Proper sizing for a living room rug...before and after!
As I mentioned in this post, having the properly sized area rug in any room is a must! I had a brown wool rug I bought on the cheap from Target....but I have always known it was the wrong size. Especially after I put the awesome mid-century coffee table in the room!
If your furniture grouping BARELY fits on the rug, you know it is too small. HGTV is a great resource for figuring out what size rug you need for your space!
Area rugs are an important element in my decor....primarily because over the years I have removed every stitch of carpet in my house, except my master bedroom.
I even removed the carpet from my stairs and put down oak treads and risers. Every time I am able to clean the stairs with a dust rag rather than hauling a vacuum cleaner up and down, I am soooo happy I did this! If you have carpeted stairs, there is hope! When I pulled the carpet from this space I not only found that it was just "rough framing" but the amount of dust, sand, and filth under the carpet and padding was enough to make a grown woman barf! It is a tedious project, but trust me, if you don't think you have the skill to complete this project, it is well worth the money to hire it done!!! Best money you will ever spend. Someday I will post a tutorial on how to do this...it IS a doable DIY project...just one big "puzzle" that requires a chop saw, nail gun and construction mastic! And caulk and stain and poly...and time...and no kids for a few days...but that's all...I think.
Anywho, after training a puppy (who is now 12) and with my aversion to filth and dust, hard surface floors throughout the house were a must. The ONLY reason I haven't pulled the carpet from my master bedroom is because I haven't quite figured out what I want to do design-wise...so I don't know what kind of flooring I want to go with just yet...someday!
An area rug can pull together a room aesthetically and of course provide comfort and warmth under foot in the sitting areas! As my "old kitty" Molly aged, it became apparent area rugs where not something I was going to be able to have for a time...trust me, once they have been "used" you will not get the smell out no matter what you clean it with and they WILL get "used" again! (YOU may not smell it, but THEY will!) So for years, we have done without.
But now Molly stays in my bathroom, with an occasional trip outside when it is warm. So for now I don't have to worry about my rugs being "used."
Which explains the inexpensive, small brown rug in my living room. We had to have some cozy under our feet but I just couldn't bring myself to spend a lot of money on something that may have to be tossed. It served it's purpose.
Last week after I placed the larger coffee table, the brown area rug became a glaring issue...it just wasn't cutting it! So I went searching for a new rug. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, but as I said in my early post, rugs can be a relatively inexpensive way to infuse "fad" colors and design into your decor. "Relatively" being the key words.
I knew I wanted one that was lighter and complimented the blue and brown I have chosen (for now) in my living room. But finding an affordable, attractive 8x10 rug was not an easy task. Rugs can be expensive.
So I took to the interweb and stumbled across this site....Rugsusa.com. At the time they had their rugs 70% off and free shipping!!! Which means the rug I thought I wanted was about $100+ less than what I could find it for on Overstock or Joss and Main, two sites I ALWAYS check when buying anything related to home interior decor.
Now the problem with ordering rugs online is the inability to actually feel the rug and know the TRUE color. If it isn't right, there is the added expense of return shipping, rather than throwing it in your car and taking it back to the store! To put it in layman's terms, it's a "crap shoot."
I've had many wool rugs so I felt pretty confident in the texture of the rug. And I also know that you can completely change the comfort of the rug just by adding inexpensive carpet padding beneath it! So that wasn't a huge issue for me.
Since I was ordering a blue rug, I was a tad worried. But as I looked around this room, I realized I have about 5-6 different "blues" in all the pillows, window seats and frame matting. So as long as it wasn't too terribly glaring in "tone" I was pretty sure it would be okay.
And it was okay...truthfully, I love it. It is provides an awesome template for my new coffee table and while the blue doesn't match all the blues exactly, it compliments everything quite well.
As far as the size...it is perfect. It grounds this sitting area and really pulls this grouping together nicely!!! I love, love, love it! I love the texture, tone and trellis design.
You may notice I don't do a lot of "froo-froo" staging on my coffee table. While I kind of envy all those beautifully staged coffee tables, I know mine will serve one primary function...to rest feet on. Yes, we put our feet on the furniture! That is why I harp on durable, easy-to-fix finishes!
My next big chore for this room is the addition of this mid-century chair I bought eons ago. It is a hot mess right now, but I really think if I reupholster it in a brownish/bluish/taupish wool fabric, it will be awesome! I love the style and construction which is why I bought it even though the upholstery was hideous!
Right now, it is my booth at Midtown...if it doesn't sell, it is coming home for a major makeover...as soon as my shoulder and hip heals!
Oh, the shoulder and hip? What did I do to it? I turned 50! And if you think that carpet on your stairs is okay and it's not a problem to occasionally haul a vacuum cleaner up and down, wait til you turn 50!
