An area rug or just a rug is considered to be that component which can easily make or break a room.Though that may be the fact,until recently rugs were purely functional to me.I did not consider any aesthetic part of it when I bought my first one.
All apartments we have lived so far have had the wall-to-wall carpet. For owners, this is convenient because it is cheaper, easy to maintain ( cleaning and stain removal is of course tenant's responsibility right! ) and easy to re install too. OK, for cold month they are a blessing. I never considered having a rug over the carpet until it became a necessity, the necessity being spills and messes by a certain one year old. When her antics started bringing juice spills and stains on the carpet, I started contemplating rugs to cover the main living areas.
Thus we bought an area rug. The first one was a splurge for me ( Anything over a twenty was luxury then) so I searched long and hard for the best choice. I wasn't introduced to most of the sources or blogs at that time, so my search was actually confined to Walmart. Finally we bought a set that had four pieces, with one 8 * 10, one 5*7 ,a runner and a door mat, all with the same design. I didn't mind because with two large ones I could cover at least the living and dining space. These were synthetic ones and surprisingly lasted all these years. I have them still, just stored away. They have lost their colors and faded beyond a refresh, but shape and function wise, still great.
Later when we moved to our current home, having a rug was still a necessity though the reasons were different. First time I wanted them to prevent stain on the carpeting, but here I wanted to cover up the dingy and shabby one. That is one of the one hundred troubles with wall-to-wall especially when they get old. Regular vacuuming, shampoo, steam vacuum nothing helps to make it look at the least - cleaned.
Since one, 8* 10 sized wasn't enough, we needed to find another one that would go with the existing one. The dining and living spaces were opened to each other and I had a little more interest and sense by this time, I did pay attention to find one that would compliment the other. After searching for a while I found this guy at Zulily which is a great flash sale site for a discounted price. He lived in our living room until recently when I moved him to the dining area which is his current home ( Yes I know if a rug is a he/she when I see one)
He is an "OK" addition to the room, has a "chevron" print which was trendy at that time, now not so much. I mean now I can see this pattern on any imaginable surface and when you start seeing a pattern on most mundane things as in soaps and dis-wash, you kind of have enough, right! But he is staying because the condition is still great, cleaning up is a breeze and doesn't let anything bleed into the carpet ( we have had a number of accidents with gravy, juice, milk and wine) and 1 year is definitely not lifetime for a $140 rug in my book.
This rug also taught me another lesson, that trends and trendy should be limited to pieces that will take up only a small visual space. That is because when the "trend" as such grows too big and appear every where, you will be overwhelmed and kind of "not want" it any more.
Anyways, this year a few months back our sweet landlord agreed to change out the old carpet for a new one. And that was an extremely happy change here. It not only made the space much more warm and welcoming ( read not embarrassing too) but also gave an opportunity to try a rug that is pleasing to the eyes, right scale for the space ( because there is no need to cover up maximum area) and one that actually can perform the job of a rug - which are anchor/define an area, great on feet, and yet add some colors and contribute to the vibe of the room.
Here she is- 5*8 in size, 90% wool and handmade in India :-)
Why I love this one? - Because it is mostly neutral, has splashes of color but only sparingly , it doesn't visually take up a lot of space. Especially with heavy sofa and dark stained TV console, the cream color keeps the room light and gives a sense of spaciousness.
Then it is great on feet - natural fiber wins over the synthetic one anytime. It is also good at hiding some crayon/sharpie marks - you can't see , but there are a few. Our little girl is big enough now that I can insist on having no food and drinks other than water here. So it has been good so far.
I bought this from RugsUSA - a great source to buy rugs - you just need to wait for the sales and 50%-80% coupons that they sent out from time to time.
So that is how,this beauty came to be our first rug of choice.What about you? Do you use area rugs to define your space or cover it up or for comfort ? Where do you buy them? Do you have any great source to find vintage rugs from? Please drop a line to let me know.
Happy Monday,
Keep Smiling,
Anima
No comments