‘Organic’ surfaces don’t need premium pricetags

I totally get Pottery Barn. I can’t resist thumbing through the catalog and I always take a spin through the store when I’m downtown. I’ve even got a couple of their decorating books. Looking around my house I can pick out at least one thing I purchased there in each room; pillows on the sofa, serving pieces in the kitchen and lampshades in the living room. I get a lot of ideas from the store. But every once in a while, it feels like they got an idea from me. Take the cheese slate, for instance. Pottery Barn carries a big slate tile meant to be a cheese board. It comes with a piece of soapstone “chalk” to label the variety of cheese that you’re serving. I love the look. It’s natural, organic (in the decorating sense) and practical. I ought to know. I’ve got one just like it at home. I found mine a couple of years ago when I drove down to the Habitat for Humanity re-sale store. In the back of the store, between outdoor and tile sections, I found a stack of slate tiles. One, a 10 by 20 rectangle, was perfect for my patio. I could serve cheese and crackers on it and not cry if for some reason it got chipped or cracked. I carried it up to the front desk and the fun began. The tile wasn’t marked so I asked how much it would be. The front-desk attendant measured it and called back to someone in the tile department. They called back that the slate was priced for a 10 by 10 tile only. After some discussion, it was agreed that I would have to be charged double since my tile was twice as big. I began to get a little worried, wondering if my good idea was about to get expensive. I hadn’t even looked at the prices when I chose my stone. The woman behind the counter punched some buttons on the cash register and then looked up at me. “That will be .70 cents,” she said. I blinked at her for a moment and then smiled. Sold. When I got home with the slate, I washed and scrubbed it. Then, I treated it to a nice vegetable oil rub. The next time I set out appetizers, I put the cheese on my new serving piece. Later, I picked up a smaller, rougher piece of stone and gave it the same treatment. I couldn’t help but smile the first time I saw the same thing at Pottery Barn. My smile grew when I saw the price. My slate was an under-a-dollar salvage find. In the store, it was priced at $30. As an added bonus, Habitat for Humanity got the change.