New Living Room Rug

Our new living room rug has arrived and I love, love, love it!  It has completely transformed the room in a number of ways. 

First, here is the room with the old rug so you can get an idea of what an improvement the new rug gave the space.

BEFORE:

The old rug worked well in our old house but when we got the new couch and chairs when we moved to NC, the old rug just didn't work.  

Enter the new rug.  Details on where I purchased can be found here.  

AFTER:

The first noticeable difference is obviously the color and style of the new rug versus the old one.  It is much more traditional and I love the more muted color palette that works much better with our current furniture.  

Secondly, and you can't get this from the picture but although this rug isn't as thick as the old rug, it is SO much softer under foot.  It feel so good to walk on it.  

Lastly, this rug is bigger than the other rug (9x12 versus the old 8x10) and it makes the room feel so much bigger because I was able to push the furniture out some and it still sat on the rug.  

All in all, I'd say the new purchase was a major improvement to the space! 

The couch and chairs were custom upholstery from The Warehouse 1924 and the side tables were custom lacquered from Finds Raleigh.  The ottoman is custom upholstered Ballard Designs in dodi beige. 

#traditionalmodernmix #rugsusa #livingroom #livingroomrug #moderntraditional #blueandgraylivingroom #homedecor #cameronjonesinteriors #findsraleigh #thewarehouse1924

Rugs USA Does it Again!

You may remember a while ago, I shared with you my favorite bargain site for great rugs, RugsUSA.  Well, my husband not only gave me permission but downright insisted that I get a new living room rug.  I've wanted one for quite some time but like everything in my own home, I have problems pulling the trigger.  I was perusing the RugsUSA site and came across this awesome new feature they have: upload a picture of your room and then insert the rug you are interested in to see what it will look like in your space.  This must be like what online shopping in the future is going to be like!!  It's sort of like when you are designing a photo Christmas card and you can upload your photo to see what it will look like only this time, you can do it for a room in your house!  And it was SO helpful.  I had about 6 rugs in my cart and when I placed them in my virtual room, it because abundantly clear that 4 out of the 6 were totally wrong for the space.  Needless to say, that helped a ton in my decision making process!  I certainly hope other retailers will follow suit down the road - it really enhanced my shopping experience.  And no, RugsUSA did not ask me to promote their site...I just love it! 

If you haven't already signed up for their email list, I highly recommend it.  I just got my rug for 50% off with their New Year's sale!  They frequently have promotions if you keep an eye out.

Here's a preview of my new rug (fingers crossed my husband will like it since I purchased it without running it past him first!):

Antelope in our bedroom

I have had a long time love affair with Stark's Antelope Carpet.  You've seen it in all the design magazines especially on stairs and it is nothing short of stunning.  Seriously, years later I do not tire of it.

image via here

After a whole lot (and I mean a LOT) of convincing, I finally got it in my bedroom.  Not the Stark one, mind you, but Ballard Designs makes a pretty good copy cat version:

The price is still much better than the designer version but after I shared with you my new favorite rug resource a few weeks ago here, you can imagine that my husband pushed back at the price tag when I insisted we needed the largest one they made for our space.  In the end, it was a battle that was well worth fighting.  And, while I am not sure he would ever admit to me being right, I'm pretty sure deep down he agrees with me.  Really.  :)

It's a work in progress but it sure feels amazing to have a bedroom large enough to accommodate a king size bed and two full size side tables after coming from our tiny DC house.  Before we moved, my husband's bedside table was a tiny (and I mean TINY - like 6 inches x 6 inches) PLANT STAND as it was the only thing I could find to fit the space.  Baby steps...

#cameronjonesinteriors #anteloperug #ballarddesignsantelope #ballarddesigns #raleighdesign #homedecor #bedroomdecor #moderntraditionalmix 

My New Go To Rug Resource

Our new house has gorgeous hardwoods.  I absolutely love them but with two small kids, we have to have rugs.  Plus, I think it really warms up the space - both literally and visually - to have some great rugs.  Problem is, rugs ain't cheap.  I have purchased several rugs from RugsUSA for the new house and couldn't be happier.  The quality is excellent and the selections are great.  Best of all?  It won't break the bank.

