Merry Christmas to Me! My Favorite HomeGoods Purchase Yet and transforming a Bench

There’s a reason they call it HomeGoods Happy. It’s darn near impossible for me NOT to be happy when I’m in that store. This week, I became the most homegoods happy I’ve ever been, when my mom and I did some “Christmas shopping.”

Yes, Christmas shopping.

Let me explain. Rewind almost two months, and my parents bought us a beautiful light fixture for our foyer as a Christmas gift. I picked it out online, and it would be the perfect addition to our entry.

Only when it arrived, I opened it, and the finish was all wrong. It was a golden bronze-y color, not at all like it appeared online.

Back to the store it went, and months went by. Mom and I were talking and she realized we’d never picked out anything to replace the light fixture, and asked what I wanted to Christmas! Hmmm….

It hit me like a ton of bricks.

A CLOCK! Not just any clock. A big, giant, awesome clock for my dining room. I have this entry bench with a mirror above it, and the mirror has just never jived with me, you know? It’s a large rectangular mirror, and it’s right next to a large rectangular window…that wall needed a different shape to break up all the rectangles. Something round(ish) maybe…something different…a huge wall clock would be JUST the perfect thing. I mentioned that to her and she suggested a HomeGoods trip the very next day.

I love this woman.

I kid you not – we were there MINUTES when she spotted it. We were heading to the back of the store where they keep their large art, clocks, mirrors, etc, and she says, “LIZ! I’ve found it! Come here!”

I turned around, and there it was.

Like, rays of light were shooting out of it, and I heard angels sing.

The most perfect, amazing, made-for-my-dining-room clock that ever could be.

I think Mom was just as excited as I was. We put that bad boy in the cart and joked that my poor husband wouldn’t even be able to take off his work shoes before I ask him to hang it;)

For the record, I did give him until the weekend before I asked. I’m not that bad. Ok, maybe I am.

Before I reveal this beauty, let’s take a look at the “entry” over the years. I use that term loosely, because it’s not really an entry at all. But our entry isn’t big enough for any kind of table, or bench, so I use a little corner in the dining room that’s the closest to the front door. We have a bench there, with baskets underneath for the kids’ shoes. It’s a godsend, really.

Once upon a time, our dining room was gold, we had a black bench (and a red door)…

old entry

Wow, that’s like one of the very first ND posts EVER. So much has changed!

Then, I swapped out the bench for a little table/bookcase:

old entry

I missed having a bench there for the kids, so I painted the black one and put it back there:

old entry

THEN, I decided to switch up the whole room, and got rid of the bright blue chairs in exchange for some rustic gray ones. I had 6 new chairs, so the bench that was at the table, that you see in this photo here:

new bench

…was now moved to that always evolving entry spot.

I think that post on the stenciled bench disappeared when the old blog was hacked, because I’ve looked everywhere to link it up and can’t find it. Basically, it was a honey oak bench from Walmart. I painted it with white spray paint, and painstakingly stenciled that pattern on the top.

I posted this pic on my Instagram and Facebook page a couple weeks ago, with the caption that only I would do this a year later:

switching up the bench

I mean, really. I’m insane.

But I had a vision, and when I get a vision, I can’t sleep until I do something about it. I kid you not, this stuff keeps me up at night.

I sanded it alllllll off – all that stenciling and hard work – and stained it with a dark walnut.

It was getting late and cold and dark out, and I’m not sure what exactly happened during the staining step, but it went on very blotchy. At first I was nervous and angry that all that sanding work I had just done was a mistake…

…but then I realized, the beauty of this whole “rustic” thing is the imperfections. And it hit me that I was actually THRILLED that it turned out like this!

Here it is now:

a rustic bench

dining room seating turned rustic entry bench

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. And bonus – now I can sleep again;)

Now…drum roll please….are you ready to see the clock?!

homegoods clock

 

Gah. My heart skips a beat every time I pass by that thing.

Now, the baskets under the bench aren’t my faves – they’re ones I had around the house (translation: FREE!) but I’m on the lookout for the perfect ones and I’ll be sure to keep you posted when I find them.

The kids have a place to throw their shoes on and off though, so I’m not complaining.

homegoods clock, rustic bench

 

And yes, she’s in a fancy silk dress with soccer socks and brown boots. Always the fashionista.

homegoods clock and rustic bench

I love the way the chairs look with the new ‘entry.’ The new dining room look is just about ready to be revealed, and I’ve thrilled with how it’s shaping up. Stay tuned for that post soon!

So that’s the story of the clock and my new/old bench.

Merry Christmas to ME! 🙂

 

Comments

  1. Suzanne Logan says:

    Love love love the clock!

  2. Love the clock!!! And the bench!! 🙂

  3. Looks great. I love the bench! I too am on the hunt for a certain basket. Please keep your basket search updated 🙂

    Hope your staying warm…
    Sherri

  4. oh I hear ya! When I am feeling inspired, I can’t sleep, I start looking around my home and figure out what pieces I can move from one place to another. My most recent move was a small couch on our porch that has been relocated to the living room — for now! LOL! Love the clock, btw. Looks awesome!

  5. Curious what the dimensions are on the clock?! Love it!!

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