Sale Review: Pottery Barn Picks

As promised in yesterday's article on saving moo-lah by shopping seasonal sales, I've put together some of my favorite items that I spotted at Pottery Barn. If you live in the DC area, I highly suggest that you check out the Pottery Barn in Tysons Corner. It's the second largest store in the chain and I've almost talked myself into moving into the store (a la Eloise of the Plaza Hotel). As a bonus, this location has just set up it's new home theater display (think leather recliners with built in cup holders), so you may be able to talk your honey into going to the store and letting him pass some time there while you do your shopping. If he's like Mr. 3, he just needs his smart phone and the promise of a snack to keep him occupied until it's time to sherpa your packages to the car. But I digress...here are my overall impressions of Pottery Barn and a list of some of my favorite picks!

The Drawbacks: Even on sale, Pottery Barn's price point may be too high if you are purchasing a lot of materials or planning a large event. You will also have to go to the physical store location because the selection and price point online are not as good.

The Positives: Pottery Barn is great for picking up small touches and standout pieces. The store generally sells high quality goods that can be reused at future parties or given away as gifts. You can also find a lot of inspiration for home entertaining and wedding receptions by taking a walk through the store.

Time for my first pick! I looove the look of coral. This makes a great piece for a dinner party or wedding. These were still on the pricey side (around $30) and didn't include the candle. However, you can find much cheaper candles at craft stores or Walmart. This decoration is perfect for a clam bake, lobster feast, or low country boil. Offer them up as gifts to the people who help you out with your event or keep them for yourself to decorate your bathroom.



Love, love, love the wiring on this candle holder. Pottery Barn had this priced at $39 originally, but marked it down to $18.99. These would provide great lighting on long tables interspersed with some larger floral arrangements. You can add lots of color to this display by using colored glass votives, or keep it simple and classic with clear or frosted votives. Side Note: I'm obsessed with the wood on this table and I purposely chose not to crop it out. So pretty!


Ok, so this was not on sale at Pottery Barn, but I couldn't resist sharing it with you. What a great, easy DIY display to make! It's basically a glass vase, partially filled with wine corks, and topped off with one of those battery operated, flameless candles. I think you could substitute the corks with seashells, bits of coral, or decorative rocks (whatever floats your boat!). While I'm not a big fan of the flameless candles, I do realize that a lot of venues do not allow open flames and so this might be a great solution. If you also aren't sold on the flameless candle idea for centerpieces, you could use these to line walkways or put them in window sills. I'd get the vases from someplace like Garden Ridge or Walmart to save money. If you like the wine cork idea, start saving now and ask your family and friends to start up collections. This would not be a good DIY project to start drinking, er, working on the week of....


These coral placecard holders are so pretty! Pottery Barn originally sold these for $24, but are now on sale for $9.59 for a set of 4. Now, I think these are still way too expensive for large weddings (who wants to spend $250 to tell 100 people where to sit?!?!), I think they would be perfect for food or dessert displays to give off a summery feel. As a bonus, you could reuse them later for more intimate dinner parties.


Check out these cute runners! The one on the left is on sale for $35.49 (originally $59) and the blue one is $29.49 (originally $49). Put these runners on a gift table for an extra special touch or use them to decorate a bridal shower and then reuse them for future dinner parties, summer homes, or everyday dining.





Ahhh, and now for one of my favorite finds! These wine tasting place card holders were originally $5, but I managed to snag three of them for $1.99 each! Wine bottles make great flower vases, so take an empty wine bottle and remove the labels. Fill with water and the flowers of your choice (choose thin stemmed flowers so that you can get more into the bottle for a nice full arrangement). Take a piece of card stock, write the table name, and slide into the place card holder. You can continue with the wine theme by naming your tables Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling, etc.


There were many many many more items on sale, but some of them were still priced too high. For example, I saw some awesome cocktail stirrers/swizzle sticks that were shaped like croquet sets and seashells, but at $15 for 6 on sale, I didn't think that was a good buy. After talking to a Pottery Barn sales associate, I found out that the store's next big sale is not until November. However, Pottery Barn does have some outlet locations that may have additional merchandise or a bigger selection. The outlets may also have coupons that you can use and they also run sales pretty regularly (at least at the one in Leesburg, VA). Overall, I say that Pottery Barn is worth checking out for steals and unique pieces!