Aren’t these wildflowers beautiful? We collected them all on evening walks along the road in Michigan.

One of the purchases we’ve made for our new apartment is a set of 6 TEKLA tea towels from Ikea {not available online}. At .49 cents a pop, I was giddy about what a great deal they were, and how cute they would be as casual cloth napkins.

J was not convinced. In truth, I think he thought I was a little nuts.

But we brought them home with us, only $3 poorer. Infinitely richer in style, I might add.

And then I saw this backyard bridal shower on 100 Layer Cake {photos above}. Lo and behold, they used the TEKLA towels as napkins, too! You better believe I immediately emailed the link to J.

In subsequent Googling, I found this feature of the humble TEKLA on Apartment Therapy, as well. The Kitchn folks praise it effusively, saying:

“Like we said the other day, IKEA is best used in moderation. But there are some good buys there and we have a few favorites that have done very well for us. Here’s another IKEA pick: the all-cotton TEKLA towel! Now, these don’t actually come in napkin form, but we bought an extra dozen to use as folded cloth napkins for more informal dinner parties! We love their delicate yet strong cotton fabric, and the French-inspired red stripe. We find that the thin fabric doesn’t wrinkle as badly as our heavier-weight fabric napkins.”

Victory.

Speaking of things I want {we were, weren’t we?}, this delightful Rubie Green bedding tops the list right now. I think I would combine the Tillinghast duvet cover with Classic Standard shams and a Classic Standard bed skirt, just like their stylish style director.

Now to figure out how they put together that amazing headboard…

The more design-inclined among you may have heard of a company called Hable Construction. As far as I know {and at least in blogging circles}, they are most famous for producing a fabric pattern called “beads.” This particular pattern comes in many lovely colors:

Unfortunately, it is also:

a) only available “to the trade”

and

b) only able to be purchased in a 3-yard minimum

and

c) ridiculously expensive (as in, purportedly $70 a yard. Yeowtch.)

Also falling under the category of “unfortunate” is the fact that when I decided that I was going to make placemats for my new abode, I got my little heart set on this fabric. Before I was aware of points A, B, or C.

Since there’s no turning back in affairs of the heart such as this, I went looking for similar patterns at dissimilar price points. Here’s what I found.

First, there is a way around the whole “to the trade” thing if you’re inclined to pay what Hable’s asking. Decorati is a great source for access to previously off-limits goods, and they do appear to carry almost all of Hable’s patterns {see them here}. I’m not sure exactly how it works, as I’ve never ordered from them before, but it’s definitely worth a shot for those non-designers desperate for the real deal.

Next in both price point and look is the “Hotty Dotty” pattern from Maine Cottage, above. It also appears to be pretty close to the Hable fabric in terms of weight and feel. It retails for $50 a yard, but there is no yardage minimum. They offer three color combinations but two are currently unavailable {the one above – ale/buttercream – is the one currently for sale}. Purchase here.

For a similar price {$42}, Kiitos Marimekko offers a pattern called Pienet Kiivet. It only appears to come in light green. Again, no yardage minimum as far as I can tell. Purchase here.

Lastly, we have an option from Amy Butler’s Miwestern Modern line called Lotus Full Moon, shown here in Tangerine. At $8.98 a yard from Fabric.com it is certainly the budget-conscious choice, but for that price you’re {or I’m} not going to get the lovely linen weight and feel of the Hable original. Purchase here.

So what did I pick? Stay tuned to find out…