Discount stores: Discount stores often carry fabulous home and furniture accent brands. I see $300 lamps for just $30 all the time. They'll also surprise you with things like Turkish towels (usually $50, but about $10 there) and every now and then Belgian linen curtains. Yessssss.
Sister stores: Stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware have "sister" stores Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, and RH Baby and Child. Crate and Barrel owns their lesser expensive CB2. For lighting and accents, I look to their sister stores to see if I can achieve the same aesthetic at a more reasonable price. I just "had" to have this chandelier lamp from Restoration Hardware, but I couldn't really justify the price — $1,100. I purchased similar for just $400 — almost 1/3 of the price, from their Baby and Child store!
