Lately, I've been talking (mostly on the podcast, I think) about changing up our living room rug. The truth is, I still love the big, blue beauty after 3 years, but I just feel the need for a change. Something lighter? More neutral? After adding the planked accent wall, it has felt darker and heavier than I want for the main area of our home. Chris was on board for the change, but I've been hesitating because I don't want to spend $$$ on a 10x14 rug--and I was convinced they were all so. much. money. Our current rug, the Indigo Baxter rug from Crate & Barrel, was $1500 and worth every penny. It's plush and soft and after all these years, it's still in phenomenal shape.
Now, all the 10x14 rugs I was drawn to (including the one, I really really wanted) were closer to the $3000 range--which was just too much for us with two bathroom renovations on the horizon. So I gave myself a challenge to find a big, beautiful rug for the living room under $500. That way, if the light color gets too dingy after a year, or if in a couple years, I am ready for another change--I can. Guilt free. Here's what I found, including what we ultimately ordered!
1. Olga Gray Moroccan Area Rug 6x9 $137 / 8x10 $198 / 9x12 $249 / 10x14 $499
2. Cotton Flatweave Moroccan Tribal Trellis Rug 9x12 $411 / 8x10 $264 / 5x8 $147
3. Diamond Stripe Reversible hand-woven wool Rug 9x12 $526
4. Geometric Moroccan Trellis Grey Area Rug 8x10 $215
5. Hand-Woven Light Brown/Ivory Area Rug 5x8 $147 / 6x9 $200 / 8x10 $300
You'll notice most of these are dupes of much more expensive rugs, and the quality probably isn't as high. But, I would have honestly put any of these in our living room! We weighed the pros and cons to each (size, price, reviews) and ultimately ordered #1 (very similar to this much more expensive one)! I had a thousand nearly 5 star reviews and so many customer pictures to flip through that confirmed our choice. We can't wait to roll it out in our space next week and share lots of photos, and our own review. Which one would you choose?
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How thick is your living room rug? I want it to be cozy and not super thin.
Probably an inch?
RugsUSA is having a Memorial Day sale, so I got the same rug you did in 9x12 for $184!
Hi Julia - Any update on how the rug has held up in your living room? Thanks!
Still going strong and beautiful!
Thanks! we just got one for our dining room and are loving it!
I have your living room rug in my living room and LOVE it! Question - do you think any of the above 5 rugs go together? My living room feeds into my dining room and I need a rug for the dining room. Was curious if they'd compliment each other. Thanks!
Do you have advice on where to buy abnormally sized rugs? My living room is 14' x 13.5' and I'm not sure where to look!
Would a 10x14 or 11x14 work?
Love them all, all so simple and every one would look great in my front room!!
http://www.clare-without-an-i.com
Awesome roundup and such a great choice! The print makes a nice statement, but the colors are neutral enough so that you won't grow tired of it. :)
http://dahliasanddimes.com/2017/02/03/kitchen-sconce-obsession-roundup/
We're going to pull up carpet and refinish the wood floors in our house within the next year or so and so I've been looking for rugs recently. I originally picked #1 for my kids' room, but I fell in love with it for our living room too!
I haven't purchased mine yet, but you're right, the prices fluctuate often. The tip you mentioned on the podcast about googling the image has been very helpful. Home Depot also sells this rug online for a good price.
So timely! My husband and I just closed on our first home on Monday and we're in our pre-move prep which includes looking for a new area rug- our new family room is 19'x22' which is the size of the kitchen, dining, and living room in our current apartment. The last owners had a piddly little 6'x9' rug in the room and it made the room seem so tiny! Of course we don't want to spend a ton of money...but we want to like it and for it to be somewhat neutral while we figure out what our style is now that we are finally somewhere we can paint the walls!
I love the current blue rug! I am needing something darker for our high traffic living room area. Quick question. In this post it is tagged as the Indigo Blue but in your house shop page it is tagged as Blue (two different rugs that Crate & Barrel offers). Because it's nearly impossible to tell the true color based off their website, I'd love to use your images as a reference instead, and would so appreciate a confirmation if it's the blue (lighter) or indigo blue (darker) rug! Thank you!!
