How To Shop Etsy for Unique Home Decor

I mentioned earlier this week that I have some exciting home decor news to share with you and I’m finally allowed to spill the beans! Or at least part of them. 😉 The good news is that I’ll be participating in the One Room Challenge again, which kicks off next Wednesday! If you’re not familiar with the challenge, it’s an opportunity to decorate a room from top to bottom in just 6 weeks. The final reveal this time will be May 11th.

Y’all know I’ve been consumed with baby, baby, baby lately, and rightfully so, since she’s just 6 weeks old! And she’s as precious as they come, so of course I’m obsessed. We’re doing really well and even starting to get into a bit of a routine. I plan to share with you “a day in the life” post on Monday. And then, of course, the routine will change!

I’m thankful you’ve stuck with me since there hasn’t been a whole lot of home decor progress happening around here lately. But with this challenge, that’s about to change. You might remember that Jordan’s nursery was the result of the One Room Challenge last fall. I couldn’t have pulled that six-week design plan together without the help of my super talented friend, Sita Montgomery. She is genius at interior design (even offers e-design), extraordinary to work with, and her aesthetic matches up perfectly with my own. I’m no dummy, when I was asked to participate in the ORC again, you better believe my next call was to Sita to see if she’d be interested in helping me again. I couldn’t imagine doing this on my own this time and with a newborn. And it wouldn’t be as much fun. Thankfully, Sita said yes! I’m crossing my fingers and toes that we pull this off in time!

We’re supposed to keep it secret until next Wednesday (grrr!) which room we’ll actually be making over, so my lips are sealed until then. Hence, why I can only spill half of the beans so far. Any guesses as to which room I picked for the makeover?

Etsy home decor

I’ve already started scheming and sourcing items for the room and one of the first places I like to look for unique items is Etsy. Etsy recently reached out and asked me to share some of my favorite home decor shops with you, which I’m happy to do! No secret or “designer only” sources here!

Did you even know Etsy had home decor items? I didn’t for the longest time! It’s not all just handmade jewelry, clothing, and crafty things. I’ll admit it took me some time to get familiar with how to browse Etsy and to get used to their site, but once I did, I found it great for sourcing different items you won’t find in big box stores. I looked around my own home and recognized some of the most unique and cool items came from the Etsy home decor section.

First up, since we just mentioned our nursery from the last ORC, let me show you the absolutely gorgeous lucite and gold drawer and door pulls we used in that room from Lux Holdups. They provide such sophistication to the space. I could literally drool over them, but that would be gross.

I got to customize the finish and length, which was super cool. We chose 5-inch handles on the doors and 10-inch handles on the drawers. See them all in action here.

Also in our nursery, I turned to Etsy shop Windows by Melissa to create fabulous custom window shades. There’s no way my ametur sewing skills could have pulled off such beautifully sewn and fully functional shades. Melissa was wonderful to work with and always got right back to me in our email conversations.

For this project, I chose and mailed her the fabric along with the window dimensions and like magic, she sent back the completed, lined, roman shades that only needed to be hung. I saved my marriage by having our handyman install them. #kiddingnotkidding

I think that added layer of fabric in the room really softens the look of nursery. The pics of the shades were taken before the cabinet hardware was installed. See how naked it looked before and how much the lucite and gold handles elevated it?

Our nursery was completed months before Jordan was born, and it’s been wonderful to get to have her home now and actually use the nursery. She still sleeps in our master bedroom, but we do feedings, diaper changes and her brief awake time in here. Along with mini photo shoots! #icanthelpit!

Her adorable boppy covers (floral) and (orchid arrows) are both from Etsy shop IvieBaby. I looked everywhere for cute boppy covers and IvieBaby had the best ones. So many colors and patterns to choose from. I also got her a changing pad cover at IvieBaby.

In our kitchen, the art that sums up my very existence was also an Etsy find at Old English Co. Check them out for a variety of art prints, tea towels, fabrics, and stationery.

