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I recently came across this beautiful photo from Elle Decor magazine over on Apartment Therapy in a post titled, "Moroccan Poufs on the Cheap". This made me think about you and whether or not you're into poufs and floor pillows. Do you actually USE them or do you consider them as more of a decorative accent? I'm dying to know because I've been seeing them everywhere for a few years and they're big in Europe as well.

While I'm all for saving money when it comes to anything I purchase for my home, I want to give you a little tip when it comes to shopping on eBay (where Apartment Therapy suggests finding leather poufs at a discount). I'm sure AT didn't know this, but I've actually purchased leather poufs from both Egypt and Morocco on eBay and was VERY disappointed. The leather is not treated, so for $19.99 you are getting exactly what you pay for, untreated scrap hides embossed cheaply and sew together. My poufs were described as being "white" and when they arrived they were beige. I will show you mine below, straight from eBay. First let me show you the eBay seller's photo of the poufs that I purchased a year ago, two for $40. shipping was around $25.

These look white, right? Like snow white? I thought so, until they arrived.

You can see them here at the foot of a bed in my New Hampshire house. This photo was taken over a year ago before window treatments and lighting, etc. but you can see a little peek of the pouf at the foot. Does it look snow white? Or even off-white? Cream? Nope. They are beige.

But color isn't the only problem. After having them for a few weeks I noticed this funny smell in my home. I live in a farming town, our home was once a carriage house so I thought that maybe some funny odor was coming in through the windows. I could smell cow, but wet cow. I could not figure out why because my town has plenty of horses but there is barely a cow in sight, in fact I don't even think we have cows at all. One day I was vacuuming this particular room and when I picked up the poufs to vacuum beneath them they smelled so strongly of animal - wet cows! I couldn't believe it. When the package arrived a few weeks prior I didn't notice it. But after they sat around for awhile, the smell got stronger and stronger, especially on warm days. I had to get rid of them, their was no disguising the horrid odor. So maybe I spent only $65 on two poufs from eBay, but they were half the size of the one that I REALLY wanted from the Shabby Chic online store for $292.00 here. I saw this beauty in person and it's not only better quality, but the leather is treated and smells just lovely - that wonderful new handbag smell. Not wet cow.

So tell me... Do you USE poufs and floor pillows? Or are they simply decorative for you? I use them, but I tend to not purchase leather poufs on eBay unless they specifically state in the item description that the leather is treated. The price of the pouf will also reflect that. The cheaper they are, beware.

Psst: Looking for poufs? I wrote a post on decor8 that you may dig: Power Poufs!

(images from elle decor, holly becker, and shabby chic)

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