We love us some West Elm. Like, really. On our trips into Seattle, it’s one of our fav stops, right up there with Crate and Barrel, Kasala and Ikea. (And Ray’s, for a glass of wine while watching the waterfront sunset!) But probably like many of you, West Elm prices can be a bit of a splurge. (Worth it for their tiny little textured bowls, which I collect like crazy. Thank you Steve, for still loving me. :)) But we can all have that look with a little creativity and DIY’ing! These West Elm knock off projects are hacks and tutorials that look just like you took a chunk of your holiday savings account and dropped it off at the cash register at the nearest West Elm. But you didn’t. ;)
First off is a West Elm bench knock off project from Ursula at ‘Home Made by Carmona’, Seriously, can’t tell the difference between hers and the one that costs almost $700! Yea, she spent $15. Ursula rocks.
Cindy (and her husband!) from ‘Cinsarah’ have a tutorial for their DIY West Elm inspired ladder bookshelf. Now this one doesn’t look exactly like the West Elm version, but let me tell you why that’s ok. This one is better! We definitely prefer their take on this project, go check it out for yourself. Lot’s of photos, a drawing and step by step instructions too. Loving’ this! Like, so much, I want one!
This DIY West Elm inspired chevron bed from Jen at ‘House of Wood’ is ahhhh-mazing! (Ok, and what lucky girl gets to sleep in this room?) Full tutorial with free plans for their version of this very expensive ($1700) West Elm bed. They spent $200, BTW. This is a piece of art folks.
Corey at ‘Hey There, Home’ (Formerly Tiny Sidekick) has a project for you accent addicts. You know those honeycomb vases that are popular not only at West Elm, but just about everywhere else, too? Her DIY textured vases are West Elm inspired, and an easy project with some glass paint, some spray paint and a stencil! Clever!
From Kristin at ‘Bliss at Home’, try your hand at this West Elm hack abstract art. I’ve been playing around with abstract painting myself, and I know how easy is can be (once you get a little practice down) to create something with real value, and this is it! (BTW, real value is what it means to you!) This not only looks better than the inspiration piece, she did this painting with her young boys. Might be giving this one a try myself, I love the drama it could offer a large wall.
Love you some glam? Who doesn’t! Brynne from ‘The Gathered Home’, made these DIY West Elm inspired metallic pillow covers, with gold leaf! Yes, that stuff you buy in the craft stores. She used canvas drop cloth material to make the pillows, which is cheap as can be.
So this next one is kind of a hack from two places… Aniko from ‘Place of My Taste’, made this DIY West Elm inspired reclaimed wood buffet, from Ikea cabinets. Instead of spending $1200 on a West Elm piece, she used a $99 Ikea cabinet and some reclaimed wood, and whoa, holy amazing!
This last one is another great hack from Corey at ‘Hey There, Home’. These West Elm inspired wooden plant stands have a great Mid Century Modern feel to them. These require a little bit of woodworking, but I love that they look so professionally made. These are the kind of details that make the difference between a nice home, and an amazing one.
We are in love with these West Elm knock off projects! Try our post on DIY Restoration Hardware Hacks. Also check out our DIY garden bench ideas over at TGG!