Luxe blog props on a budget...
Want to up your prop game but don't have a fortune to spend? Today's post will have you covered. We all know how new props can instantly bring fresh inspiration for photographs and how you're always lusting after that marble and gold goodness from Oliver Bonas. It's not always healthy for your bank balance to constantly buy new homeware bits, especially when they're mainly for blog props so today I'm going to share my favourite luxury prop finds that are much more budget friendly.
One of my favourite things to photography is cosy little set ups and they always do so well on Instagram. Not only that but they make fab photos for quite a lot of different topics on the blog! You can incorporate all sorts of products into them from new beauty and skincare bits to cute homeware finds. I always find they look the best when they're quite busy and have a lot going on. The pretty bits can tend to be quite expensive (I'm talking diptyque candles etc!) so my go-to buys are things like little candles, books and jars that can all be found for affordable prices in homeware stores like homesense, tk maxx, primark, b&m, even most supermarkets with homeware sections! I try and pick up anything pretty when I see it as they quite often have anthropologie dupes (hello matalan) for a fraction of the price. I have a bit of an obsession with breakfast trays too as they make such a great base for quite a lot of my pictures. I tend to find these quite expensive in most places so I found both of mine on eBay for less than £16 each. I got this gorgeous carved wooden one for £12.99 in the small size here. I also got this white wooden one for £15.99 which is fab as it's quite a bit bigger and has legs and the lot. It comes in handy for a lot of my set ups! Another absolute steal from eBay is this white marble tile sample that was actually recommended by Gee, I ordered it immediately because for £2.99 you can't go wrong. I thought it would be quite small but it's actually huge for a tile and makes a fab prop.
Another one of my favourite websites to find good dupes is AliExpress. AliExpress is either one of those websites you've already heard of or you never have in your life. Everything comes from China and some of it takes a few weeks but other stuff can be at your door within a week. Every purchase comes with a guarantee so that if it doesn't arrive or gets lost then you can easily claim your money back too which is v handy. However, you can literally find anything and everything on there for such affordable prices. The main bits I've ordered from there recently have been a pair of gorgeous little gold scissors, which I got for £2.37 (!!!) I also got this larger pair for about a fiver, you wouldn't find them for those prices over here let me tell you. I've also been buying my gold cutlery from there which I've had a lot of questions about. I got this beautiful set for just less than £12 which I use in most of my photos, it's so pretty! You do only get one of each so of course mine are used solely for blog props but for how gorgeous they are it's an absolute bargain. You'd usually be looking at £100+ for something like this over here. I also got a couple of cute gold coffee spoons for those insta pics, and for the two I paid less than £2 so I mean, can you really go wrong? There's plenty more finds on there too, I need to make myself another order actually, I always find if I'm lacking in photography inspiration that a few new props help me out and for the prices you can get them for from AliExpress it's inevitable that I'm going to buy some. Like I said though, they can take a few weeks to arrive since they're being shipped from China so it's better to order sooner rather than later. You can find faux flowers on pretty much every website I've mentioned too, including in most of the homeware stores so if you want to up your floral game without buying real ones that will just die, I highly recommend having a browse of those too. I find faux flowers can be a bit hit and miss, especially from places like eBay but you can also find some real gems!
I also find looking out for sales is a great little tip for finding luxury homeware at cheaper prices. When Anthropologie had their winter sale, I picked up a couple of plates and mugs for so much less than the retail price and I use them all the time, they're gorgeous! Anyway I've thrown together a few more luxe prop finds below that (I think anyway) are pretty affordable for what they are, some on the lower end of the spectrum and some a bit higher - so have a browse and let me know if you find anything you like!
