Craigslist and eBay become interior design muses

After hours of scouring through the cheap and the ugly on Craigslist, interior designer MaryBeth Wilson found gold: two French-carved chairs with matching ottomans for $750.

All they needed was a good steam clean, and she had a pair of nearly perfect, antique chairs worth about $3,000 and a happy, budget-conscious client.

"You look through a lot of junk on Craigslist," Wilson said, "but you can get some great deals."

Interior designers nationwide are increasingly turning to unique, low-cost and unexpected sources -- including Craigslist, estate sales and Target Corp. -- to create high design on a dime and generate business as recession-weary homeowners scale back their decor ambitions. The result: less expensive and eco-friendly rooms that reflect their owners' personalities rather than cloning catalog or magazine pictures.

Call it creative survival.

Designers are working on smaller projects this year including consultation services like paint selection and reupholstering, according to a recent survey by trade group American Society of Interior Designers. Requests for interior design and decorating services dipped nationwide by almost 2 percent since last August, according to contractor-search site ServiceMagic.com. And the number furniture ads on Craigslist has grown by 50 percent in the past year, offering designers more selection.

Manhattan designer Annemarie diSalvo, for example, says some of her more money-minded clients are eschewing Italian and German fabric companies and opting for cheaper, domestic ones. One client fell for a striped, foreign-made fabric for her drapes, but she didn't love the price: $180 a yard. Using the swatch as inspiration, diSalvo found an almost identical pattern for $38 a yard from Pennsylvania-based Stout Textiles and Trimmings.

"We saved her about $6,000," she said.

Of course, not all interior design clients are going for low-cost options. Many high-end homeowners want luxury and they can afford it, designers say. And some design firms expect to book their best year ever riding on the renovation plans of the rich.

In the lower income brackets, however, austerity is en vogue.

Los Angeles designer Kerrie Kelly has been treasure-hunting in her clients' own homes to save them a buck.

"I've been in people's attics saying, 'Can we use this?'," Kelly said with a laugh.

She's reupholstered Grandma's old sitting chair, turned dining room tables into desks and rescued dusty artwork from the rafters. The old pieces not only find new uses, but they retain meaning and homeowners are happy to highlight family possessions.

Kerrie also takes advantage of big box stores like Target and Home Goods to fill in gaps where she would have normally bought designer pieces for several years ago. She loves the bedding selections at Home Goods and swears by Thomas O'Brien's plush towels at Target.

Target homed in on affordable decor by high designers 10 years ago starting with Michael Graves. Since then, the retailer has expanded its selection, offering drapes, bedding, lamps, side tables from big names such as Victoria Hagan, Rachel Ashwell, and most recently, Christiane Lemieux. Target also features limited time collections from designers such as Dror Benshetrit, who introduced his line of bedding and decorative accessories last June.

"To have a vibe of a New York designer sitting in your local Target, that reaches a totally different market," Kelly said.

Second-hand furnishings are becoming stylish too. San Francisco designer Shannon Kirby trolls auctions, flea markets and estate sales for her clients.

Among her estate finds: A pristine, room-sized Persian rug for $3,000, which would normally run about $15,000. And at the local flea market, Kirby paid $75 for a French-carved game table with a scratched top. She had it refinished for $200, and estimates it's now worth about $2,000.

Kirby is also a big eBay fan. She picked up Scalamandre fabrics for $40 a yard, versus the retail price of about $300 a yard. She also bought three vintage Tiffany & Co. plates for $20 a piece to accessorize a client's new kitchen, but she estimates they're worth a lot more.

"There's a lot out there to save money no matter the budget," Kirby said. "Even high-end clients don't mind a bargain."

Another benefit of thrift? Environmentally friendly decor. Reusing and recycling furniture and accessories is one of the easiest ways to be green. On top of that, old furniture no longer emits toxic chemicals into the air like their brand new counterparts.

It's not clear whether this trend toward frugality will outlast the recession. Already, the worst seems to be over as clients who were gun-shy earlier this winter about embarking on major remodels started to call firms this spring to book projects.

"About half our projects are smaller scale," said diSalvo in Manhattan. "But the other half are bigger, trophy projects, ones we'll be on for two years."