We have the indigo one!
So funny! I have 2 of the 5!
I just can't get over how cheap the thin wrapped edges of a Polypropylene rug look. I wouldn't want to put that gorgeous original rug down in a high traffic room with kids and a dog, so I understand your choice. I keep looking at the cheap rugs and can't pull the trigger...
What are you doing with the big, blue beauty?? Can I buy it from you? Hah! It's exactly what I've been looking for for our living room.
#1 on Rugsusa is called Bosphorus Moroccan Trellis BD16 and Wayfair is showing over $600 for the 10x14 rug.
I find rugsusa is the cheapest - I always check Wayfair and Overstock for similar rugs.
Wayfair and Amazon are kind of notorious for hiking prices as soon as there's a spike in traffic to it. When we bought the 10x14 from Wayfair, it was the cheapest option, but Overstock and rugsusa have the same rug under different names. The price will fluctuate.
I just bought #1 in 8x10 for my bedroom! Got mine from Overstock. I quite like it, though it hasn't totally flattened out yet after about 3 weeks. Good choice. :)
I listened to your podcast about rugs and had a question. You mentioned that the best quality rugs are wool, which seems to be most people's opinion, but am I the only person who hates wool rugs??? I've had two, one in the living room and one in my daughter's room, and they shed like Charlie in the summer! Lol
I've finally made the decision to get rid of the one in the living room and got a synthetic rug. I love it! Now I'm getting ready to do the same with my daughter's rug, but hers was more expensive so I'm hesitating a little.
Ha! I have #1 in my living room. I love it! Although it does need a good cleaning after putting up with two black haired dogs! Can't wait to see it in your space!
#1. #2 is super pretty, but thin
I love your sofa, but it's outside of my price range.Do you have any similar sofas at a lower price point you can suggest? (Maybe you have a post like that already.)
Thanks!
I love #1 and also have had it in my shopping cart. But I see the 8x10 listed for $249, not $198...am I missing a discount code? I also don't see it on RugsUSA... ????
Yessssssss!! So weird story...I have been following your blog forever, and purchased the indigo Baxter rug because I love the vibe of your house. But, lately I have been feeling like my room is too dark (we have a RH leather couch), and I've been having a hard time getting the coffee table choice right because everything just felt too heavy. Plus, we are moving to SoCal and I just wanted a lighter feel. I was looking at the EXACT same rug you chose! I love the more expensive one and was worried about the quality of the affordable one. I have bad luck ordering things online without seeing them in person. PLEASE keep us updated on how yours is working out for you! One of the best parts of your blog is that you do honest reviews of how things hold up over time. Thanks for being the best!
I think the rugs that you posted are very nice, but I think the rug you have is so nice. I think it really grounds the space. You have so many light coloured elements in the room, I like the blue rug to balance it out. I do understand the need for a change though.
Initially I was drawn to #1 but once I opened the link to #2 and saw it up close I knew I needed it for my living room. The flat weave is perfect for the soon to come warmer weather. I do love #1 though and am considering it for our master.
I can't get over the price on the solid wool rug!!! <3
Love the one you chose for your space - it will look awesome!!!
As much as I would love a light colored rug, my hubby is bad about not taking his shoes off. Do you have any advice on how to clean a Polypropylene rug after it gets dingy?
Thanks!
I own number one and have it in 10x14 for our living room, I think you will really like it!
We bought that rug over a year ago and love it! It is in our main living space and has held up so well! Considering we have three little boys and a dog we have really put it through the test!
My favorites are #1 and #4. So happy you picked #1, and can't wait to see how it looks in the room? What are you planning on doing with the blue one?
I think we're just going to roll it up in storage for now. We still love it and might want to use it somewhere else down the road.
Julia you just let me take that off your hands for you. My living room would love it. Let me know if you decide to sell it and would be willing to ship it to NM.
Number 1, $462 for a 10x14 on rugsusa!!
Just a heads up for you :)
We just bought #1 in the runner size for our hallways, with 2 dogs and 2 kids (3 and under), they are holding up great!
