Pottery Barn Kids - Friend or Foe?

Rugby stripe window coverings from...gasp...Pottery Barn Kids!

So, of course we don't sell things from Pottery Barn here at the shop, but when working on budget-driven design projects, I have been known to specify a number of their products. Many of their items have great bang for the buck and are made well enough to justify shopping with the retail behemoth.

Seeing as I get a "new" Pottery Barn catalog, oh, every third day, I do often take a few moments to flip through and see if anything new jumps out at me. Today the culprint was a Pottery Barn offshoot, Pottery Barn Kids.

While I do have two kids of my own, I usually read the PB Kids catalog with non-kid interiors in mind, as so many of they items are non-kid specific and are often a bit more affordable than comparable items from their "adult" line.

Today's flip-through generated some good finds I couldn't resist sharing, but my main inspiration for devoting a blog post to, in essence, a competitor, was a find I felt so egregious that I couldn't help myself.

But first - the good:

Wicker animal baskets. Need I say more? LOVE them.

This GIGANTIC mobile (they call it a "chandelier") is made up of white paper butterflies suspended from invisible fishing line. I actually have this in my 8-month-old's room over her crib, and it gets more comments than almost anything else in my house.

Tres chic diaper bag. Kate Spade would be proud...or litigious. Not sure which.

See above.

This brings us to the BAD. I'm ranking these from least offensive to most, so stick with me.

Sailboat wall shelf. This isn't so horrible on its own, I suppose, but when paired with the wave mural and the "vintage" life preserver (see below), I start feeling seasick.

Aforementioned "vintage" life preserver. Yes, they actually call it vintage. Um, yeah, I don't think so, Pottery Barn, unless by "vintage" you mean "cranked out in China two months ago by an 8-year-old."

Now we come to the real reason for my post: The Westport Beach House. REALLY? Like it's not enough for dolls to have a fancy primary residence? Now dolls have to get away from it all at their second home? Too much stress at the office? If I were them, I'd be more worried about why I didn't have a face than about finding a spot to soak in the fresh coastal air. Haven't these dolls heard about the recession?