Hunting for a bargain on a bench

I guess you could say I’ve sort of been on a furniture-buying spree lately (evidence: here and here). This should be the end of that (unless the perfect dining table and chairs plops itself into my lap for way too cheap).

I wanted a small bench for this wall to replace the single chair in the corner of our living room. The chair was looking a little lonely, and it didn’t fill the space appropriately. And adding another seat to a room with so little seating is not a bad idea.

I searched a bit for something second-hand, but wasn’t finding anything below $200. (And I didn’t even like what I was finding.) I didn’t want this to turn into another one of my open-ended furniture hunts, so I started looking online for a new piece.

I found a few options that were small enough for the space, but most looked more like park benches and less like something that should be in a living room. I thought this petite bench from HomeDecorators.com bridged the gap, but was simple enough not to draw too much attention to itself.

The color, an orangey oak, is not at all what I had in mind. As is, it would blend right into the floor. And the plain white cushion is kind of boring. But my decision was eased by the clearance price and the fact that it had free shipping.

Here’s how the deal broke down: