wedded whittaker: rugs

Showing posts with label rugs. Show all posts

Thursday, September 8, 2011

rug options

Since our ever-so-brief attempt to go with an oriental rug in our living room, I've noticed that my inspiration images almost always feature a natural area rug. I absolutely love the neutral palette and casualness that the rugs bring into a room.

Jeff, on the other hand, is not the biggest fan of the sisal rug in our living room. We purchased it with gift cards from our wedding almost two and a half years ago, and I've been so impressed with how well it's held up. It started off under the kitchen table and then moved into our living room... the two heaviest traffic areas of our home.

I love it, but the hubby feels like it's not soft enough for the living room. Our compromise is now to move it off to the sunroom, and find something softer for the living area.

So I've been scouring the internets for something that is soft but has the neutral color palette and the ability to hold up as well as natural rugs like sisal or seagrass. Luckily, Lauren from Pure Style Home has an incredibly comprehensive post on the pros and cons of different rugs.

My favorite option (as of right now) is to find a wool rug that looks like sisal, and have it cut to size and bound, like Lauren did in her own family room...

Here are a few of my favorite options so far:

{Granada}

{Kalahari}

{Mirage}

{Softer than Sisal}

I think this seems like a pretty solid compromise. According to Lauren, wool rugs are pretty low maintenance (and work with her family of two little ones). Have you ever used a wool sisal look-alike in a high traffic area? What did you think?

Friday, February 11, 2011

Good Advice

We finally found a great arrangement to include our new (large) leather chairs in the living room! Jeff & I dragged furniture around, measured, and considered multiple options for two days...

Then my mama came over last night, and in literally 15 minutes had the furniture arranged perfectly (which coincidentally wasn't really that different from what we had with the recliner).

{before... with the dual recliner}

We should send this woman into politics... She can set you straight and give great advice like nobody's business. I don't make decisions without her. Seriously.

For example, I've been searching consignment shops and thrift stores high and low for the perfect oriental rug to overlay on our sisal in the living room. I found a show-stopper, but it was unfortunately too small when we got it home (so back it went).

Then last week, I found one that looked perfect in the store and was definitely the right size... It had red's, navy's, and light blue's... Just the combination I was looking for!

I brought it home, put it in the room... And it just didn't do it for me. It felt too dark. So I called my mama.

And she told me: Everything you get for your home should make you happy, every time you look at it.

See what I mean about the great advice? It is so easy for me to be swayed by a sale, great price, or impulse-buying... But at the end of the day, our three-bedroom ranch doesn't have the room for things that make me feel so-so.

The rug went back to the store... To find a home with someone who feels ecstatic when they see it. And I am keeping that solid mama advice in mind as I continue to find pieces that I absolutely love. And looking is the most fun part anyway!

P.S. - Hallelujah! I found the camera cords and will have non-iPhone picture updates from the living room and sunroom next week. Happy weekend!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Kitchen Rug Love

It's no secret that I love rugs... In fact, I have an extra 8x10 oriental rug rolled up in our bedroom right now (long story). Like all other home items that I love and have extra of, I can't stop myself from browsing...

Overstock is a great resource for rugs, and here are a few of my current favorites (which all happen to be in the running for the spot in front of our kitchen sink):