There’s something about being nearly a year into living here that makes it feel like we’ve accomplished a fair amount of “evolution” over the last 357 days (not that I’m counting…). I guess it’s because living somewhere for a month isn’t really a lot of time for tweak-age, but twelve of those in a row – well, it’s enough time to get things going. Like living with a floor plan for 11 months (just to be suuuuure) and then knocking out a wall that we’ve wanted gone from day one:
It’s also enough time to make a few furniture and accessory changes as we transition from working with what we have (like random stuff carried over from our first house) and first-instinct choices to a few more thought-out decisions. Yup, these things apparently take time – at least in our experience (remember this post on that subject?). So here’s the story about a pretty sizeable three-fer tweak of epic rug, ottoman, and chair proportions.
We haven’t made any major furniture/accessory purchases since the just-moved-in phase when we got our sectional, our first rug, our bed, and our big dining room table. Then we went on a building/DIY kick for the next almost-year (making our $104 console table and our $124 wall-to-wall double desk and saving nearly 4K by laying our own stone patio and getting a ton of estimates to save 3K on our kitchen wall-opening). We’ve mostly just been picking up super inexpensive secondhand furnishings since moving in (like our $35 desk chairs, $25 dining chairs, and four secondhand kitchen cabinets for our in-progress remodel for under $100).
So after many months of building up the savings account and waiting for things that we loved to come along, it felt nice to actually buy them. And since we had some “store credit” towards Joss & Main from curating a sale with them as a side gig (more on that here), we loved that we could put that towards our living room tweaks, especially because it’s one of our most used rooms, so we’ll definitely notice and appreciate it. But now onto what we tweaked and why…
For the last almost-year we have loved our fluffy green shag rug (it was great for a wiggly crawling baby and a wobbly toddler – and was so thick and inviting that many an adult found themselves sitting/lying on the floor). But there are a few issues that have popped up as Clara has grown.
# 1. Let’s just say that finding milk dripped and goldfish or cheerios crushed into our plush rug was less than pleasing. Yes, we’re one of those casual families who doesn’t have a no-food-in-the-living-room rule (I mean, peanut butter & jelly or a bagel with cream cheese isn’t living-room approved, but dry crackers and a sippy cup of milk are). That’s just how we both grew up and we really appreciate the this-house-is-not-a-museum vibe, so we plan to keep it that way. And although vacuuming or a bit of scrubbing (for spilled milk) got ‘er done (and Burger was awesome about hunting down the occasional goldfish before we even knew it’d gone missing) the rug was still a bit higher maintenance than a lower pile one would be now that we have an energetic toddler.
#2. The size. In our first house both our living room and den rugs were just 5 x 8′ since the rooms there were so small. So although we knew that our new living room was much larger, somehow an 8 x 11’ rug sounded like it had to be big enough for our 25 foot long room. Well… try as we might to “adjust” to it, it always felt a little small (we’re definitely still learning how to decorate a larger space). Like our giant sectional was just baaaarely contained on the boundaries of the rug:
So when I saw this giant (10 x 14!) 100% wool rug for $599 (down from $798) on Joss & Main I got excited. And nervous. That’s not exactly peanuts around here. But it’s a huge rug – and rugs that size that we like are usually 1-2K (which made me fake ugly-cry on at least three occasions). It almost felt impossible to find something extra large, low pile, and our style that didn’t end in three zeros. So $599 started to sound pretty good. At least good enough to contemplate for a little while.
After mulling it over for a few hours, I decided to show John to see what he thought (we have a full agreement agreement, so we don’t buy anything that we don’t both love). That way if he nixed it I could just close the window and stop thinking about it. But when I went to show it to John, he had it up on his screen (he also gets Joss & Main alerts and had clicked on that rug and left it open on his computer to “talk to me about it” a little later). Crazy, huh? We were both secretly mulling over the same rug. It was meant to be. So we gritted our teeth and put in our order. I’m not going to say that we didn’t have sweaty palms, but we went for it.
