CB2: A Pleasant Surprise

I have always avoided CB2.  I figured it was the teenage/college version of Crate and Barrel.  You know, like PB Teen, the younger sibling of Pottery Barn.  Or like VS Pink, the little sister of Victoria’s Secret.  Initials = Youth, apparently.

Last night, I was on the Crate and Barrel website for the millionth time since we created our wedding registry.  We have a hefty amount of gift cards, but nothing else we really need from there.  Since we can also spend our cards at CB2, I hopped over to their site to see if I could find anything mature enough for us twenty-somethings.

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Um, what in the who?  What is this place?  China?  Wine glasses?  Place mats that would look cute with everything we own?  I continued exploring, expecting to stumble upon their skateboard-themed dorm-decorating section at any moment.

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Simple, tasteful serving platters?

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No ribbons or cheesy phrases scribbled across their picture frames?  Oh gosh.  I completely underestimated CB2, didn’t I?

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Once I got over the shock of being utterly wrong, I started bookmarking my favorite items, all of which are pictured in this post.  The mugs above remind me of Max Brenner’s restaurant in New York—Adam and I loved their creative cups and mugs.

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I could not believe this table!  I fell in love with a white marble coffee table at Room and Board a few months ago, but it was about $1500.  CB2′s version is $299.  I KNOW, I’m squealing, too!

Has anyone registered at CB2?  I don’t think I could’ve made a complete gift registry, but I’ll happily use up our gift cards there.  Where do you look for home decor?  Have you ever been this completely wrong about a store?