Where to Buy Fun & Affordable Household Items

IKEA and Urban Outfitters are two popular places to buy modern, contemporary household goods for decorating any room imaginable. Alloy and Delia*s are other catalog shops that offer decor for your home or apartment, but they specialize in clothing so their accessories department sometimes falls short. And unfortunately, although IKEA is very affordable, there is not an IKEA branch in every city, whereas Urban Outfitters, which can be found in most major cities or purchased online, tends to be a little expensive. (Scroll to the bottom of this article to buy awesome Urban Outfitters books at insanely cheap Amazon prices.) Here is a comprehensive list of online locations that offer fun, affordable household items.

"Blik" graphics and decals can be found on virtually every contemporary homegoods store on the web. But why spend time searching through sites that only provide a handful when you can hit up whatisblik and view their entire product line all at once? Bliks are oversized, geometric, self-adhesive wall decals like the "Fly" collection depicts a flock of birds in flight whereas "I Am 8-Bit" shows a friendly gaggle of old school computer graphics. Re-Stiks are movable, reusable decals in the shape of robots, clouds and space invaders. Be sure to check out Autographics and Glass Stiks for similar car and dinnerware decor. Category: Fun AND Affordable!

Much like the pronunciation of the word "tomato", different people have different ideas about what makes a good design. The folks at yousaytomayto believe that clean form + functionality = great design, and they scour the world for new and innovative products to feature on their website such as stick-on wall decals, abstract clocks and ivy coatracks. And they've got interesting philosophies to go along with their products. The Whatever o'clock pictured below is described on the website as a way to reshape time and space, due to the fact that you can arrange the numbers in building block fashion. CATEGORY: Fun

WallDecorShops offers fun and inexpensive wall art, decals, borders, wallpaper and murals. Their products include life-sized animal stickers, 13' x 8' murals depicting cityscapes and tropical locales, even stencils and paint-by-number kit to help you etch your own designs. Check out the Wallies! Peel n' Stick repositionable chalkboard panels, which come in four different colors (chalk included) or the Wall Pops! Peel n' Stick tiles which are durable, washable, vinyl tiles that can be easily arranged to form a variety of different patterns on any wall in the house. And with prices ranging from $9.95 and up, WallDecorShops fall into the Category: Fun AND Affordable!

Touting itself as "your home for modern living", velocityartanddesign features accessories, rugs, lighting, artwork, paper goods, screens, pillow and much more. While it may be a little pricy, the availability of little wooden dolls created by Alexander Girard, collection of bird houses, and Hybrid-Home pillows make this site a great place to pick up unique items for your home. Category: Fun

RedInstead is based in Australia but delivers to locations around the world. And thank goodness for that, because they have some of the most fun, quirkiest household items. Brightly colored, handpainted ceramics (mugs, plates, salt and pepper shakers, even a tea set), hanging mobiles and deco art prints are all offered at incredible prices. While you're at it, they also have a really cute collection of jewelery and clothing. Category: Fun AND Affordable!

The right decoration can not only make your home comfortable and inviting for guests, but create a relaxing, inspirational environment for you to spend your time in--and with the right resources, it doesn't have to cost a fortune.