This is a guest post from interior designer Elaine Griffin. I had featured Elaine in December.

Today, she shares some decor tips for shopping off-price retailers. What good is a post without eye-candy for inspiration. The tips are complemented with a few images of Soul Homes complex designed by Elaine from the March edition of Elle Decor.

1. Hit the store early and often.  It’s true that new merchandise comes almost daily.  And dahling, when you see something you like, buy it at once – you can always return what doesn’t work out, but short of robbery, you’ll never get your hands on it again if someone else snags it while you’re making up your mind.

2. Hit the road, Jack(ie).  If you fall in love with something that you need multiples of but can’t find them in your store, check out the others nearby (or afar, if you’re really smitten).  There’s a great chance that its twin is lying in wait for you, since merch tends to be fairly uniformly distributed in the region.  And again, time is of the essence.

3. Think out of the box and go beyond the obvious.  Sure, a seven-drawer chest looks great in a bedroom, but it would also be stunning in a bathroom (maybe with a candlestick lamp on top for a little evening glow) to hold towels, beauty tools, and luxurious lotions and potions.  Ditto for a Chinese ceramic garden stool perched next to your tub.  Tiny bejeweled enamel doodads destined for dressing tables are divine as elegant dining table objects.