(riot!)
Yes, that was an attempt at a 90s Cherry Poppin’ Daddies reference.
After we
purged almost everything in the living room
and painted it a dark, moody charcoal with navy undertones (Kwal’s Crave), things were looking better, but there was a lot missing.
To be completely honest, I was getting used to our airy (read: bare…minimalist?) living space–but nothing feels colder and more unwelcoming than an almost black, empty room. Yikes. And this being our front room, it definitely needs a lot of personality injected back into it. We got plans. First up, an area rug.
We have always lived with a 5×8 area rug in the living room, but it never properly tucked under any furniture so it felt small for the space. During RugsUSA’s 75% off sale a couple weeks ago (I tried to give all of you a head’s up via
our Facebook page), we snagged a larger, 8×10, for $139–$418 off listing price.
We decided on
this natural, chunky loop, jute one. One thing is for sure–the thing is heavy. I carried it in the house, after it arrived, and imagined, “this has got to be what it feels like to carry a dead man.” Besides being really heavy, the rug is nice and big–which we love.
And the color is reaaallly nice, especially with our charcoal/navy walls, although, it is not so nice with our current armchairs. We thought this might be the case when we decided on the jute rug, but now that it is in place–we are sure, the chairs are just no longer right for this space.
The colors are really close, so now we are looking into reupholstering them or selling them to help fund chairs that work better here. We’ll see where we end up there.
But, I guess that shows how much we really love this rug. It isn’t scratchy like some natural fiber rugs can be–it is heavily textured and feels like a little foot massage when you walk on it.
And the fringed edges are the icing on the jute cake.
Our new rug is just the first step in adding character and life back into this room. We have a new cover for our couch on its way (woohoo!) and we are currently deciding on pillows and lamps and other accents. Even artwork is being tested out (you can see the gray ghost and the newest addition to the Etsy shop in the left corner) for colors.
Hopefully I can put together a mood board soon so you can get a better idea of where we are headed in here. For now, any jute rug fans out there? We’re converted. The texture. The natural look mixed with other textures. Mmmm.
Love the paint color! What is the name of it?
I worry about that, too! But, who am I kidding–we change our furniture so much. It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal. I’d love a patterned ottoman!
i really like that rug! and love seeing how this room is coming together. can’t wait to see what you decide to do with the chairs.
I vote for arm chairs with a print. That room needs some prints!! but for me, arm chairs with prints make me nervous that the print won’t last over the many styles and design changes…..you can do it!
Yum it looks gorgeous!! Looove the huge chunky jute rug. I love jute rugs, but it’s funny, my husband grew up in southern Africa and apparently jute rugs are ubiquitous there, so his eyes are permanently tired of them. But his eyes are not tired of honey-maple trim, which MY eyes are from growing up in America, so we have agreed: no jute rugs and no maple trim in our houses. Hahaha.