HomeGoods, You Shouldn’t Have

This is a fantastic Look For Less story.  I’m all in a tizzy, because there’s nothing I like better than sticking it to the man by recreating an overpriced big-store item.  We all know how I feel about Pottery Barn.  Besides for thought-stealing, Pottery Barn has the audacity to sell beautiful treasures that I covet, at a price I cannot afford.

 

I featured the above picture in my first entryway post back in March.  Unbeknownst to me, something started brewing in the gotta-have-it section of my brain.  Several days later, the image of this decor repeatedly popped into my head.  I asked myself, self, what are you fixated on?  Turns out it was this mirror:

I wanted it baaaaaaaaad.  After a little bit of light internet stalking, I tracked down the distributor of my clover mirror crush – the ol’ PB.  And then I learned 3 things all at once. 1.  The technical term for the overlapping circles design is quantrefoil (why hello there, trivia!) 2.  The mirror cost $329 (why hello there, depression) and 3.  Even if I scraped that cash together via selling my plasma and all of my hair, it’s no longer being sold (why hello there, deeeep depression).  Per the usual, facing these harsh facts sent me into a tail spin of denial.  First, there was ebay/craigslist searching to no avail.  Then the inevitable “Can I DIY it?”  I dreamt up a scheme invovling circular frames cut and glued together on top of a custom cut mirror from home depot.  And for good measure, I threw in my dad’s help.  Dad, did you know you could build knock-off Pottery Barn mirrors?  No?  Thank goodnes you have me to inform you of your talents.  You’re welcome.

A few weeks later, the initial rush of over-zealous aspiratons wore off and I resigned to the fact that the mirror was not meant to be.  That is, until HomeGoods stepped in and handed me a sweet deal. 

Price tag?  $19.99.  Hold on..I don’t want to overstate this.  Ok, I’m ready.  It was the happiest day of my life.  I mean, I know it’s not identical, but it’s surely close enough to give me my fix.  My only issue was the color.  I definitely wanted it to be black.  Homegoods actually had the same mirror in black, but it was defective and not nearly in the condition of the brown version.  Luckily, I knew I could have my cake and eat it too.  One $3.00 jar of tintable tester paint (Glidden Onyx Black) later, she was looking even closer to her Pottery Barn cousin:

This little project came in at around $30 (including the paint brush).  I’ll happily keep my plasma, my hair, and my 300 bucks.  Your move, Pottery Barn.

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