Rug Drama Part a Million

First of all, THANK YOU for commenting on Luke's room tour! Sorry I rewarded you by taking the next week off for spring break. I'm a jerkface.

So, I have a grand history of choosing, unchoosing, pondering, debating, analyzing, and general indecisiveness when it comes to rugs. Either the size isn't right, or the color is unknown, the pattern scale is off, or woolen tumbleweeds threaten to eat my home. No matter which way you slice it, unless you plan to just jute it up all over the place, rugs are hard. And if you're like me, you have champagne taste on a beer budget, which SRSLY compounds the problem. It's not like I can walk into abc carpet or the rug company and throw $10,000 at the problem. What's left is the west elm outlet -- which I have found to work well for scatter rugs -- or the internets.

Thank the bargain gods for ebay and overstock. I love them long time. But buying a rug you've never seen and will be difficult at best to return is a major pain in the warp and weft.

Buckle up and let's discuss the latest debacle, shall we? Some back story, first:

This? Oh, this isn't the problem. Sort of. See I bought this vintage Malayer rug off ebay a few years ago and I love it and its jewel toned, crumb hiding, hand made awesomeness. The problem, as we have discussed previously, is that it's too small for this loooooooong room:

I know. I can't believe our house looked like this right after we moved in, either.

To recap, the table is gonezo and now this lives back there:

Except of course I have compulsively rearranged stuff n things since then. Der. The credenza and the white console swapped places, and now I have a terrible desk but a better looking back wall.

I am all about practicality, aka I need a real (super awesome) desk.

Anyhow, the runner was a little overpowering and a lot slippery, I really really really need a rug back here to protect our floors from little boys and their floor gougery. Plus something soft and plush would be nice to sit on and play legos and other annoyingly small and many pieced games little boys like to play.

I previously tried a 6x9 rug, thinking it might fill the space.

I was wrong, and we all know where that rug ended up.

Here's the thing: what I really want is a 13x18 persian rug to fill the whole room, but even on ebay cool ones price out in the 2k range. Since the kitchen has me on mega budget 2013 with my belt strapped on so tight I fretted over a $7 Ross dress, 2k is just not going to happen. So I went off and spent $300 on another ebay rug that is too small.

Hey Erin, aren't you a professional photographer? Why, yes I am. But I snapped these iphone pics to show Karly right after I rolled out the rug, and then I promptly rolled it up. And threw out my back. So enjoy these gorgeous works of art. And enjoy the baby bouncer, most of all.

Also, please do not assume the console styling is for realz. And Gilbert, the leopard pillows are just for you.

6x10 hand knotted deliciousness... too small, right?

I should return this, right?

I need a 9x12 that fits almost end to end with the front room rug I already have, right?

Now I just have to find one that I like under $500. Also it has to flow with the other rug. Also also it has to look good with the back room stuff.

This?

This?

This?

This?

This?

Sike! None of these are going to be under $500.

Rugs are dumb.

Please help me by either finding a cheap wool 9x12 that I like (I am tres picky), or by hiring me to take pictures and/or spend your money on decorating projects...

Assuming you have more money than me, that is.

Thanks for reading today's novel. I will be laying down and icing my back now. Me and my phone await your solutions to all of my problems.

Luke's Mini Mod Nursery Tour

What what? It's tour time!

I'm sure you had nothing better to do than refresh your browser 800 times a day until I posted the latest tour, right? Or, if you're like me, you barely have time to eat and sitting down at the computer for three minutes is a major luxury.

Thanks for spending that three minutes on me. Let me try to make it worth your while.

Much like the rest of our house, this room was a hot mess when we moved in. Tobacco green carpet that reeked of tobacco, hideous paint, a weird booby light fixture that hung long and low from the faux wood fan... it pretty much had it all.

For a while it was Ben's office, but then I got knocked up and the baby had to sleep somewhere besides our bedroom, duh.

Except, guess who's never ever ever in his entire seven months of life slept here?

Thanks a bundle, pyloric stenosis and insane food allergies. I hated sleeping, anyway.

But it's kind of ok because that means I can keep my sock monkey shrine unbesmirched by snot, and also the hot air balloon sheets that I am unnaturally fond of are still clean months after their debut.

Plus I doubt very much that Luke will appreciate the brass overload that's going on in here as much as I do.

Brassssssssss.

But I'm betting he will totally love the vintage Dufy screenprint I snagged for him at a thrift shop.

He's probably not my kid if he doesn't.

That was a joke since I vividly recall squeezing him out of my lady center.

Some things stick with you.

Things like this guy.

Speaking of sticky important things, do you remember The Great Rug Debate of 2012?

Solved.

I hemmed and hawed over a handful of 8x10 rugs until I stumbled upon the West Elm Souk at the outlets for $70.

Score one for poverty.

It's cute, but it's also a mess. I do not recommend it for high traffic areas unless you like to hoard leaves.

Detailz.

I have to say, I love designing kid rooms. There are so many fun details, like this totally crazy chair I had sitting around forever. New upholstery made him a mega comfy scene stealer.

Almost as cute as the dude who lives here. Or sort of lives here. Or will live here someday.

I hope.

Thanks for hanging out for Luke's grand tour! Sorry the writing is so sleepy, but I am whipped. I'm so tired I'm going to lazily paste the source list from a previous sneak peek I posted.

Paint color is Benjamin Moore Frappe, courtesy of the amazing Sanders.

Chair is vintage Milo Baughman that I had recovered in Togo fabric. This was the big splurge for this room — about $450 total.

Curtains are super cheap Ikea Ritva onto which my sweet MIL spent two nights sewing ribbon trim… LOVE THEM! Four panels cost $65 plus time. Can’t beat that.

Mongolian fur pillow came from the West Elm outlet for $5.

Light fixture came from Ebay.

Vintage Raoul Dufy screenprint came from Room Service for $28. I cut a new mat for it.

Bookshelf is Ikea Expedit.

Sheepskin rug is old news.

Everything else is thrifted. I really tried to reuse as much stuff as possible to keep the cost down.

And that's it!

I hate to be a ho, but if you want to see another tour please please please let me know. Because in my house, the menu of options goes something like dinner OR shower.  So I'm hungry and dirty. But I wrote a post.

Yay, me!

Until next week.

[all images copyright ERIN WILLIAMSON]

Sneaky Peak

I'm frantically editing pictures for tomorrow's nursery tour, but this guy just wanted to stop by and say hello:

See you dudes tomorrow!