Since we’d been temporarily using a too-small placeholder-ottoman that didn’t have storage which used to reside in our first bedroom as a side table, we also found ourselves pining after this big tufted leather storage ottoman. Again, it’s not exactly a cheap addition to the room. At all. But nearly fourteen cubic feet of additional hidden storage was a huge draw (it’s almost 3 x 3 x 1.5 with an easy-open hinged top). Of course we also appreciated that it’s a correctly-sized counterpart to our giant sectional (as opposed to looking like a too-small donut hole) and that it isn’t hard and pointy for little toddler heads (but can be used for serving food & drinks with the addition of a nice big tray). Yup, she’s versatile. And we never could have sprung for it at 900 beans, but at over $500 off… well…
And then somehow this $169 chair (down from$339) said “how you doin’?”…
…which was especially convenient since the parson’s chair that we purchased for $70 from Target about four years ago was looking a little rough due to tons of use which led to one side of the faux-leather cracking so it looked like this:
So we waited patiently at the door for everything to arrive, pausing only to eat, sleep, change the baby, work on the kitchen, and blog. When everything arrived pretty much at the same time, it was sorta like Christmas. Literally, it kind of was (we declared these items to be our Christmas gifts to each other for last year, this year, and next year). Psst- pardon the rug wiggles, we still need to get a rug pad. And as for the art swap, I meant to blog about that a while back. It’s actually extra burlap-ish fabric that I used instead of the colorful paper. I love that it has more texture and doesn’t compete with the bright pillows and accessories.
Spending that kind of money on a rug and ottoman was definitely not a drop in the bucket for cheap-os like us. Heck even $169 for a chair isn’t usually our MO (we’re no strangers to spending $20-35 on thrift store or craigslist chairs). But it did feel nice to add up the sale savings ($199 + $521 + $170 = a whopping $890!). And more importantly, since we’ve worked our buns off to DIY so many projects over the last 11 months it meant that we were able to save a pretty nice chunk of change, so our bank account was thankfully just fine with the living room spree (we don’t like to buy anything we can’t immediately pay off – more on that here).
Of course we’re hoping to reuse the old round ottoman and the old living room rug in other still-evolving spaces (you know we’re use-what-you-got fans) and we might even try slipcovering the faux-leather chair in some fun fabric for another spot as well. So we’ll have to keep you posted on those cha-cha-cha-changes too. Of course we still have about a million other working-with-what-we-have items going on, like the wrong sized rug in the office, a too-small TV and media cabinet in the living room (we hope to build a nice media center to balance out our chunky distressed console table) along with many completely-missing elements (like a large buffet/console table with art and a rug in the entryway off of the dining area and an entire playroom and sunroom that have yet to be tackled along with all of our bathrooms). But we’ll get there someday.
Knowing that our first house took us 4.5 years to complete is a great comfort to us, because it takes away the we-want-it-all-done-now pressure. These things take time. But we’re feeling really good with our one-year-in progress (see a lot of that here). How about you? Do you have a “magic number” of months or years after living somewhere when you finally start to feel more settled and “evolved” (after feeling around in the dark for a few months while you get your bearings)?
Psst- To anyone looking to purchase the rug, ottoman, or chair – Joss and Main has flash sales (only lasting a few days) so of course by the time we got this stuff in the mail and took pics they weren’t for sale anymore. But lots of their stuff can be found on wayfair.com (though it’s not usually as heavily discounted over there) or you can get on Joss & Main’s mailing list here (that’s an instant invite, so you don’t have to wait). Hope it helps!
Heather says
I’ve been staring at this exact rug on Overstock for weeks for my master bedroom! I was scared it would be too dark and wouldn’t work with a couple of creamy tufted ottomans we have at the foot of our bed, but now I know they will work great! Thanks for giving me the push I needed! The rug looks great in your living room, and fingers crossed, it will look great in my bedroom as well!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck! And send pics!
xo,
s
christine says
We too are still learning how to decorate a larger space! I found it easy in our last house to decorate and make things cozy/inviting/fun. But in our current house, the walls look so bare.
mary says
Love all your choices! You have to buy some cool, new, well-made stuff once in a while to keep motivated! The rug size completely transforms the room. I thought it was great before and wouldn’t have thought a bigger rug could make such a wonderful difference!
Dave says
$herdog and John tha Don…Dog Father….I’ll keep working on it….
I noticed you changed the prints / Art above the sectional, what are you sporting in the frames these days.
