Monday, May 16, 2011
JoAnn's New "Design Your Decor" Offering
I love JoAnn's stores... it's one of those places where I could spend hours getting lost in all the cool new sewing and crafting gadgets. That's why I was so excited when they launched a new program called "Design Your Decor." What a great concept! You can use their online tool to create pretty much any kind of furniture or decor you want. Pick what you want to design (sofa, window coverings, etc), pick the fabric (best feature: large selection offered), pick the finishings, and voila! you have a custom-made item! So I went online to investigate this new program, and went through the steps to design a small ottoman for my living room. I loved the program! It was super easy and intuitive. But of course, there were drawbacks... first of all, I will not buy a piece of furniture or decor before I see the fabric sample in person, and this program did not have an easy "order samples" button. And when I got to the end and saw my beautiful new ottoman I had designed, I was sadly shocked by the price. What a dream killer! The program never listed base pricing when showing the various options, so I had no idea how much this would cost me until the pricing summary at the very end. They wanted to charge me $600 for a small foot ottoman! I couldn't believe the outrageous price. Even with the promotional 50% off fabric, it was still way more than I wanted to pay for any piece of furniture, especially an ottoman. I realize this is much cheaper than a truly "custom-made" ottoman, but it is significantly more than comparable items at other retailers. One great option is Home Decorators Collection, which allows you to choose from a variety of fabrics in order to customize your furniture. Until JoAnn's gets their pricing in line with their true competition, I don't see this program being successful.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
The many (confusing) options of closet organization systems.
For my closet organization system, I chose the Martha Stewart collection at Home Depot. I chose this particular system based solely on how it looks; after extensive research, I realized that the majority of these install-yourself kits are the same in terms of quality, features, and price, and the only differentiating factor is appearance.
The install-yourself kits from the big home improvement stores are the cheapest option out there, but they are not the only option. Depending on your budget and desire to do the work yourself, there are many possibilities. The most expensive but easiest and highest quality option would be companies like California Closets, where they design and install the closet system for you. Another great option that I just found out about is the Elfa organizing system from The Container Store. It is more expensive than the install-yourself kits, but The Container Store has a yearly 30% off sale on all Elfa items every January-February. If you decide on going with this option, I would wait for the sale. The staff are great and will design the closet for you, which is a great relief since the Elfa system can be really complicated. You do have to install this system yourself, however. Ikea has a system similar to Elfa, and they will also design it for you (but not install it). Last but not least, there is EasyClosets.com, an option that is only slightly more expensive than the install-yourself kits. EasyClosets.com designs the system for you, which is a great time-saver, but like the Elfa system and the home improvement store systems, you have to install it yourself.
If you decide to go with the install-yourself kits from the home improvement stores, I have one suggestion: use EasyClosets.com online closet designer. It will make your life much easier! Designing your own closet system is like a jigsaw puzzle with endless possibilities, but this online program simplifies it tremendously. The program does have some short-comings, however, so you may need to resort to old-fashioned Excel or graph paper to map out your plan. See my Excel-generated floor plan below.
Have you installed a closet organization system in your house? If yes, what system did you use?
The install-yourself kits from the big home improvement stores are the cheapest option out there, but they are not the only option. Depending on your budget and desire to do the work yourself, there are many possibilities. The most expensive but easiest and highest quality option would be companies like California Closets, where they design and install the closet system for you. Another great option that I just found out about is the Elfa organizing system from The Container Store. It is more expensive than the install-yourself kits, but The Container Store has a yearly 30% off sale on all Elfa items every January-February. If you decide on going with this option, I would wait for the sale. The staff are great and will design the closet for you, which is a great relief since the Elfa system can be really complicated. You do have to install this system yourself, however. Ikea has a system similar to Elfa, and they will also design it for you (but not install it). Last but not least, there is EasyClosets.com, an option that is only slightly more expensive than the install-yourself kits. EasyClosets.com designs the system for you, which is a great time-saver, but like the Elfa system and the home improvement store systems, you have to install it yourself.
If you decide to go with the install-yourself kits from the home improvement stores, I have one suggestion: use EasyClosets.com online closet designer. It will make your life much easier! Designing your own closet system is like a jigsaw puzzle with endless possibilities, but this online program simplifies it tremendously. The program does have some short-comings, however, so you may need to resort to old-fashioned Excel or graph paper to map out your plan. See my Excel-generated floor plan below.
Have you installed a closet organization system in your house? If yes, what system did you use?
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