HomeGoods

Until today, I had never stepped foot inside a HomeGoods store. I admitted to my friend Anne, who is a HomeGoods fan, that I was reluctant to shop at a store with such a silly name. For me, "HomeGoods" conjures up images of calico curtains, clocks shaped like roosters, and lots and lots of wicker.

I think Anne decided to take it upon herself to prove me wrong, because she and my friend Kim chipped in and sent me a HomeGoods gift card for Christmas.

I ended up having free time on my hands this afternoon while Isabelle napped and Jason took care of some things around the house, so I took my maiden voyage to HomeGoods... and now that I've been there, I'm happy to say that I did enjoy my experience (although it was not without some snickering and cringing).

My impression after spending a good hour in the store is that it's essentially TJ Maxx for the home. If you're willing to take the time to weed through some of the stuff that has probably been sitting in the store since 1980, there are actually some good buys at great prices. Some things that made me grit my teeth and soldier on - a giant outdoor grill shaped like a hamburger; packages of bath decor with typos on the actual package artwork (two-"peice" set and "bonous" towel included); and throw rugs with stains.

Despite all this, my trip was fruitful - I was able to redecorate our downstairs guest bathroom for less than $100! Below are photos showing the before-and-after:

When we first moved in to our condo, we weren't in the mood to spend a lot of money decorating because the costs of relocating were so expensive. So I put an old throw-rug on the floor and stocked it with old handtowels that have been bleached of their color over the years. My intent was to redecorate once we'd paid off our moving expenses, but then we had a baby and I was too tired to care how bland our guest bathroom looked.

"Before" photo #2

Ta-dahhhh! Less sterile, more contemporary and classy.

"After" #2

I had fun putting this arrangement together; the photo doesn't do it justice!


So thank you, Anne and Kim (and HomeGoods), for my new guest bathroom!