Love the living room looking really nice, SSSwweet rug, perfect size.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re cracking us up (and John is happy you’re still working on that). As for the art, it’s these prints with burlap behind them – just to keep them from competing with the bright pillows and accessories.
xo,
s
Susie says
You guys continue to out-do yourselves! The living room looks ah-mazing — seriously, every tweak is perfect for the space. (And if I’m being completely honest, I’ll admit that I covet that rug in a big way.) If this doesn’t earn you the right to be called $herdog, I don’t know what will. ;)
Dave says
I was wondering have you given any thought to just popping out the window in the kitchen and trimming it up instead seeing as it is really just and internal window at this point.
I guess if it where me i would have made the opening bigger (if there was not a technical reason ie structural reason stopping me) and made it open to the sun room and have the counter go over the old exterior wall to cover it up. thats just me.
Anyways love what you have done so far…..can’t wait to see you guys put up the tile and the exhaust fan.
YoungHouseLove says
Can’t do that for energy reasons (the sunroom is on a separate heating/cooling system which we hardly run- so opening that up won’t be possible unless we extend the central air/cooling into there so everything can be the same temp. We’d love to do that someday though!
xo,
s
Joie says
I always loved your shaggy green rug, and in fact, hubs and I are in the market for a new living room rug. I was going to suggest to him we get something similar (though not green), but your experiences with spilled milk and goldfish were a revelation for me. Our first is due in Feb, and I haven’t really thought past, ya know, labor and the newborn stage! So, thanks for the lesson. Enjoy your gigantic new purchase.
erin says
Kudos. Your living room looks a lot more polished, more grown up in a good way.
Lauren says
I agree with some of the other posters. I wasn’t crazy about your living room before, but I love the new additions. I’m especially fond of your new desk chair. Keep up the good work!
Katie says
I love (LOVE!) the changes, but being a frugal person myself, I have to ask: was it worth spending $425 on a rug that you only used for eight months? It seems that you got that rug because you wanted something bigger than what you already had, but after a while, decided it wasn’t big enough. Looking back, any regrets about sinking that much $$ into a rug that no longer does it for you – as opposed to using what you already had while you waited for this Joss & Main one to come along?
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely wish we had bought the right rug in the first place, but we’ve also learned that sometimes trying things (even the wrong things) is the only way to get to the right things. So if we hadn’t bought the wrong sized rug first I’m not confident that we’d ever know to get something bigger (and had we not gotten something so plush, I don’t know that we’d realize that we really needed something flat weave). We’re also comforted that we can always craigslist our first rug to get some money back if we can’t find a use for it elsewhere in our house. And in all the time that we’ve used it we have saved thousands by DIYing other projects – so that helps keeps the morale up!
xo,
s
Randa says
Great way to describe it, Sherry… I think it’s much better to try and learn as you go than to be paralyzed by indecision. We’ve had our share of decision paralysis, and sometimes you just gotta buy and try. And learn! Thanks for sharing your lessons learned.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re welcome Randa! We’re totally believers in trial and error! It seems like the only way to get moving and figure out what you love!
xo,
s
Meredith says
I agree!! Great way to explain it, and awesome new purchases! They look so grown up.
I have a somewhat related question… I’m not usually as paralyzed by indecision as I am by budget. I have lived in my own home for a little over a year, but it still freaks me out to spend even a few dozen dollars on something, let alone a few hundred. I think I’m still stuck in apartment mode, where I knew it was temporary, so why bother, know what I mean? My husband and I will likely be in our current home for another 3 years, but the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on a rug (or anything, really… like replacing our formica countertops, haha) scares me!
You guys always say that your bank account is fine after a large purchase, but how do you define “fine?” I’m not asking for numbers here, but what kind of cushion do you make sure you have? Living expenses for 8 months? A certain percentage of your income? Any tips you feel like sharing are appreciated!!
YoungHouseLove says
We have a number that we like to have in there at all times. As in, if it drops below that we don’t buy anything extraneous until we build it back up. So if we’re about to make a big purchase we’ll mentally subtract that from our bank account balance and make sure the total will still be above our “safe number” once we make the purchase. If it is, all is well – and if it isn’t, we won’t pull the trigger until we have more saved up. Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s
Meredith says
That makes total sense! I guess I’m just having trouble figuring out what my personal safe number is… I’ve gone from living paycheck to paycheck as a student to having dual incomes with my husband, so each time our bank account manages to climb another 1000 bucks, I looks at the number and think, oooo, what a nice number! I would like to keep that money! haha.
