tiny cup of cake - seattle life + style blog

If you’re new to tiny cup of cake, then hi and welcome! Today I’m showing how I decorated several parts of my apartment with affordable pieces from Williams-Sonoma. You might not expect Williams Sonoma to be affordable but I think I can change your mind based on the assortment of products I’m featuring in this post. This is perfect timing since Williams Sonoma is having a grand opening this weekend of their new flagship store in University Village. (Scroll to the bottom for details on that!) A really exciting feature of this new store is it will actually have Williams Sonoma Home in addition to the traditional kitchen and food collections.

Since I graduated from college last spring, I moved a total of four times. Currently I live with my boyfriend, Jared, who I write about often on here. This blog honestly would not be possible without him, by the way. He helps me take a lot of photos, attends events with me, and even offers his design opinion when we pick things like home decor ;) Anyway, you can imagine I’ve been a little burnt out from all the moves. Decorating hasn’t really been a priority because it can be expensive and time consuming. Given that I do spend a lot of time at home, it’s important that I feel inspired by my living space. So finally, half a year later, I’m serious about making this place feel like home.

Now onto the photo tour! All of the Williams Sonoma products are linked in the widget below. You can also find the products + some of my other furniture in the text links below each photo. 

BAR CART | BAR TOOL SET | STRAWSThis bar cart is one of my favorite birthday gifts ever! We don’t typically make drinks at home so admittedly it’s used more for decor. However now that we have all the bar tools, I see some summer cocktails in our future! There’s a ton of gold going on here so I chose this sleek, white enamel set to break it up a bit. I like that you can use the bucket for ice as well as storage for the tools when not in use. In case you’re wondering about the cute coasters, they are old J.Crew coasters. Wish I could find them again but it doesn’t look like J.Crew sells too many home things anymore. I love these simple marble coasters from Williams Sonoma however, you can get a set of 4 for only $20! These turquoise and gold ones are also adorable. 

POM POM THROW (on sale!) | SIMILAR COUCH | WIRE BASKET

Ahhh this sectional. It’s a beautiful couch but when we customized it, I think we were too focused on matching the gray pillows with the light gray fabric on the body of the couch. As a result the living room is pretty dreary because there isn’t much color. But that’s going to change! One of the next home decor projects is to get some art or photos up on the wall. In the meantime, we opted for an easy way to incorporate color – a throw. I love the pom pom details on this throw and the pop of red. Plus if you know me at all, you’d know I’m a stripe lover. This throw is on sale too, score!!

MONOGRAM MUG | GLASS FRENCH PRESS | HEADBOARD (on sale!) | MARBLE TRAY

One of the most exciting products we picked from Williams Sonoma is this glass french press. We have a Keurig in the kitchen but ever since I was gifted a variety of whole bean coffees, a French press has been on my list. Not only is it a different, fun way to brew coffee but it’s also a pretty accessory in my opinion! We also had to get the monogram mugs because they’re just so cute. I can’t even count how many coffee mugs we own but these are going to be used the most I think because of the monogram for our initials – plus they are really large cups! You can also repurpose mugs like these as plants for small plants. How cute would a cactus or succulent be in the mugs? Such a cute decor piece that’s different than your average plant pot.

By the way, if you’re looking for a tufted headboard like mine, I linked the exact headboard and it’s on sale! Despite the affordability, it’s great quality and I think it looks more expensive than it is.

MARBLE CAKE STAND | CRAVINGS COOKBOOK | MARBLE CHEESE BOARD

Just like everyone else, I have been infatuated with marble as a home decor accent. Obviously as we rent we don’t have any choice over the countertops in the kitchen or bathroom. So I make do with decor pieces that have marble and wood. I love the light wood color but you can also get the cake stand in a dark wood finish! The smaller size is perfect for displaying little treats like donuts (or cupcakes!) but if you actually bake cakes, I would get the larger size. You can use these types of stands for all sorts of things – mini champagne bottles on a bar cart, candles, and so on. (And yes, that is my Chrissy Teigen cookbook. I love her.) 

PLACE MAT | MARBLE CHEESE BOARD

Okayyy I saved the best for last. Buying the “props” for photos of this marble cheese board in action was SO MUCH FUN. Granted, we are missing several things I would normally add like meats or fruit. (First world problem: we were traveling out of town so we couldn’t buy more goods for the cheese plate…) Anyway, I think you get the idea. I picked the marble cheese board in the Large size because when it comes to marble slabs that you can use for cheese – bigger is better. Duh. If you’re worried about stains or scratches you can easily lay down some parchment paper or use smaller dishes for sauces.

Lastly are these gorgeous woven place mats. Not quite as exciting but certainly functional! I’m too embarrassed to show you what we were using before (floral plastic mats) so just trust me when I say these are a major upgrade. These are very “grown up” don’t you think? They are super thick, durable, and machine washable. You won’t believe how affordable these placemats are.

I hope you guys liked seeing how we added some new decor pieces into our apartment! I wanted to show how decor can also be functional and how things are actually more affordable than you might think. All of the new Williams Sonoma pieces can be found for under $250!

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Williams Sonoma is opening its Pacific NW flagship store at University Village!
You may recall the quaint Williams Sonoma store next to the giant Anthropologie at University Village. This Saturday, June 24, is the grand opening of the new store. It’s going to be much larger and feature more than the usual kitchen and food products. Another new offering at the store will be Williams Sonoma Home so you’ll be able to find more than just food items. The store will also feature complimentary in-home design services, wedding registry experts, a cookbook club, and monthly cooking classes.

The opening weekend festivities are going to be so much fun! I’m sad to miss them. If you are in the Seattle area however, I would totally recommend checking out the space for yourself. There are a variety of events and plenty of free ones – check out the full list of offerings here.

Two key parts of the celebration: 9 AM ribbon cutting on 6/24 and 5-6:30 grand opening celebration featuring Navy Strength Bar Pop Up with Oysters Xo with proceeds benefiting United Way of King County.

I hope some of you can join the festivities and enjoy! I look forward to sharing more home content on my blog in the future. 

This post was written in collaboration with Williams Sonoma. All writing, photography, and opinions are my own! Product c/o Williams Sonoma.