We opted for a custom abstract painting from T30 Gallery in our master bedroom. I emailed the shop owner about a piece I was interested in and asked her if she could do something similar, but larger (36×36) in the muted colors of our bedroom. I love how it turned out, but I was also able to approve the finished product before accepting it.

tips for shopping Etsy

Like I mentioned above, it can be overwhelming to shop Etsy if you aren’t familiar with their site. Now that I know how to search Etsy and have had such good luck with things I’ve ordered, I’ve used Etsy for everything from birthday party invites, return address labels, planner stickers, art, pillows, and home decor. Here are a few tips to help you easily shop Etsy.

1. Create an account. It’s best to create an account and log-in when you shop so that you can “favorite” an item to save it to your Favorites Folder to find later. More on how to actually “favorite” below. Then, you can click the heart at the top left of your home page to pull up all of your favorite items/shops. This makes it so easy to “window shop” and collect items in one place that you aren’t necessarily ready to buy.

2. Use the tabs to search for a specific category of items. They have a handy “Home & Living” tab for home decor items.

When you click “Home & Living”, you’ll see a drop-down menu with more specific categories to help you search and find what you’re looking for.

3. “Favorite” shops you like. When you find a shop you like, if you “favorite” it by clicking on the heart, Etsy will provide you updates on your home page when new items are added or have been restocked.

You can also favorite a specific item by hovering your mouse over the picture on the shop’s main page until the heart appears and then click it, or if you are looking at just one item, click the “favorite” button on the right.

4. Browse “related items”. When you find something you like, for instance this changing pad cover I bought, Etsy provides related search terms at the bottom of the page to help you keep searching.

5. Be mindful of where your item is coming from. It’s fine to order outside of the county, but you may pay higher shipping rates and it could take much longer for the item to get to you. If you need it by a certain deadline, you’ll have to plan accordingly.

6. Pay attention to reviews to see if other customers had a positive or negative experience with the seller. They will let you know!

7. Use the “contact the shop owner” to communicate via email directly with the seller. This is helpful if you have questions about the item before you commit to a purchase.

I hope this helps!

Have you purchased home decor from Etsy?

Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

8 Comments

Kaitlyn Bate says:

March 31, 2016 at 4:33 am

How exciting that you're going to do another ORC! Your nursery turned out amazing! My guess is that you might do your office next? You've mentioned in the past that you just didn't feel excited about it anymore (even though it still looks fabulous to me!). Good luck and can't wait to follow along! I'm planning our nursery for first baby (boy) right now and I kept coming back to yours for inspiration!

Amanda Elizabeth - Meet @ the Barre says:

March 31, 2016 at 2:22 pm

Saving this post! I love your style and thoroughness!

Katya Bychkova says:

March 31, 2016 at 4:22 pm

What a wonderful guide! There are so many great shops on Etsy, but sometimes I get frustrated as there are too many options! :)) Thank you for a detailed guide – it's very helpful!

http://stylesprinter.com/

Unknown says:

March 31, 2016 at 8:27 pm

Fun post. My guess is for your son's big boy room.

Jennifer@The Chronicles of Home says:

April 1, 2016 at 11:08 am

Those lucite pulls…I am feverishly scanning my house for where I can add some now!!

Reviving Charm says:

April 1, 2016 at 4:03 pm

Looking forward to following along on the next ORC. I will be joining in on Thursdays. Etsy is actually one of my "go-to" sources because of the variety and especially the convenience. I love that I can shop from anywhere! I have found some wonderful vendors on Etsy. Love those pull, by the way…

Lindsey Kontovich says:

April 3, 2016 at 8:27 pm

My sister in law (lazy lightning art) sells gorgeous wedding guest books and other wood burned items. I buy lots of jewelry too!

Skinly says:

May 13, 2022 at 5:46 am

I love this style and colors!

https://skingenity.com/

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