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, it’s hard! Our number seems to mutate higher as we get older and our family grows. When we had Clara we decided that we wanted to have more of a cushion so we felt more secure about our expanding family. And I imagine if we have another baby we’ll want to inflate the number even more – just to feel like we have it covered! I would just talk to your husband about how much health insurance deductibles and home insurance deductibles are to be sure you have much more than that should something crazy go down. I also have heard that 6-8 months of income is a great idea just because the economy is a little sluggish. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
bridget b. says
WOW! i liked your living room before, but this is great! it’s a little bit more of a mature look, but still fun and playful and true to the original style of the room.
i LOVE the idea of burlap backing for the pictures. very nice!
Jenna says
love the changes, especially that rug, it just takes the room to a whole new level! also LOVE the burlap in the frames, good choice!
how is your couch holding up? i have been thinking of purchasing the same model but wanted to hear from someone who’s been using one for a while. also which pieces did you buy to make the arrangement end up like that?
YoungHouseLove says
We love our sofa so much! No complaints at all (it’s easy to wash, holds up to a toddler and a dog, is comfy, etc). We got the corner sofa and the add on chaise. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Beano Wagner says
Whoah! I was slowly scrolling to postpone the excitement, but it looks amazing! I love the ottoman the most, and the rug next! The larger rug fills out the room so nicely! I’ll have to send a picture of our LONG living room to see what rug size you suggest because we’re having a similar issue.
Jessi E says
This looks really good. I wasn’t a huge fan of the living room before, but now I think it looks amazing. Good job!
JanetL says
Love it! Will you paint the chair legs on this chair also?
YoungHouseLove says
I think I love him just the way he is! Somehow with the other details in the room (patterned rug, bigger ottoman), it slips right in as-is!
xo,
s
christine says
you totally elevated that from ikea to wowza….congrats guys, well done!
one question and it is regarding your counters from the other post, think i missed it somewhere, but are they silestone? corian? from a big box store?
YoungHouseLove says
They’re Corian from Home Depot but fabricated by a local Virginia company called Five Star that we loved working with!
xo,
s
Randa says
I really liked the room before but I absolutely LOVE the changes… the chair and ottoman are both gorgeous, and the rug makes all the difference in the world! Looks so chic now, while still looking cozy and inviting.
Ellyn says
The new rug is so way cool. I wouldn’t have thought such a small changes would be so cool but it is one of my favorite moves you’ve done! Way to go on the rug! Great call!
Shannon says
Sooo much better!! Looks great!! I love evertything you guys do but…..can I nicely say I hate the brown chairs in the front dining room. I think they are way too dark and kinda dingy…you gotta go lighter. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s definitely a personal preference thing! I was thinking much darker actually! Like the charcoal gray sofa!
xo,
s
Joyce says
Wow, that make a huge difference! It’s a Merry Christmas AND a happy new year!! I’m super cheap too but extremely glad that you went for it. Well done
Andrea says
Holy wow! I just got pointed in your blog’s direction today and I am totally hooked! I am having a hard time finding words!! Brilliant is about the only one!!
I look forward to more reading!
-Andrea
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Andrea! So happy you found us.
xo,
s
Christa sodeman says
You know you are a YHL groupie when… I was on pinterest this morning and saw a pin of your living room and was all “Whaaaaa?!” that’s not their rug! Made a quick dash over to the blog and was delighted by the tweaks! Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, love it!
xo,
s
Wendy says
Absolutely LOVE the new furniture! Makes me have even more of an itch to update our sun porch. ;-)
Lilly says
Uh la la magnific! Love it ur choices are spectacular and oh so posh. Enjoy.
Melissa says
It was totally worth it! I loved your room before but now it’s even better! You guys deserve to splurge on some nice things!! :0)
Kristin says
it looks AWESOME!!! i love it! that rug and ottoman are the perfect size for the couch and room. the room looked beautiful before, but crazy how much a difference the sizes make! do you guys still like your couch? my husband and i are thinking about buying a new one (ours is a cheapo one we got when we got married almost 4 years ago…so time for some change). and we really love ikea but are a little skeptical about the quality…great job on the purchases! i would say definitely well worth it!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, still love the sofa! No complaints at all!
xo,
s
Lauren Nicole says
The new gray chair is so perfect for that space.
