I have a confession to make. I like LL Bean.
Not the clothes, although I do have a certain nostalgia for the duck boot. Not the camping gear…no qualification required on that one. The Boat & Tote is such an American icon that it probably should have its own postage stamp, but that’s not why I’m writing.
If you routinely dog-ear the Pottery Barn catalog for your kids’ rooms, mudroom, or weekend house, you may want to take a look at LL Bean’s “Cottage” line.
It’s not just that the proportions tend to be smaller than Pottery Barn’s; the designs are a little less fussy. LL Bean offers more color options for some pieces, and on the whole, the prices are better.
This is the perfectly respectable Blakely Rustic Bench from Pottery Barn. It comes in two sizes (for $149 and $199) and 4 colors – the green happens to be on sale right now:
And this is LL Bean’s Painted Cottage Bench, available in 8 colors ($99 – sorry about the microscopic picture – LL Bean, take note):
Customer comments on the site indicate that it can be difficult to put together, but hey, if you’ve got to have a bench in yellow or dark green or royal blue, it might be worth a few extra turns of the Allen wrench.
I like LL Bean’s horizontal Painted Cottage Bookcase, also in 8 colors:
And for a mudroom or casual front hall, the Painted Cottage storage bench and the Painted Cottage locker are not bad at all.
p.s. The green wicker blanket chest at the top of this post? Not part of the Cottage collection. I just thought it was cute.
