Friday, 28 May, 2010

Decorating On A Really Tight Budget: Rich People Edition

38 comments:

that one guy said...

I'm betting the movie was "Love Don't Let Me Down, which had a budget of roughly $15 million or so.

I am ashamed I know these things.

kgirl said...

Ok, I started writing a comment kind of defending her cluelessness bc she knows nothing but ridiculous wealth, so works on different plains than us common folk.

But nope, fuck it, she makes me want to hurl. Only thing I'll give is that bunkbeds are about $1000. But that is NOT a budget price. Ikea bunkbeds for $400 is budget. Do you think she knows what Ikea is? Her cleaning woman may have told her about it.

Christine said...

um, i'm sort of speechless. imagine how many hungry people could be fed on $18, 000. just imagine. it sort of makes me want to cry. or spit. possibly both.

Subspace Beacon said...

HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAaaaaaaa.
The only thing better than laughing AT Goop is laughing WITH you while you laugh AT Goop.

Beck said...

I keep reworking my own comment! Yes, a lot of bunkbeds are in the $1000 range, but it's totally possible to find a nice looking, solidly made one for under $500. Sears has quite a few.

Theresa said...

Yeah, because a "budget" of a little more than half my YEARLY income, not including paying for labor costs is totally reasonable! I can do this!!! *laughs*

Hannah said...

You do righteous snark like no one else I know. I LONG for Gwyneth to read one of your GOOP-response posts one day. She will have totally met her match! And then some!

Magpie said...

Not only would I not buy a $900 couch for my kid's room, IT WOULDN'T EVEN FIT. Sheesh. I'd have to have a bigger house so I could decorate on a budget, but if I had a bigger house, I'd have EVEN LESS money.

keystothecottage said...

Ha! That IS awesome. And betting the movie, like her "budget redo" is fiction. Totally fiction.

My latest splurge in the decorating realm? Gardenias a pilfered from my neighbor's bush, stuck in a vase that is a toss away baby food jar. Which still has the label on it because I am all showy like that.

Now THAT is a budget redo.

keystothecottage said...

Ha! That IS awesome. And betting the movie, like her "budget redo" is fiction. Totally fiction.

My latest splurge in the decorating realm? Gardenias pilfered from my neighbor's bush, stuck in a vase that is a toss away baby food jar. Which still has the label on it because I am all showy like that.

Now THAT is a budget redo.

Jen Rouse said...

I have never heard of GOOP. Now I feel clueless. Does it stand for something?

I got some pretty decent bunkbeds for FREE off my local freecycle.net. Granted, that was an amazing score, but I'm just sayin'...if you watch for bargains, they can be found. For less than $1000. Or $500, even.

Elouise82 said...

This is the sort of thing that makes me want to be a Socialist. That is a whole heap o' money that could be WAY better spent feeding the hungry or building a LOT of houses or ... well, almost anything.

And the fine art thing? Well honestly, I'd rather have my kids' scribbles stuck to my fridge with alphabet magnets than waste my money on fine art nobody is really going to notice. And I like art, don't get me wrong ... but I'd rather have a house that looks like a home, where people LIVE, than a showroom.

JoAnn said...

HAHAHA! Scrooge McDuck!

I miss him. You don't see him around much anymore...maybe he's been redecorating his loft on a budget.

As for cubes in the bathroom...maybe they're for walking on, not sitting on...because if I put cubes in my bathroom, I would HAVE to walk on them to get to my toilet. Just saying.

I think all these comments can be summarized by Mark Twain, who said,

"I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position".

I'm off to buy some fine art.

Jeni said...

Oh, Beck, I have MISSED you! I didn't laugh until your ottoman comment, but then you got me. Who needs two ottomans (ottomen?) in the bathroom? And who has room for superfluous bathroom furniture, anyway?? I'm lucky if I can find somewhere to store my hair dryer.

Karen said...

Oh Beck! You made my weekend. My only regret is not reading this earlier in the day.
Thanks to your BFF too - without her my mocking smile would not be possible.

Karen said...

And we got our bunkbeds handed down from friends! That was a bargain!
I'm actually a little surprised her kids are sharing a room.

Kimberly said...

I think the ridiculous part is not that she redecorated using that amount of money, but that she thought it was inexpensive! Though, to be fair, if you are used to spending without thinking AT ALL, maybe that IS budget spending.

But let's think this through a minute: For the most part, much of that money got spent on people who work with their hands for a living (the contractors). So, good for her for spending it, like you said.

painted maypole said...

i feel this way about just about every magazine article about stuff that's a supposed steal "this whole outfit only cost $189!!" really? I could buy a whole closet worth of clothes for that at my favorite thrift store. cute stuff, too.

meredith said...

