Waiting for the Sale

Sometimes finding the right product for the house isn’t the problem; it’s the wait to buy it.

When it comes to home decor, I have tons of decorating ideas floating inside my head. Most of the time, I hunt for it for months before it suddenly springs out of nowhere. During that time, I usually put a little money aside each month so that when this happens, I can strike while the getting’s good – and usually, this means a temporary sale or the kind of shop where I know the same item isn’t likely to be available again.

But sometimes, the opposite scenario happens:  I know exactly what I want, and it’s a relatively new item in a store that I’m confident will have more if I don’t buy it today. So instead, I’m staring at an item for days, weeks, or even months on end, just waiting on the sale that will make it more affordable. For me, this is mentally painful.

The most recent item that did this to me (and yes, in extreme cases I consider it to be that the item has sprouted a personality and is intentionally inflicting the wait on me) are these gorgeous West Elm ironwork curtains:

I spotted them during the summer and knew that they were the perfect pick for the dining room. The only bummer:  the length I wanted to create a full ceiling-to-floor look would mean I’d need a sale to be able to afford them. Sure, I could have painted plain white to get a similar style (just like this blogger did) – and in many cases, that’s exactly what I would have done (and probably will for the living room). But I wanted these curtains – the flocking, the inky blue-black color, and the pattern. So, I waited for the sale.

Tip for those looking for an item like this:  Twitter. I tweeted West Elm and asked them when their next curtain sale would be. They tweeted back the same day and pointed me in the right direction. Apparently, West Elm has the same sales around the same months each year. In the case of curtains, September would likely be the next sale. Sure enough, the sale came as they predicted – and I was ready with the dough.

They just arrived on my doorstep last night, and they look just as stunning as I imagined in person. This doesn’t mean that I’ll start on the dining room just because I have the curtains, but they will be safely tucked away in the linen closet for when I do!