Here is a site that has a book on the subject. http://www.bhg.com/bhg/store/product.jhtml?catid=cat130068&prodid=prod20153 Here is a site that has 18 different ideas. http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow.jhtml?slideid=/templatedata/bhg/slideshow/data/100DaysHolidays_ChristmasMantleMagic_07302003.xml&catref=SC1401 Or how about something victorian like this site suggests? http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/decorating/article/0,1793,HGTV_3545_1966892,00.html Hope this helps!

In the town I live in there aren't any nice little home decor shops of my style. Alas homeownership in the direct town that I live in is far outweighed by the high volume of rentals and of the rentals it's a general statistic that 90% are Section 8. There are places to shop but they tend to run either Mexican or African American style tchokchis, neither of which are my decorating style. The decor section of those places can usually be found next to the grocery aisle and cell phone aisle. When I get a chance I'll try to hit Larry's but since the kids it's been a few yrs. Parking is a PIA and if you have a pulse you get hooted and hollered at children in tow or not. Unfortunately the mega malls w/in a 10 min. drive in 2 seperate directions have sucked the life out of any Main St. store. Then there are 3 Home Goods, 2 TJ Maxx, 1 Ross (I never shop there), and 2 Marshalls anywhere from a 5 to 20 minute drive from me. I do shop at some of them and here's why: I know that there is such high merchandise turnover rate that not everyone in the world will have what I may buy. Time - I can breeze in and breeze out. I don't have to talk to anyone if I'm just looking and isn't that sad on my part? But sometimes I'm just despperately looking for some peace and quiet and I don't want to have to converse about anything. When I go into a small shop I feel, well, I don't know how to put it. I don't want the staff (who are always very friendly) to think that I'm not being social. When in fact I'm NOT being social but for reasons completely unrelated to what I think they're thinking. Anyone following me? And I don't want anyone to feel that way becuase of me. That leads me to time. There just isn't any! And unfortunately if I do find anytime I end up going to the Mall becuase I know exaclty where everything is and there is no hassel parking. I'm in and I'm out. I'm never there to look as I've already sourced it out on-line or via catalog and have then called the store to verify that it is there for me to see first before purchasing it at the store. I've never bought via a catalog or store website. Now that leads me to the tiny little town that I work in. Great little shops of all kinds, parking is readily available if I drive from my house and once you park you can walk to every store. The stores are w/in walking distance of my job and it's a great way to spend a few hours w/ my kids should I want to bring them along. Unfortunately it can be a 1/2 hour drive from my house and I don't want to drive all of the way back when I was just working there the prior day. I don't shop on my lunch break but I like to look a lot. The down side to living 1/2 an hour away is 'Out of sight, out of mind'. If it's something that I really can't stop thinking about and I manage to save enough money then I'll walk up on my lunch break or I'll call the store, ask them to hold an item if they still have it and ask DH to stop on his way home from work. I used to spend a lot of time looking on my lunch breaks but not so much anymore. Just can't really afford to buy and there's one store (that I love) where she's gotten kind of snotty w/ me when all I'm doing is looking so that I never forget her store and how amazing it is becuase SOMEDAY I'm going to be able to afford some pewter stemmed wine glasses and that fantastic buffet/ hutch painted in the glorious cream and taupe milk paint. So that's my long winded story. I've never bought anything from a box store directly on-line or via their catalog, but I have off of E-bay or their outlet store. Again - I don't walk in w/o knowing that they have a specific item. Never shop in my hometown except for 2 thrift stores and only on rare occassion. I tend to buy the neat things from 'local to my work' stores IF I remember that they had something I really fell hard for and save up.

Thanks, but I have done a general search on eBay many times (I've searched: pottery barn mirror/mirrors/candle holder/holders/votive...). But if I knew the exact name it would save me a lot of time. I could also call the outlets and see if they have them. I tried to call once and describe it but they didn't really want to go look all over on the sales floor when they could just type the name in the computer to see if they have it. So knowing the exact name would actually be helpful.

I too love Pottery Barn products and so far I have been pleased with the quality. While my style tends towards the modern or vintage (not as much farmhouse or rustic) styles that PB offers, I find that similar designs are very difficult to find elsewhere with similar quality and attention to detail. I suspect that PB's high prices are largely a factor of design. I find myself drawn to many of the simple lines and also unique detailing on PB's products. When I look at replica products from other stores (Target, Pier 1, etc) I am typically very displeased with the quality. No, the quality is not that of furniture made 100 years ago. The items are not always solid wood. But the materials do seem to be of high quality: high quality MDF and veneers, high quality solid wood. The construction seems to be relatively high quality (dovetail drawer joinery, etc) and unlike products I have purchased for less elsewhere (Target, Pier1, etc) they do not just fall apart from normal use. While I love antiques and vintage pieces, I can rarely find them in my region. Most used furniture in my region is of even lower quality than PB furniture. And nearly everything I find is simply not my style (usually very 80s or overly ornate). However, depending on your region, you may find something you like on Craiglist or in used or antique furniture stores. I also like shopping Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, and Anthropologie, but prices are similar to (or worse than) Pottery Barn.