I smelled the snark from across the pond :)
If that's a tight budget, I'll take it!

happygeek said...

It is a pretty apartment, and I do not begrudge Gwyneth a place to live that is nice, it's just the whole BUDGET thing that gets to me a wee bit.
But it did make me smile.
LOTS.
I now REALLY want her to come up with a GOOP on cooking a budget. Because that'd be TOO MUCH FUN.

moplans said...

I think your title really captured it. She seems quite out of thouch with the Average person
I could not spend 500 on an ottoman

Kyla said...

We've never bought furniture (outside of the random storage cubbies or the like). Everything in our house has been handed down to us from someone. I cannot fathom spending $18,000+ on decorating.

John Ross said...

Well then, I guess technically, If she set herself a "budget" of $20,000 + labor, then she did it on a budget...but YIKES! I think she gets the "Let them eat cake!" award for socio-economic cluelessness alright.

Allie said...

I love rich people "budgets".

Gretchen said...

I wonder what's going to happen to all of that stuff when she is done with Nashville and must move out of that threadbare hovel and back to London?

I'll take it, Gwyneth. Your budget castoffs would be my dream furniture.

plantmyappletree said...

Haha, I love this. It is like the women's magazines which promote "tight budget new outfits" that would eat up my clothing budget for 6 months. Also usually I would never wear any of those outfits.

Our sofa was actually really a 5.000$ handcrafted (!) design sofa (who can afford things like that) purchased by a couple who shortly after the purchase divorced.
We got the sofa + the matching table for 550$ at Ebay :-)

InTheFastLane said...

I heard a story on NPR about a couple (a dr. and a psychologist) and they were not movie star rich, but they were rich enough: 4 houses, expensive cars, "Real" art hanging in their houses. And then, they went to Tanzania, and had a life changing experience. And they just up and gave most of their "stuff" away and moved to Tanzania to help with health care there. And they kept saying how much happier they were and how much they don't miss any of the "stuff" they once had. Made me feel guilt for my IKEA collections of furniture.

Maybe more of us need life changing experiences. And not just ones that have us set up a foundation as we return to one of our 5 homes....

Mud Mama said...

I love decorating. I do! But I take pride in my ability to do it on a crazy small budget. I love freecycle, kijiji, and thrift stores. If you want to look at decorating that does not offend normal people's sensibilities check out Etsy's feature "Get the Look Decor" - real people...I've even noticed dollar store bowls in their photos. And as an artist...don't diss fine art - just skip the middleman who makes the money and buy directly from artists at a place like ETSY!

Kat said...

Okay, I was in a low budget indie film and I was paid $500 for the female lead. I think the whole movie was made for MAYBE $25,000. That's what I think of when I hear low budget. But that's just me, I guess.

I'm really glad Gwenyth didn't help me out when we were gutting our foreclosure property. I'm betting our budget wouldn't have lasted a day. Egad.

Amazing how out of touch people can be. But then again, she also grew up with showbiz parents, so what does she know?

I suppose many people in third world countries would look at me and think I am completely out of touch, ridiculous, spoiled, clueless. Ya know? And in comparison to so many I am. How much STUFF do any of us really need?

Whew! I am taking this FUN post way too seriously! ;)

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Bon said...

i want to be in a low-budget film, now.

hell, i want to be in Gwyneth's bathroom, now.

Susanne said...

I think Miss Gwyneth's budget is a little different from mine. My eyes hurt from me rolling them as I read her "budget" purchases.

Pam said...

Okay, when I read the title of this blog, I HAD to read the post. When I read the post, I just HAD to follow. What can I say? It's entertainment; yeah!

WarsawMommy said...

I guess it's true: the rich are exactly like the rest of us. Except they have crap loads of money. And a very different idea of what 'budget' means.

I have to go into the corner and weep a little bit now.

ewe are here said...

My poor kids...so obviously deprived.

Oh the insanity.

Alice said...

Reading this just makes me love Dolly "Days Inn" Parton a little bit more (if it's even possible for me to love her more)...

Jamie said...

I. Cannot. Stand. Her. Gwyneth so brilliantly stated something to the effect of, "Americans live to work, Europeans work to live." I'm sure I'm butchering that quote...but this is from a woman who was born into wealth and fame, and has never HAD to work a day in her life if she didn't choose to.

Wellesley College Visual Resources said...

Hey, you forgot the Master bedroom, and the $3000 bed!
In all fairness, the contractors did have to pretty much gut the place, but geez, wasn't there a furnished apartment/house somewhere that she could have just rented? Sub-let?