And The Living Room Gets All Dressed Up~

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the fact that I needed to replace my living room rug. The rug we had was pretty with golds, browns and reds. But since I was going to have to replace it, I decided that I wanted to go with something more neutral because I really wanted to introduce some blues and greens to my palette instead of the warmer tones that I had been using.

RUG BEFORE

If you recall, I was set on using a jute or sisal-type rug. But, after asking the opinions of you, my lovely readers, I had many people suggest the idea of using indoor/outdoor carpet. To be honest, that is something I had never really considered. I had this vision in my head of indoor/outdoor being something along the lines of astroturf. I just didn't think it could be something I would want in my living room. I was also told by many people that sisal and jute have a difficult time standing up to traffic. Even though we have a family room, our living room sees quite a bit of traffic, and I didn't want to have to replace the rug quickly, so that also made me reconsider.


To make a long story short (really, Wendy, I didn't think you could do that...you might be thinking) after researching a bit, I was pleasantly surprised with the range of indoor/outdoor rugs I was able to find. But, then there was the budget constraint. The hubby and I were pooling the money we received from our parents for Christmas...but we still didn't have a huge budget for a new rug.


Enter Costco. Yes, Costco. While we were there one afternoon before Christmas, I happened to notice some area rugs. I walked casually over to the display thinking that there was absolutely no way that I was going to see what I was looking for. After all, I had been scouring the internet, home improvement stores, catalogs...all to no avail.


You can probably guess the rest of the story. There in the front of the display was one rug. The exact right size, the exact right color....AND the exact perfect price. I tried to be nonchalant about it...but I may have yelled the hubby's name across the crowded store as I flailed my arms back and forth in the air to get his attention two rows away. And he may have shot me one of those "are you crazy?" looks. But as he got closer and realized what I found, he was almost as excited as I was.


So we bought that baby. Loaded her up...and here she is. An indoor/outdoor (read that as easy clean-up), neutral-toned beauty. Can you say LOVE?

CARPET AFTER

Okay, so once we got the rug in the room, I felt an intense need to finally get a coffee table. We had been looking and looking on Craigslist and KSL.com (the local online want-ads) for weeks or possibly months with no luck. But that night, the hubby hopped online and found the PERFECT coffee table....again for the perfect price! (I mean it MUST have been fate!!)

So the very next day, while I was laid-up in bed with the worst stomach flu I think I've ever had...the hubby...with children in tow....went and bought the coffee table. And because it had a blue base (which was not the right color blue) he even refinished it for me...that very day...okay it really took two days, but the story sounds better if you think he did it all in one day. Ha!

And now our living room is almost complete. I plan on switching the sofa slipcover back to the white one, and placing my rehabbed console behind the sofa where it belongs while placing a dresser where the console is now. AND, of course, bringing in some blue and green...probably in the form of pillows and accessories. Oh, and accessorizing that pretty coffee table with something besides my decorating books. :-)

But what a difference the carpet and coffee table make!! Can we hear a collective "Woot Woot!"?

For now, I'm just going to sit here and enjoy the view! Have a great day~