By Patricia Koch

Lucky you, registering for wedding gifts just as store windows are filling up with distinctive designer wares at a fraction of full price. Retailers today are teaming with high-end designers to market fabulous-looking, functional furnishings with affordable price tags—perfect to request as wedding gifts and to outfit a stylish newlywed pad.

Kmart kicked off this move to affordable design the day it started selling Martha Stewart Everyday ten years ago. Offering “home products from America’s trusted guide to stylish living” at mass-market prices was a groundbreaking event that allowed brides across the country to decorate beautifully without breaking the bank. Shop Martha Stewart Everyday styles at your nearby Kmart and online at www.kmart.com. A bridal registry may be in the works sometime soon, but for now ask friends for a Kmart gift card.

Target followed with a collection of kitchenware designed by Michael Graves—featuring his now-famous toaster and whistle teakettle—back in 1999. Graves has since expanded his collection to more than a thousand products, from high-style barware to dog bowls. 

Spring-boarding on the success of these Graves goods, Target now champions “Design for All,” a campaign to make cutting-edge design accessible and affordable for everyone, everyday. It’s all available through Club Wedd, reputedly the largest U.S. bridal registry, at www.target.com or your nearest Target. You’ll find Club Wedd fresh, fun, and chock-full of wedding planning hints and home furnishing ideas.

While there, shop Rachel Ashwell’s Simply Shabby Chic pastel bed and bath line and Isaac Mizrahi’s splashy, high-fashion homewares. Browse Thomas O’Brien’s Vintage Modern furnishings and Victoria Hagan’s Perfect Pieces decorative accents. Then move outdoors to Sean Conway’s Garden Style collection.

In addition to Target’s designer partner collections, they also offer a variety of prestige brands available through the registry including Riedel glassware, Bose electronics, Dyson vacuums, KitchenAid mixers, Calphalon cookware, and iPods.

Then there’s Nate Berkus, Oprah’s personable design guru, who has introduced a bed, bath, and tableware collection at Linens n’ Things that promises you’ll “love walking through your front door.” To register for Nate Berkus homewares, go to www.lnt.com. You’ll meet wedding planner Mindy Weiss and get the inside scoop on everything “I do” from celebrity weddings to 2007 trends. 

JC Penney offers low-cost design from author, columnist, and HGTV show host Chris Madden. Madden’s furniture, bed, and bath collection focuses on personal space and comfort, with the aim of “turning your home into a welcoming haven.” Visit www.jcpenney.com/chrismadden to request your favorites in her understated classic style.

Sears has an entire line of home décor, bed and bath accessories, tableware, and furniture from Ty Pennington, the carpenter from Trading Spaces and more recently of ABC’s Home Makeover: Home Edition fame. Log onto www.sears.com to create your registry and choose from the Ty Pennington Style line.

At Bed Bath & Beyond, look for Nicole Miller’s bed and bath accessories, B. Smith’s serveware and window ware, and Kay Unger’s bed and tabletop lines. Browse dinnerware by Kate Spade and Vera Wang too—all at everyday prices. Register at www.bedbathandbeyond.com to equip yourself with a “Bridal Toolkit.” Or shop in-store to choose your favorites and scan them instantly onto your list.

You’ll be surprised at all the designer wares out there, sporting such reasonable price tags. Go find your favorites, and don’t be shy about requesting them from friends and family.