You know that moment when you see something in a store and your heart starts beating faster and you think “wow, I really need to have that-I don’t care how much it costs!!” And then you discover it is marked down in the clearance section and you think “OK, you’re mine!!” Recently, I stumbled upon this large painted driftwood flower mirror in the clearance bin at HomeGoods. It is painted the perfect colors for my kitchen/family room, and I knew in an instant it was to be mine!

So ridiculously cheap, and it was there because the center mirror was missing so it was being sold-I love these words-AS IS. To whomever broke the mirror- sorry about your seven years of bad luck. But for me, my lucky day!! Now, how to repair it and replace the missing mirror? Simple. The back piece was already pulled away from the frame. I am assuming that it was removed to clear away all of the broken glass shards. No problem, easier for me. I happened to have a large round unframed mirror that I had purchased from Ikea quite awhile ago, and it was just the right size to fit in the opening.

So, I pried the backing off the frame,

then centered the mirror into the opening, ensuring that the little squares around the edges of the mirror were evenly distributed.

Now, how to affix it to the irregular driftwood pieces of the frame? What else but duct tape? Super strong and pliable so I could wrap it around the circular shape and affix it to the frame. (of course, this is where I should insert the pic of the duct taped mirror, but alas, I was so excited I forgot!) Once secured, I re-attached the backing to the frame with some screws,

making sure I missed the mirror (that would have changed my luck in a flash!), and then re-attached the large hanging bracket, again avoiding the mirror with the screws and hiding it behind one of the large driftwood petals.

And now it has a perfect new home in my kitchen, where it is a constant reminder of the hope of spring (yup, it’s coming…) and the thrill of bargain hunting. I received so many compliments about my latest find on Easter Sunday as well! Oh, and PS: the floral runner is from HomeGoods too!

Always goes to show you, one shopper’s junk is another shopper’s treasure.  And, you don’t always need to go dumpster diving to find a hidden one that just needs a bit of TLC. Hope you are having a #HomeGoodsHappy Thursday, everyone! Susan