Here's how our family room looks now. There are a ton of other problems (window treatments, throw pillows, maybe even furniture placement, etc.) which are of course made totally more evident once you take pictures of the space!, but I still really love this room.
For now we have a too small striped rug that we've had for-ever sitting under the coffee table. Just as a temporary fix. We spend a ton of time in this room. Its where Maura does a lot of her playing...you can see the mat that sort of contains her toys and acts as somewhat of a soft spot for sitting on the floor, etc. We also eat at the coffee table a lot and Maura has snacks/milk, etc. here too. So in terms of messes and spills, the mostly exposed hardwood has been great and practical. But its not very cozy.
Enter an area rug. All along I've been thinking something more geometric, because we have a traditional Oriental in the dining room and a more cottagey striped rug in the living room (which adjoins this room - you can see it through the step-up doorway to the left of the gray couch).
Flipping through the Pottery Barn catalog recently, I spotted this guy that I really liked.
Rug #1
- Isis Chenille Tapestry Rug in Porcelain Blue from Pottery Barn
- 8 x 10 $499
{There's also a green version of this which is for some reason on sale for $399. Do you think green would be better?}Its not maybe as modern or bold as I was originally thinking, but in the long run, that might be better:) I think its kind of a nice compromise between contemporary and classic.
My gut reaction was to order a rug swatch/sample to check out the color, maybe even order both the blue and the green to see which one I liked better (the "blue" looks so grey, doesn't it?). But when I called PB customer service, the woman explained to me that they don't have samples of this particular rug and that there are actually none of these rugs in any of the PB brick and mortar stores close to me (so going to check out the rug in person is out). I've found Pottery Barn stuff to be slightly different in color in person that in the catalogs or online, so that somewhat worries me. I would pretty much have to just go ahead and order it and hope that when it gets here I love it or if not, return it. Shot in the dark - has anyone been to a Pottery Barn recently and seen this rug in person?!
To be on the safe side, I decided to take another quick look around and see if there was anything else out there that might fit the bill. I stumbled across this rug on Overstock which totally caught my eye. Its nothing like what I thought I wanted, but it might be a better option. It's cheaper, has more colors in it (more versatile?) and the pattern might do a better job of hiding the spills and stains which I know are going to happen in here.
My gut reaction was to order a rug swatch/sample to check out the color, maybe even order both the blue and the green to see which one I liked better (the "blue" looks so grey, doesn't it?). But when I called PB customer service, the woman explained to me that they don't have samples of this particular rug and that there are actually none of these rugs in any of the PB brick and mortar stores close to me (so going to check out the rug in person is out). I've found Pottery Barn stuff to be slightly different in color in person that in the catalogs or online, so that somewhat worries me. I would pretty much have to just go ahead and order it and hope that when it gets here I love it or if not, return it. Shot in the dark - has anyone been to a Pottery Barn recently and seen this rug in person?!
To be on the safe side, I decided to take another quick look around and see if there was anything else out there that might fit the bill. I stumbled across this rug on Overstock which totally caught my eye. Its nothing like what I thought I wanted, but it might be a better option. It's cheaper, has more colors in it (more versatile?) and the pattern might do a better job of hiding the spills and stains which I know are going to happen in here.
Rug #2
- Hand-Hooked Chelsea Kina Teal Blue Wool Rug from Overstock.com
- 7'9 x 9'9 for $317.89
I obviously would be ordering this rug sight unseen too. But there are a bunch of favorable reviews, so that makes me feel better. Again, it sounds like the color on screen is different than in person, but based off of what the consumers are saying, this might be in my favor. Here are a couple of comments on the color:
- "Let me try to describe the colors...the blue back ground is a very pale aqua...definitely a grayed green blue...I have Glidden "Sea Spray" in my dining room and it's in the color family but this is paler than that. There is also a beige...a buttery, creamy beige...not a greyed beige...and the green is not a sage, more yellowey green than a sage which is more gray...there is also a darker beige--a light brown I would call it...and a rust type of cinnamon color...and little pops of white in the center of the flower bursts....and a bit of slate blue and dark brown as well."
- "Rug reads more blue-green than yellow-gold. Yellow is less pronounced, but the overall feel is still warm."
- "Color on the site looked like it had a lot more cream , but its an all over light blue."
- " Beautiful blue green background with ivory, tan and green design...Description says blue background but you don't see it on the screen, looks ivory, but it is a blue green background."
To help me/you decide, I made Photoshop mockups of both rugs in the space. (Just like I did last time when you guys helped me pick a rug for the living room!)
Here's what the PB rug might sort of look like:
{Rug #1}
And here's the Overstock one:
{Rug #2}
Hmmm. Paul says he still likes the PB one better, but I'm kinda torn. What do you think? Which is your favorite? Or should I keep looking?
***So, of course between the time I started this post and when I went to publish it, the darn Overstock rug has sold out!!! Figures! I signed up to be emailed when it comes back in stock... do you guys know if that usually happens and/or how long it takes or am I screwed?