I just found a wonderful rug online and debated days about the quality. Then I just decided I'll give it a try and never looked back. I love #1 and would so have it in my own home if I had a place for it.
I just found a wonderful rug online and debated days about the quality. Then I just decided I'll give it a try and never looked back. I love #1 and would so have it in my own home if I had a place for it.
http://carlabethany.com/
I am so wanting to get a rug to go over top of our awful carpet. I love the navy rug! Do you feel that the navy rug you had a hard time deciding on a coffee table?
By the way, we got it at rugsusa.com and I think the prices are better than wayfair.
We have #1 and love it so much that I just ordered a runner for the hallway. It is not extremely think but it works well with kids and it doesn't shed at all!
We purchased the Olga rug in December and love it. Totally brightens the room!
The timing of this post is PERFECT!! I've had that exact rug (#1) in my shopping cart on a few different websites. Im wondering how it will look in our space.. I think once I see your post we will order it. I was SO happy to find out that's the one you ordered!!! YAY!
#5 is my fave! Great list, thank you for sharing!
Love them!!! We have been looking for a new one as well. If you decide to sell yours let me know! I love your style :)
I am loving #2 wow that is so pretty!
We just bought #1 for our living room and I LOVE it!!
We also have the Olga rug (just bought it in December!) and are loving it. It makes our whole room feel light, bright and cozy.
We're in the process of building an art ledge based on your tutorial - looks like we are going to have very similar living rooms! :)
Before I looked at your answer, I picked #1 for you guys. But I also agree that you need a 10x14 size (that was a fun podcast discussion!). Can't wait to see what it looks like and how it holds up, and if it hides Charley hair more!
I wish I lived in Rexburg instead of SLC because I would love to buy that blue rug when you replace it. :) I love the look of lighter rugs, but we had a rug with a white pattern in it and it showed dirt too easily for my liking. But maybe with vacuuming as much as you do for the dog that won't be an issue. (P.S. I love having Preston on the podcast, he provides a nice perspective. I am still cracking up that he cut his sofa in half.)
I like your top pick the best, and think it'll make the room so much brighter and fresher - perfect for Spring! Price aside, I'd still prefer this rug over the more expensive version - that dimensional tufting seems fussier and more formal (and I hate walking over rugs like that, but maybe that's just me), and I wonder if it wouldn't wear as well over the years. Please, please do a review when it arrives; I'd love to know if you use a rug pad, how it vacuums, etc. Some reviewers said it was thin, others said very plush, lol. Set the record straight for us.
I have the Olga Gray Morrocan rug in the 8 x 10 version in our living room and we LOVE it. The pattern is subtle enough for our neutral layer living room but also busy enough to not look dirty when it needs a good vacuum (we have a dog!). It is also super soft under foot. We ordered it from Wayfair and it was delivered to sooner than the expected shipping arrival time which was nice. I am sure the 'real' version that it is a dupe for this much thicker etc. but for the price - the quality/style can't be beat! Highly recommend!
All five of these are pretty perfect, but my favorites are 1 and 2. I think the busier pattern on the first one would hide dirt better – I image that being a plus with two littles and one big Charlie. :)
Can't wait to see how it brightens your space, though! And major kudos for challenging yourself to find a less expensive version of what you liked...!!! When I first heard (on the podcast) that you were considering a $3,000 rug, I totally sided with Preston. Of course, I completely understand "different strokes for different folks," but I can just imagine if I ever told the husband I wanted to buy a $3K rug, he would laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. LOL
Love the one you picked, but, for some reason I was under the impression that you thought polypropylene rugs looked cheap. Just surprised to see you picked a synthetic rug
We're planning on buying #1 for either our entry or our living room but haven't pulled the trigger yet! I've had it saved in my favorites for months now but I get so nervous about ordering rugs online. I'm excited to see how you guys like it.
Me too. Have had it in my shopping cart for several months. Maybe i will pull the trigger.
I bought rug #1 a few months back and have had so many compliments on it!
This post could not have come at a better time!! We have a very similar living room situation - a big black wall and things were starting to feel heavy (plus dogs and toddler) so I wanted something to lighten up the space. We ordered the same rug you did, fingers crossed it holds up!