Advertisement
Some of you noticed on our Instagram recently that I scored a new bench for the foot of my bed! It only took me 4 months of looking, but I finally pulled the trigger on this MCM knock-off bench and I could not be more excited. More like I’m obsessed, and I can’t wait to give you all the details.
Last time I checked in, I had just painted the space, added the headboard + rug + art and mentioned that I wasn’t in any rush to make an impulsive decision buying a bench for the foot of the bed. I didn’t want to just buy to buy because that usually leads to design regret.
So Much Searching
So I spent literally ALL summer with my eyes peeled. I looked at estate sales, garage sales, stalked Craigslist, pinned ideas on Pinterest for DIY options and always looked while I was out shopping for home decor.
I saw some potential options (and even took a few home to test out) but none were perfect for this space. The other options were either too bold, some were too big, some were the wrong color and some were out of my preferred price range.
But when I spotted this mid-century modern knock-off bench on CRAIGSLIST, I was immediately heart-eyed and knew it would be perfect for our bedroom.
Mid Century Modern Knock-Off Bench
I’ve seen these benches used as coffee tables around the blogosphere and always LOVED them but an authentic bench, originally made famous by designer George Nelson, will cost you about $1,000!! As much as I love the look of the real thing, $1,000 for a bench will never be in my price range. 
So you can imagine how over-the-top excited I was when I saw a replica of the bench on sale for $125 on Craigslist. But funny story actually. The Craigslist ad wasn’t posted by a random person trying to get rid of this bench, it was actually posted by a store in the suburbs of Chicago (random?!).
I swapped a few emails with the sales representative and then convinced Matt to come with me to check out the bench in their showroom. I had NO idea what I was getting into, but boy was I pleasantly surprised when I arrived.
Baxton Studio Furniture — who knew?!
The storefront was in Lombard, IL (but there’s another one in Bensenville, IL) and it was Baxton Studio’s Furniture Outlet Store. If you’re not familiar, Baxton Studio is one of the top suppliers of furniture to sites like Amazon, Wayfair, Overstock, etc.
Like me, you may not recognize the name right away, but you would definitely recognize a lot of their pieces if you do any online browsing/buying.
I got to see the bench in person and the quality was even better than I had hoped. I was sold!
Real Talk
But to be perfectly honest, a lot of the furniture in the place was super cool but wasn’t of the highest quality. They weren’t bad quality by any means, I just wouldn’t recommend going there if you are looking for SUPER sturdy, high quality, or long-lasting pieces.
BUT, this bench was one of the few pieces that was pretty darn sturdy. (Currently for sale on Overstock here)
Because the Lombard storefront was only a “showroom”, Matt and I had to drive up to Bensenville to pick up the bench, which we didn’t mind because it was summer and we had nothing better to do that day. When we got to Bensenville, we showed the staff our receipt from Lombard and they brought the bench out to our car.
Assembly Required
I had to attach the two legs with an Allen wrench and some screws, but the assembly literally took me less than 10 minutes. Now I’m officially in LOVE with my bench. I can’t believe what an adventure that unexpected Craigslist ad brought me on… who knew Baxton Studio Furniture had an outlet so close to us and we had no idea?!
If you’re in the Chicagoland area, it’s worth a look… especially if you want to check out the quality of something before buying it on Amazon, Wayfair, Overstock, etc. But, I wasn’t in love with the no return policy, so please keep that in mind!! Maybe sticking with the online stores where returning is an option would be a better choice.
Bridget
Advertisement
