Online House-Stuff Shoppin' Help!

[Jak]

Well, so.. I'm in the process of purchasing my first home and with it comes a nice little $8,000.00 check.

I could buy some man-whores, I'm sure plenty of them will read this, with some crack cocaine as well but I'm opting to furnish my home with new shiny objects.

This is where my problem begins. I live in a small (super small.. look up Huntsville, AR.. yah) rural area and I hate driving an hour just to find nothing. I've been looking around on the internet but my searches are proving fruitless.. which is where I'm seeking help from you guys, gals, and gays. I need store ideas that deliver to my house! Whether it be mainstream items from bedbathandbeyond.com or some new age art piece from a hairy-pitted hippy woman on the internet.. let me know!

My taste is modern yet natural/wooden. I like earthy tone colors (generally brown & dirty colors) and metallic (think chrome) mixed in. I need stores, pictures, links, etc. of places you guys would recommend that I'm just not seeing on the internet! I'm looking for everything and anything to do with mirrors, art, shelves, tables, lights, curtains, rugs, jugs, decorative items, etc.!

Just remember I only have $5,000 to $8,000 dollars to buy everything I need so I don't want stores with $1,000 pictures and $500 tables. I'm not above paying a few hundred but yah.. keep it on the lower spectrum of the high price! The only thing I'm willing to pay good for is electronics and my up and coming dark brown leather/suede couches! :>

Thanks!

[Atreides]

Urban Outfitters is pretty good for random crap I guess
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com

Crate & Barrel and West Elm (especially west elm) can get pretty expensive for their furniture but if you're looking for smaller accessory type items you can find a few good deals on their websites as well. West Elm sounds like it's closest to your design aesthetic though, so it's worth checking out for ideas.
http://www.crateandbarrel.com
http://www.westelm.com

Also I am *obsessed* with the MoMA (museum of modern art) store, also expensive but again you can get some great ideas on there.
http://www.momastore.org

oh and if you're looking for asian-type stuff you really can't go wrong with Pearl River Mart. Asian decor can be really cool as long as you don't overdo it, otherwise you end up with a house that looks like an opium den.
http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/index.html

Also if you're buying a desk, don't only shop at ikea and the standard furniture places. Take a look at Staples and OfficeDepot for some really nice (and usually cheap) desks.

[Jak]

Thanks, Atreides. Cocaine for you, my friend.

But no really, great ideas. Loving everything about West Elm.

Question though, about curtains really. The windows in my front room and bedroom are oddly very low to the ground. They are large windows but .. low. Do they even sell half-curtains? All I can find are really long ones or ones that you put in bathroom/kitchen windows. Would the long ones look silly if I placed them a little more above the top of the window (as in placing the curtain rod another 6" higher than the window itself)? .. fucking midgets must have built this house I'm buying.

[Atreides]

real gays buy venetian blinds

curtains are fucking nasty

[Jak]

Still closeted. Don't ask me how.. you would think the skinny jeans, Details magazine, and my love for Madonna would give it away. Fuck if I know.

Looking up what venetian blinds are now.


Edit: Are they just .. erm .. blinds? As in the ones every window in my house has that has a string you pull to make it go up and down? I always thought they were ugly. :-/


Edit again: since I actually am going to WORK with the wood paneling in my home.. and it's a darker wood paneling, I was thinking these .. http://i45.tinypic.com/wwiwro.jpg

would just have to get tie-backs, I could make those work... and who the fuck puts a bowl of rocks on the ground in front of their window?

[Atreides]

yea those are nice, the only problem with curtains is that they tend to look cheap if they are. That and they get hairs on them if you have a pet, etc

[Jak]

Everyone I know finds decorative items at wal-mart too expensive for their tastes. People think my $20.00 curtains from target look amazing.

But yah, good point. White cat, dark curtains. Maybe I should stick to a lighter color.

[SaviorSelf]

If you're just looking for ideas try hgtv.com. Look at the rate my space topics with pictures and what not, maybe you'll find some design styles you like and can adjust your searches.

[Cyn]

Hay gays, what's going on in this thread?