Pam the Goatherd says
Wonderful changes! The old stuff was fun and funky, the new stuff looks classy and sophisticated. It’s amazing what a huge difference just a few pieces can make to a room!
Carol says
The room looks awe-some! How are the back cushions on your sectional holding up? We are in the market for a sectional, but I need one that can hold up to 3 big boys over 6′ and they are not gentle on the furniture. Love what you are doing to your house-
c
YoungHouseLove says
They’re good! We probably could fluff the back cushions every few months or so, but other than that it’s not any maintenance (and we love that the covers are washable)!
xo,
s
Ivette says
That ottoman brings the sectional up, so classy! I love the change in the art too, the whole room feels now more mature, very inspiring!
Emily V. says
It looks fantastic! So much better! I hated the shag rug!
Kathleen says
I think the chair makes it somehow. So cozy but peaceful now, and I already loved it before!
Sandra says
I gasped. Seriously, that rug and ottoman are awesomesauce.
Jennifer B. says
I have to say, I loved the old living room. But I am in LOOOOOOVE with the changes!!! It’s like those additions were perfectly made for that room.
Paula says
Here is a link for a very similar (if not exact) rug. I actually just bit the bullet yesterday on it right before I read your post. I can’t wait to see how mine looks!
http://www.overstock.com/search?keywords=dhurrie+olive&SearchType=Header
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that looks like the same one! Hope you love it as much as we do!
xo,
s
Nicole says
Love ALL of the changes. It really does make everything seem more sophisticated, but fun…and a little more you?! Really, really, love everything. You have to splurge every now and then :) Oh, want to see what’s in the new frames…it completes the look!
Natalie Derrickson says
Did I miss Sue the Napkin being turned into pillows! Regardless, I love her new shape and your living room upgrade.
xo
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, here’s that post: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/04/sue-the-pillow-its-official/
xo,
s
Tracy says
It looks fabulous.
Ruby Showalter says
Seriously LOVE!!! the difference with the old and new rug is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. it really lightens up the space, along with the new ottoman. great choices!!! happy merry (early) Christmas!
Becca says
OH EM GEE!!! I freaked a little bit when I saw all the new toys put together in your final photo. The rug + ottoman combo is amazing. I LOVED tufted leather and now really feel the need make a sleek little (big) guy just like that!
Sarah says
Omgosh. I love when I can splurge vicariously through you guys.
Leah Concepcion says
I love the changes you made! Your living room looks brighter and bigger. It definitely looks more “grown-up” but I love how Karl the sectional keeps the comfy, home-y vibe. I’m in love with your new ottoman!
P.S. I’ve been reading your blog for ages ever since I accidentally stumbled upon it on Apartment Therapy. Reading your blog makes me happy at work! It’s like watching a favorite TV series – always looking forward to the next episode (or in this case, the next post.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Leah. So glad you found us.
xo,
s
Kristin says
It’s not just the change in rug that makes the room feel a little more sophisticated/polished–I think the change in art helps so much, too! Love both the changes–I am a huge fan of yours but wasn’t sold on your family room until now. Sold! Congrats!
Lynne says
I thought your living room already looked great. The changes you made just seem to push it over the top. I absolutely love it!
Jamie says
I feel so Big Lebowski-ish with what I’m going to say, but here goes…that rug really ties the room together!
It makes the space look bigger! And while the other rug has more texture, the pattern is a nice compliment to the solid furniture. Nice work!
MB says
Looks great! I love the rug. Do you still love your sectional from IKEA? Has it held up well? I want to get a new couch and am thinking of getting it from there.
Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, still love it! No complaints at all!
xo,
s
Michelle says
I have to admit, I wasn’t a huge fan of the room before…but now..Holy cow. I LOVE it. The new rug is fun and colorful but so sophisticated!
Amy @ TrangleHoneymoon says
Love love love all the new loot! Especially that enormous rug. The colors are looking lovely. Congrats!
her_gal says
Lovely! Now you guys just need a bigger TV to go with that huge room.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oh yes, that’s on the someday list! We hear there are sales around Jan/Feb…
xo,
s
Leanne Wight says
Love the new rug! It really amps up the WOW factor in your room!:D