Peaches at Boing Boing …

Learn how to keep your bedroom healthy! Flip Over Your Mattress! Technically you should flip over your mattress with the seasons to keep it healthy, finish reading at ApartmentTherapy.com!

This week in Smarter Home and Garden Blog:

• Comment on this week’s Photo of the Week: Your trippin’ Silly Bookcase!
• Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Where can I save the most money on Vanity Sets? Finish reading about discount bedroom furniture…
• Bam-Bam! Sleeping amongst boulders or jumping on a pile of rocks sound inviting? Well it should, even if you are not a masochist. Check out the awesome surrealistic rock pillows at Livingstones…
• Shop for this unique Valentine Gift, heart-shaped teacups and saucers by BitsandPieces.com!
• Don’t let the gloomy chill of winter get you down, let’s think ahead! Save money on the perfect Margaritaville Salt Rimmer and Lime Set! Only $9.95 for a four piece set…
  

As always thanks for reading and by all means please let me know if you have any comments or tips! -Michelle

Have a cup of steaming hot love! If your lady love or gentlemen caller is a fan of the TEAS, consider purchasing this heart shaped teacup and saucer set by BitsandPieces.com!

Beverages take on the shape of a heart within the cups sculpted interior, no sugar needed because that design concept is dripping with sweetness. A unique and thoughtful gift for any occasion.

Was: $12.99 Now: $7.99

To purchase this heart shaped teacup and saucer from BitsandPieces.com, click here.

To shop for discount drinkware, assorted Teacups and Saucers, click here.

Check out this great deal I found at West Elm! They have NEW metallic double-banded barware, the one pictured above is platinum but it is also available in gold. Cocktail hour will sparkle with crystal-clear glasses, rimmed with two metallic bands. They are dishwasher safe and shipping is FREE.

I think they are beautiful, affordable and dapper, simply put they are B.A.D.! Ha!

• Martini glass: (set of 4) $29.00
• Champagne glass: (set of 4) $29.00
• Wine glass: (set of 4) $29.00

To shop and purchase these discount drinkware sets, click here.

To visit West Elm, click here.

There is nothing worse than a bathtub with harsh angles…check out the buttery smooth Laguna Basic wooden bathtub at FurnitureStoreBlog.com.

A Blinkdecor favorite, textile designer Jessie D’Angelo, presents a handmade collection of merino wool number pillows done in vibrant color combinations.

The men at Uncrate suggest the 5 in Uno glasses, the set includes glasses for spirits, port/dessert wine, dinner wine, water, and cognac/brandy, all of which nestle together to create the shape of a stylized flower.

Colors communicate temperature with modern designed kitchen LED faucet from Guglielmi… the color changes according to the temperature of the water dispensed…dance of lights…

And this week in the Smarter Home & Garden Blog we covered:

• Bone China Tea Sets and the battle between coffee and tea drinkers…
• We continue our Halloween Decorations series with the second installment…ghoulish high resolution images you can decorate your windows with..
• Now it’s coffee time! Check out a wonderful Coffee Time Set from Plastica…
• Lastly, decorate your way to $50,000 dollars! FearNet is hosting a contest where you submit 60-90 second video of your decorated Haunted Home and they will pay your rent or mortgage for a year or $50,000 dollars!

Since I recently posted about tea and the benefits of tea drinking, I decided to reach out to my coffee drinkers this time around. I read about this wonderful coffee time set from Plastica on Outblush this morning.

When you are hankering for your morning cup of java or evening ritual of a good cup of coffee, the Coffee Time Set by Plastica ($49) makes a perfect companion. The six cups and saucers is a great set to have handy for the home or office when a little caffeine is calling your name.

I figure it would make an ideal housewarming gift, wedding gift or office gift. You can use it for tea or coffee technically or serve with a nice dessert. The possibilities are endless folks.

Here are the stats:
Set of 6 cups, 6 saucers, and 1 tray and comes with 6 elegant stainless steel stirrers.
Design by Tous Les Trois
7″ x 5″ x 2 1/2″
$49.00

To purchase the set at Plastica, click here.

For more coffee cups & saucer sets, click here.

As I was doing my morning search for interesting items to enliven your lives, I came across this beautiful tea set made from bone china. Now in all honesty I am not that educated on the wonders of tea and all their therapeutic and medicinal properties. What I can say is that it is much cheaper than coffee and doesn’t make your breathe smell like Union 76 gas station worker. For those reasons alone, I think I am going to start drinking teas!

Back to the heart of the matter, so the fine bone china tea set I have displayed above is offererd by 2Jane.com for $60.00, originally it cost $75.00 (you save $15). Beautiful in black and white, this 3-piece set is an elegant addition to any table setting. It holds 8 cups. So as I mentioned I am no tea expert, so initially I thought that these prices were pretty steep. Turns out for bone china, its a great deal!

The more I researched the higher the prices are, sometimes you pay more than a hundred dollars for one piece of a set! Well I like the contemporary and simple feel of the set listed above, but for you fancy folks who like brunching with the Queen Mum and all that I found this great deal for you.

Look forward to tea time with Royal Albert’s Moonlight Rose Tea Set. Bone china is delicately handpainted with breathtaking blue roses and soft green leaves. Accents in 22K gold create a legendary presentation. This set was originally $200.00 but is now sold for $99.95. If my grandma was still alive she would love this, although she would never let anyone use it and store it in a glass cabinet…too be observed, admired but never touched!

For more bone china tea sets, click here.