I am so excited to share a major update in our living room today. A new rug! This post is heavy on pictures, but I just can’t help myself, because I am in love with this change in our living room.
I have had this rug pinned on Pinterest for a long time. I have looked at it over and over again. I have known I wanted a new rug since before we moved in, but it wasn’t in the budget at the time. Well, we finally had the money to buy a rug, so I nervously took the plunge and bought it.
In case you are new here, this is a picture of the rug we had. It wasn’t even our rug! The previous owners left it down in the garage to be put out with the trash. But we decided to keep it temporarily because we didn’t have a rug for this room. It was clean and in really good shape, so back up to the living room it went. It wasn’t horrible, But it just wasn’t the colors I wanted to go with in my living room. We lived with it for 19 months.
I first got the idea to purchase a rug with a hounds tooth pattern from Roeschell’s dining room on DIY Showoff. I fell in love with her rug, I searched high and low for it. I even emailed her and asked her where she bought it. She bought it at Joss and Main , and, well, you know how that site works right? They have sales, and then they don’t have sales. So everything is temporary. And I could not find that rug anywhere!!
But I was already hooked on the hounds tooth pattern. I knew I did not want it to be black and bright white, and I found plenty of those! I also had a budget that I needed to stick to. And I did find some I liked but they were waaaay out of my budget.
And then, I started looking at the rugs that I had pinned, and I came across this one that I pinned a while back. It was still for sale on Overstock. I have a friend who highly recommended Overstock for area rugs. So I felt comfortable ordering from there.
This rug is an 8 x 10 indoor outdoor rug. I was leary about choosing an indoor outdoor rug. Although I have read that a lot of people choose them for indoors because of how durable and easy to clean they are. I liked the sound of that! Believe me when I say that I read every. single. review. The rug was on sale, and the shipping was free. FREE! So, I ended up deciding to order this rug. I think I paid something like $127 for it. Now, that is a good price!!
This rug is not the same shade as the rug I coveted from DIY showoff, but it was the same pattern. It is black and tan. Not off white. I was unsure about it, but I really loved it when it arrived!
And just in case you were wondering, this is a close up of the edge of the carpet. And it is not rough under foot. It is not plush, but it is soft and smooth. And the colors are perfect for my family. Because it doesn’t show dirt! And you know I live with the three little pigs.
Now that I have given you all of the dirty details, Let’s look at a zillion different pictures of this rug from all different angles, mmmkay? and I will focus in on a couple of other new things around the room for you too, just so you don’t get bored. I took these pictures the next day after I unrolled this rug, so it is not smoothed out yet. But we have been living with it for a few weeks now, and it is completely flat.
You can see into my dining room in this shot. Looks like there may or may not have been a mess in there. And yes, we do have a toy box in our living room. Mr. 6 Year Old likes to play in here with us close by.
There are still touches of winter in here, and a few touches of spring. The living room is Bipolar right now. But winter is going to be all packed away very soon.
Look! Sweater pillows! I showed you my plans for these pillows here. And I did finish the pillows, but I guess I forgot to show them to you! Well, they didn’t turn out absolutely perfect or anything, because I don’t sew, so I used hot glue to make them. I also used this same method to make a sweater pillow last winter. You can see that tutorial here. I like them, but obviously they would be way better if I could actually sew. Add that to the list of things I need to learn!
See the pillow right there in the middle? It is new, and I really like it! It is a down filled pillow and very comfy. I also like the spring touch it brings to the couch. I bought this pillow, and two others, at Goodwill recently for $1 each! And they were all brand new pillows! Score!!
There is a brown pillow on the chaise lounge over there that I also bought that day at Goodwill. Sorry the light from the window is making it look all blown out. I have not mastered that photography skill yet, obviously.
See that fireplace there? It is due for an update. LC bought me an awesome mantle for Christmas. It just needs hung. And then the fireplace and surround will all get a fresh coat of black paint. And we plan to add some air stone surrounding it. It will look completely different by the time we are finished with it. You can see the green and cream afghan peeking out in the bottom right corner. Another Goodwill find. It was in perfect condition, and I love the spring green color! All it needed was washed!
I am considering trying to reupholster this bench/coffee table with a fun fabric. I have to work up the nerve to attempt it though.
If you are a really faithful reader of my blog, you might notice that I rearranged a little. the table to the right of the TV stand used to be beside the fireplace. The book case used to be where the table is now. I moved it all to make room for the Christmas tree, and I liked the symmetry of the two pieces with the TV table in the middle, so I kept it that way.
The TV stand has seen better days. I am currently searching for a dresser or something to buy and paint to replace this. I am actually going to The Mission today to see what they have. This cute little red wicker box was another recent Goodwill find. I think I paid $2 for it.
Can’t you just see a nice painted dresser right here? And the TV moved up higher on the wall, of course. We have always thought it was at least a foot too low, but the bracket was here when we moved in.
And this is how I styled my book case after Christmas. The framed art is a free printable that I found over a year ago and had never used.
I am over the black recliner. Except for the fact that it is my chair. And super comfortable. But I think I would like a different style for the room. But that is not going to happen any time soon. So I placed this Pottery Barn throw over it, and added a pillow. This is the third of the Goodwill Pillows. The throw and the pillow make the black leather a little more tolerable. If you are really observant you might notice the laundry baskets in the hallway behind the chair. Thanks for noticing!
I am totally crushing on my new rug, and it was a much needed change for sure.
So, I know you are dying to see an awesome side by side of the room progress, right?
And, just in case you were wondering what is next on the list in our living room, here is a little list for you, that I posted about a year ago. I have marked out removing the spindles over the sofa. I have decided to keep them for safety reasons with Mr. 6 Year Old. Maybe, if we are still living here when he stops climbing around like a monkey, this will come back into play. I also marked out installing new blinds. We did remove the old blinds, and I think I like them the way they are, without blinds, for now. so I may or may not buy new blinds for these windows. But that is on hold as of now. The next thing that will happen in here is the mantle, and after that painting will happen this summer. We are going to have the ceiling professionally done, and paint the walls ourselves. I have been thinking a lot about the ceiling, but that is for another post.
Update: June 28, 2015- See our living room now here.
- Purchase new sofa and chair
- Paint walls and ceiling
-
Replace area rug - Raise TV
- Install mantel and surround for fireplace
- Purchase a new flat screen (dreaming)
- Make over sofa table and end tables
-
Install new blinds -
Hang curtain panels -
Remove spindles over sofa -
DE clutter - Add art to walls
- Style the bookshelf at the top of the stairs.
How do you feel about putting an indoor outdoor rug indoors? Have you ever tried it before? I was really unsure, but I am glad I took the plunge! And on the plus side, when I tire of this rug in our living room, I can move it outdoors and re use it!
Have a great week!
Link Parties:
Sunday:
Three Mango Seeds
Monday:
Monday Funday
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House
Give me the Goods
Home Coming
Thrifty Decor Chick
Project Inspired
Home Stories A to Z
Tuesday:
Inspire Me Tuesday
Coastal Charm
Cozy little House
My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia
The SITS Girls
City Farmhouse
The Inspiration Exchange
Wednesday:
Savvy Southern Style
Work It Wednesday
DIY By Design
Thursday:
Sparkles and a Stove
Throwback Thursday
Friday:
Freedom Fridays
I’m not a Trophy Wife
Jennifer Rizzo
The Shabby Nest
Inspire me Please
Creativity Unleashed
Remodelaholics
Sunday:
DIY Showoff
DIY Sunday Showcase
Really it’s very beautiful
Really it’s very beautiful