The Five Best Pottery Barn Hacks That Will Change How You DIY

Pottery Barn has been a favorite among high-end furniture shoppers for years. With store locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia, the retail chain is actually owned by another company with a posh reputation — Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and is sister stores with other brands like West Elm and Mark and Graham. Headquartered in San Francisco, Pottery Barn also has several specialty stores, including Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen.

Pottery Barn is so popular that frugal homeowners try to replicate the designs without committing to its notoriously high price tags. Home design gurus like The Regular Folks have suggested purchasing cheaper IKEA items to create faux Pottery Barn looks, but there isn't anything quite like the real deal. Fortunately, there are some little-known hacks you can implement to make Pottery Barn items a bit more affordable, allowing you to decorate your home with an authentic version of the style you love. 

Maybe you have a special occasion coming up — a wedding, graduation, or baby shower. You can create a registry online for all of the products you need. However, if you're looking to refurnish your home, you can just celebrate the fact that creating a Pottery Barn registry will save you some money. 

According to the Krazy Coupon Lady, if you create a registry online with Pottery Barn, you receive 10% off any items on your list. You can utilize this discount as many times as you want to for up to six months. This is especially useful when moving into a new space where you'll need to make multiple shopping trips. When you're ready to redecorate a room, choose "other" under the occasion options and then purchase from the list to get 10% off. After all, who needs a big life event to feel deserving of new dishes or furniture? 

Finding Pottery Barn products at a discount can be tricky, but the store does have clearance sales and floor sales events. According to Money Crashers, Pottery Barn's website always features a sale section, so you can search for deals without ever having to visit a brick-and-mortar location. However, going in person to your local shop will always yield the deepest discounts, and independent retailers don't advertise their sales on the main website. 

Another way to discover the sales and clearance items at your local Pottery Barn is to follow their social media. Many individual locations have Facebook and Instagram pages that will keep you in the loop with what's available locally. This will also include floor sales events, where your local Pottery Barn will sell floor samples, in-store displays, and other products that might have minor scratches or dents. These will be sold for a much lower price than brand-new ones. 

Hop online and search the Pottery Barn website for a list of its outlet stores. There are several locations throughout the U.S. where you can find floor models, returns, overstock, and slightly damaged inventory that isn't eligible to be sold in traditional storefronts. Pottery Barn would rather place their excess inventory on sale than lose out on a profit completely, which means it is for your benefit and one of the quickest avenues to find a great deal if you live by one of the outlets. 

The website doesn't make it easy to single out the outlet locations. If you are on a desktop or laptop computer, you can type Ctrl+F on the store locations page and type in "outlet." This will highlight the outlet stores for you. From a mobile device, you'll just have to sift through manually. 

Pottery Barn has outlet stores in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Have some extra hours to spare? If you love Pottery Barn but can't really afford it, consider getting a part-time or seasonal job at your local store. Like many retail businesses in this current economic climate, most Pottery Barn stores are understaffed and looking for workers. According to My Confident Style, becoming a part-time associate will land you a sweet 40% discount, plus you'll be receiving a paycheck that will allow you to fund further purchases. 

If you just want to work at Pottery Barn for a few months to save money while furnishing a new home or some other short-term decorating project, apply to be an associate over the summer or during the busy holiday season. You won't have to sign up for a long-term commitment, and you'll still benefit from the 40% discount while you need it. It's a win-win situation for everyone. 

The more you dive into the Pottery Barn world, the more you'll save. When you sign up for their email list, you will be notified of upcoming sales and receive a 15% off coupon. This coupon can be used on sale and clearance items too, which allows you to complete a one-time stack of discounts. Enabling email notifications will also keep you updated on the Pottery Barn sales schedule. 

According to Frugal Reality, Pottery Barn has sales on Memorial Day, Black Friday, Labor Day, Cyber Monday, 4th of July, and President's Day. But receiving their emails will also make you eligible to shop at specialty sales, including the Friends & Family Sale, Seasonal Mega Sales, Warehouse Sale, and White Sale. 

If you want to commit to shopping regularly at Pottery Barn, you can also apply for a credit card with the company. This will also yield a discount — visit a local store or check online for the current rates.