Build Your Nest: "Knocked-Off..."

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!" Wow, did Charles Colton have that right way back in 1820 when he uttered those words! Do you suppose that he was looking into a future where manufacturers would be indiscriminately knocking off all kinds of goods and services? I mean we have Coach handbags that aren't Coach; Juicy jeans that aren't really Juicy; Nike sneakers that Nike never produced; Rolex watches for $29.95 - well, you get the idea. Even with service though...everyone wants to be like the Sewell dealerships! It's a fascination with status without the cost.

This week I have been focusing on the tension between price and quality. Who wouldn't want the very best for the very least? So we spend our lives seeking "faux" - something that looks like the real thing, but isn't. Nothing wrong with faux. Some do it well, and well some do it.

Guilty as charged! I have a client that came to me very depressed some time ago because her interior designer was trying to convince her to buy a magnificent antique mantle for the Family Room that was more than double the budget we had outlined. Further to her distress were the six other mantles which her new home required with no budget remaining. You guessed it, we "knocked off" the old antique mantle, found six other designs which she liked, and had our friends at Texas Cut Stone in Liberty Hill, Texas produced all seven mantles for two thirds the cost of that fine French antique mantle! All were rubbed with either buttermilk and cow manure, or coffee to age them. Thought you might like to see our efforts on four of the seven...