The Look for Less: BoConcept London Chair

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The London Chair from BoConcept is a beautiful piece of furniture. It manages to be simple and comfortable without looking like a La-Z-Boy; but comfort doesn’t come cheap.  Clocking in at $504 a piece, these are far from budget friendly.  I knew that I could find an alternative that looked very similar, yet was a lot more comfortable.  My search led me to the Preben Chair from Ikea.  It is a fraction of the price, at $119, but looks very similar.  Can you even tell which of the chairs below is the BoConcept version?

Look-for-Less

The chair on the left is the Ikea bargain, and the one on the right is the BoConcept London chair.

Here is a closer look at the  BoConcept London chair.

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It is available in many different colors and materials, as shown below.

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Now, compare that to the Ikea Preben chair.

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There are some notable differences, such as the legs; but this chair has a very similar look and feel to the London chair.

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What do you think? Is the Ikea Preben chair a good alternative to the BoConcept London chair?

Sweet Potato Dog Treats

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Zuzu loves Beggin’ Strips.  She goes nuts for them, which wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t cost so much. Luckily, there is a much more affordable alternative that Zuzu loves almost as much–sweet potato treats.  They are easy to make and are very cost effective.

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To make these treats, all you need is a few sweet potatoes.

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Wash the sweet potatoes and then cut them into thin strips.   If your slices are on the thicker side, that is not a problem.  You will just need to bake them for a slightly longer time.

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Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Then place the sweet potato strips on a cookie sheet, and put them in the oven.  Bake them for about 3 hours or until they are crispy.

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After they cool, let your dog test them out.  Zuzu is a big fan.  When we leave the house, I’ll usually put a few strips in a plastic water bottle and give it to her. This keeps her entertained for hours, as she tries to get the treats out.

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Another added perk, is that you can eat the sweet potato strips too.  They taste great, and are a healthy alternative to chips.

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Color of the Month: Brown

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The color brown gets a bad rap.  People usually view it as bland and boring, but I disagree with that assessment. Brown is a great color.  It evokes a very natural vibe, is neutral, and goes with just about every other color.  All of these characteristics make it great for decorating.  It also has the ability to make a room feel calm and peaceful, as evident in the beautiful spaces photographed below.

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Source: Knight Moves (Paul Costello)

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Source: Yellow Trace

Brown 1

Source: Nordstrom

Brown2

Source: House of Turquoise

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Source: House to Home

Brown4

Source: Home Design Collections

Brown5

Source: Lonny Mag

Brown9

Source: Knick Knacks

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Source: Coutureaholic

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Source: Remodelista

These spaces are are all so beautiful, and they prove that brown and boring are not synonymous.

Closet Makeover

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I pride myself in being organized and keeping a clean house, so I’m actually quite embarrassed to share this “before” photo of the closet in our spare bedroom.  If you can believe it, this photo was taken after we cleared out some of the junk. I’m pretty sure we could have been featured on the “Hoarders” television show.

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The main problem was that we didn’t have any closed storage.  That all changed when I spotted a beautiful dresser at Goodwill.  I knew it was the organization solution we had been looking for.  Also, it was only $35, so I couldn’t pass it up.

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The dresser made a huge difference, but we still had a lot of small  knick knacks (batteries, cords, et cetera) that didn’t have a home. A simple solution was to use  four small green storage boxes from ikea.   They go a long way in cutting down the visual clutter.  Additionally, we did some rearranging based on functional needs.  For instance, the sewing machine was moved to my crafting area, and  Zuzu’s dog food was moved to the pantry next to her food bowl. It was all about figuring out what made sense for our storage needs.

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As a finishing touch, I hung my wine cork chandelier from the upper shelf.   It is a good fit and it adds character to the space.

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I feel so much better now that everything is organized.  It’s amazing what a difference some storage can make.

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Now I’m feeling inspired to tackle our bedroom closet.  It isn’t quite as bad as this closet was, but it could use some help.