One of the bigger decorating expenses we had when moving into our first home last December was to invest in some rugs for the first floor. Like anything else when it comes to decorating, I wanted the price to be reasonable, and a quality level that would last us until we were ready to swap for something different in a few years. I’ve had a few questions about where this rug or that rug came from, and how we like them a few months later now that we’ve lived with them for a while. Here is a rundown of what’s on our floors!
In our entry, we bought and returned a couple rugs before we found what we liked. They had to be durable enough to handle traffic coming in from outside, but also soft enough to make the daily (often barefoot) treks up and downstairs. I love the color (“Clay”) and durability of these Jute Boucle rugs that we landed on from West Elm. We paired the runner for the hall with another 2′ x 3′ right inside the front door. The combination has worked really well for us. These rugs do shed a bit – and against our super dark floors (which show ANYthing and everything) I usually have to run the Swiffer Vac around them every week or so (which, I figure, I’d do anyway – with or without the rugs).
I didn’t want the kitchen to feel dotted with a zillion small rugs, so for the other entries, coming off the deck and in from the garage, I went with a rug that matched our floor color so perfectly you almost don’t see them, and yet they are thick and textured enough to catch a lot at the doors. Plus, I couldn’t believe the price. These are the Chunky Woven Cotton rugs from World Market – the color is called “Stone” but as you can see, they are a rich brown color.
Our kitchen rugs came from West Elm. They are the Andalusia Rugs in “Horizon” (that appear to be on sale now!). We have two of them in the 2′ x 3′ size. Because these go in heavy traffic areas of the kitchen where I often spend time standing (at the sink and at the stove) I added these Ultra Plush Rug Pads under them and it makes a huge difference. Not only do they stay in place much better, but the added cushion is worth every penny. While I liked the color on the website, I like it even better in person. They are much more vibrant – a true yellow, than the website/catalog photos led me to believe.
The big expense was going to be the large area rug for the living room. We wanted this area to feel comfy so I ultimately ended up looking at higher-pile designs. Anything in the 8×10 or 8×11 size range would have worked in here, but the Alexa rug from Overstock.com just happpened to be 8×10. As for the color, I worried that this rug would be very cream/ivory, which it’s not. It’s a nice clean white that’s not “TOO” white, if that makes sense. We invested in another Ultra Plush Pad for this rug and for the $70 or so it cost us, it has made a world of difference. People mention this rug when they walk on it and despite my concerns about keeping a white rug clean, we’ve had no problems. Not that we haven’t spilled plenty on it – it just cleans up really well! We were already stoked about the very reasonable price, but I also received 10% off additionally just for signing up for emails. Plus, you can’t beat $2.95 to ship an area rug – most places charge a large fraction of the price tag just to get it to your door.
