If only there was a furniture fairy....

If only there was a furniture fairy that could magically produce all the wonderful and reasonably priced furniture items that I lust after, but that are only available to those lucky gals who live in the US, oblivious to the fact that a plethora of fabulous and well priced, even cheap, home decor stuff is right at their fingertips. They don't sit for hours on computers for months on end like we do, well into the wee small hours researching, drooling, pining and agitating over products that are "exactly what we're looking for" at the price we can afford only to have to ultimately accept that although it exists somewhere in the world, it doesn't exist in Australia and therefore cannot be ours. Does this agony sound familiar?

Now that I have progressed from eternal building frustration, ie not being able to find the tiles, lights, fittings, handles, hardware etc that I wanted/could afford during the renovation process, I am now at the equally frustrating decorating process, which proves to be even worse. There is so much stuff in the US that is amazing and affordable, whether it's lamps, fabric, bedding, furniture, rugs, mirrors, artwork etc and it is so readily available online and in stores, and you don't have to spend a lot to get great design. ie Wisteria, West Elm, Ballard, Pottery Barn, Target to name a very few. You can buy it cheaper retail in the US than you can buy a similar thing here wholesale. Go figure! I found this recently on Etsy.
I know freight, population etc all have a huge impact, but there must be a solution. It's my mission to solve this problem for all of you fellow renovators and decorators who simply can't find what you want/can afford here, if it takes me the next ten years to do it!

So, as I am currently hunting for the right barstools, dining chairs, rugs, bedside tables, lamps, fabrics, blinds, mirrors to name just a few of the things I need to finish off the house and I have a minuscule budget to do it, I have been spending an unhealthy amount of time researching on the internet. I've been scanning EBay, the trading post, Ikea, every online furnishing/decor shop, e-tailer, retailer, wholesaler and yet....still no closer to completion. Then I torture myself and go back to the US sites/blogs and find just what I want. UGH!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I mean.....if I had a furniture fairy this is just some of what I'd wish for.....

Simple enough request don't you think? Not unreasonable? Do you share the same frustrations? What do you wish you could find here but can't? 

PS please don't admonish me for having an opinion on my blog (yes, you anonymous commenter!) - I think I'm entitled to have my say, even if you think I'm whinging!

Images - Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, Wisteria, West Elm, Somerset Bay, Serena & Lily, Pinterest, Google, Oomph, Spitzmiller.