I got this rug for our playroom:

And this rug for my daughter's room:

The pictures don't actually do either of these rugs justice.  The colors are so much more vibrant in real life!  You wouldn't believe the compliments I've gotten.  And I paid less than $300 each!

A couple of tips when shopping for rugs at RugsUSA:

1. If you see a rug that the pattern interests you, make sure you click on it to see what other colors are available.  Sometimes they have a great rug but it is featured in a not so great color - or a color that won't work for your space.  For example, this rug is pictured in a citrine color and is not my cup of tea but the pattern and textures are great:

The very same rug in a dark pink or orange hues looks great:

2. Shopping for a rug on the site can be overwhelming because there are so many options.  Narrow down your search by your style.  My two go-to style searches on the site are contemporary and traditional (funny that those styles seem so opposite but both have options right up my alley).  You'd be amazed at how many of their rugs could easily fall into both of those categories.  Take the one I selected for my daughter's room.  It is pretty traditional but the bold colors and print can certainly seem very contemporary as well and mixed with the right furniture it is!

3. If you want a thick rug for a bedroom that is comfy underfoot, my preference is 100% wool and read the reviews as buyers will give you a hint about the quality and thickness most of the time.  The downside to a wool rug?  You'll pay more.  Plus, you have to put up with shedding for a few weeks but after several vacuums, it gets considerably less with time.  In my opinion, both of the downsides are well worth it for the quality of the rug you get.

4. For high traffic areas, an indoor/outdoor rug can work great and be very forgiving.  Obviously with the durability of one of those rugs, you are sacrificing softness underfoot which may not matter for a living room or dining room.

5. If you're not in a hurry and can take your time searching for a rug, RugsUSA has great sales.  Just sign up for their email updates and they'll keep you posted when one of their fairly regular sales occurs.  Frequently you can get good discounts and free shipping if you keep your eyes out.

Just a few more pretty rugs that I've been eyeing from their site for either dining room or living room possibilities:

Obsessed with these new Modular Carpets

I am obsessed with these new fun shaped modular carpets from KinderGROUND that I read about in the latest issue of House Beautiful.  They were designed for children's spaces but they are about as chic as any carpet pieces I've seen for other rooms.  This is going high up on my wish list for the next rug I get!

The shapes come in triangles, hexagons and diamonds and you can mix and match.  They are also larger in size than other modular carpet squares that are on the market.  Here are just a few of their great designs.

I'm almost finished with the nursery for Baby Jones and I had the hardest time finding a rug for the space that I liked so I ended up going veeeery neutral.  I am loving how the space turned out BUT these would have been so much fun to use!  Now I just need to find another space to design!

Bold Rug...now what?

My friend Diana has a beautiful floral rug in her bedroom as a jumping off point.  She wants to incorporate color and potentially pattern but the question is, how do I do it without it looking too busy?  Can I still incorporate color and pattern in the bedding if I already have a patterned rug on the floor.

Yes, I say!  Yes, you can.  It is all about a happy medium.  I struggle with this whenever I look at rugs but truthfully in my opinion you need to view your rug as a neutral base.  That's not to say you don't want to coordinate and pay attention to the fact that your rug needs to mesh with the rest of the things in your room but just that you don't need to worry so much about incorporating things to be totally matchy matchy.  Now that I've totally confused everyone, I think it is easier to demonstrate with pictures.  These rooms have a lot going on but yet feel totally cohesive in my opinion.

All images from here.

Loving Layers

I adore the look of layered rugs. I think it adds not only visual interest but great textural interest too.

I also love that the look can work well in a ton of different decorating styles from modern to traditional to bohemian to super chic.

It is also one of those decor tactics that is fairly hard to screw up.  You can easily pair a more graphic print with a neutral that has lots of texture and achieve the look without worrying that you'll mess it up.  Here are some rugs from a recent OKL sale that would layer perfectly.