As we mentioned here, the bedroom is “still looking rough and we’re not sure about a lot of things – just waiting for inspiration to strike – which might involve repainting and rearranging furniture along with refinishing the floors”). We even elaborated a bit in the comments when folks started asking what we meant by that or if we hated the current color by saying: “We love the paint color but something is off about the bedroom and we’re not sure we can rule anything out – including the paint color. Everything is a suspect until proven innocent. Haha. Something is limiting us, so we’re not opposed to changing that thing once we pin it down (it might be the curtains or the art or something else!) just to get things to “click” for us. Who knows where we’ll end up!”
You can relate to that feeling, right? The whole something’s-off-but-I’m-not-sure-what-it-is thing? Moving the art together above the bed on Friday was a start, but we actually have a bunch of changes on the agenda for this week in the hopes of cracking the case and making “that room where we sleep” feel a little more like “that room that we love!” Of course we know that a big ol’ transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but we also have seen firsthand how a few updates and switcheroos can go a long way in remedying that “hmmmm, something’s just not right” feeling that has probably popped up at least three dozen times in our last five years of DIYing. So we know it well.
We’ve learned that the only real way to get any closer to something that feels right is just to play around and see what you like and what you don’t. The ol’ trial and error approach. Because if you’re sitting there frozen in fear or over-thinking things to the point that you’ve lost all momentum it can get sticky. So without further ado, let’s get into the first tweak, which has already taken place. And it’s kind of a biggie. It all started when we saw the rug on the bottom of this picture at an outlet liquidation sale…
We weren’t looking for a bedroom rug, although we weren’t ruling out the idea of changing anything in that room (because remember, everything in there was guilty until proven innocent- haha). I had actually said to John “the jute rug in the bedroom could always move out to the dining room since we’re planning on getting a natural fiber rug in there for under the table and it’s definitely big enough” – so I guess you could say we were open to anything. So when there was a big tent sale at our favorite lighting outlet (The Decorating Outlet), which also happens to sell rugs (it’s where we got the thick wool rug in Clara’s bedroom along with her blue capiz chandelier and the big glass pendants in our kitchen), we had to check it out.
And that’s when we saw the patterned blue rug in the picture above this one. And it was all over.
We love all of those colors (gray, navy, teal, white!) and the geometric pattern was totally calling our name. By now you know we’re suckers for a geometric rug, right?
They just do something to us. They make us feel alive. Oh yes, we live dangerously.
But back to reality. Since it was a thick 9 x 12 wool rug, we were nervous that even on sale it would be $700 or more, which is sadly way out of our price range. But when we checked out the tag, we almost couldn’t believe our eyes. Did that really say “was $1287.00, now: $250” ?????!!!!!
That’s not 40 or 50% off – that’s over 80% off! So we asked the guy what was wrong with it to make it so cheap, since the tag said “soiled” as the reason for the discount. We hoped if it had a stain we might be able to hide that part of the rug under the bed or try to remove it with some crazy scrubbing ritual, but he actually told us it was ripped. As in, there was a hole right through it. Eeks. But thankfully the placement of the rip was in a corner, and although it looked like this if you picked it up and put your fingers through it…
… it looked like this when it was laid out on the floor. See the big gaping hole?
We didn’t either! The thick pile of the rug was so dense that the rip wasn’t even visible, let alone obvious. So you know what we did, right? We thanked our lucky stars that it was there. It was the only reason that we were able to get over $1000 off (!!!) and take home a $1287 rug for $250. We shoved that sucker into the passenger seat of the car faster than you can say “will-that-fit-in-an-Altima?” and I rode in the back with Clara, happy-squealing my way home.
To save you some scrolling, here’s a before pic of the old rug for ya again (remember we’re still missing major furnishings, like something in that nook, art on those bare walls, etc):
Next we pulled out the old rug that we’d love to relocate into the dining room under the table. We laughed at how naked that yellowed old floor looked. Someday we’ll refinish it, but until then our new rug will be in charge of de-naked-ifying things.
First John did some cute vacuuming to remove any dust/fibers leftover from the tent sale. Look how fast he is. He’s like Edward except he doesn’t sparkle in the sun or bite me for sport.
Next we shimmied it carefully under our bed. It probably took us a good twenty minutes to get it centered – just inching it back or to the side a little bit at a time.
We love it more than words can say. Although, to quote Tim Gunn, it’s a lotta look. Haha. Still missing major furnishings/art of course, but we’ll get there. So some folks might go for something less patterned or colorful for their bedroom, but we think one of the main “what’s wrong with this room” issues for us was that it didn’t feel happy or fun or “us” at all. And now it does. Oh happy day.
See how this room could almost be anyone’s bedroom?
And see how the room above it probably couldn’t be most people’s bedroom? Haha. That’s the beauty of a room that feels like you. It almost feels like it couldn’t be anyone else’s. So I’m sure there are lots of folks out there who would pass on this baby, but we decided when we moved into this house that we were going to make a playful, happy-go-lucky little love nest for our family. So we’re cool with waking up to a room that “smiles” back at us. Sort of like how we love our chipper living room and guest room (which have those other colorful geometric rugs going on):
I know, I know – things in the bedroom look a lot less polished or finished than those two rooms above. True dat. Look at that naked nook and those bare walls. But things always look crazy in the middle. Heck, sometimes things don’t really click into place until the very last tweak has been made, and I’d say we’re at least a dozen tweaks away from the final tweak (the pillows, curtains, and lamps might be the first to get some tweak-age now that there’s a new rug in town). But we’ll get there someday…
Nothing is safe when we have our tweaking hats on. Haha. But thanks to the new rug we’re invigorated and excited to play around a little more and see where we end up. So expect a few more changes throughout the week as we try our hand at a few other switcheroos and snap pics for you as we go. Some might fail, others might work- so it’s all about playing around in the name of figuring this room out a little more.
And can we talk about how plush this guy feels underfoot? Excuse me for mentioning the original price again, but have you ever walked on a $1287 rug before? We hadn’t either. It’s what we imagine the carpets in The Donald’s house might feel like. Super super plush. Like double thick. Burger even lounges on the rug now (he used to lounge exclusively in the bed, so it’s funny to see him sprawled out on the floor these days). It’s nice to know that we have the doggie stamp of approval.
What did you guys do this weekend? Any deal hunting, rug rolling out, or super fast vacuuming? John also ran his buns off at the James River Scramble (it’s sort of a rocky trail run/10K) and we loved cheering him on. We also squeezed in a stroll around the art museum (Clara loves VMFA) and dropped in on a new doughnut shop that opened. Good times. What were you guys up to?
Love that rug! The colors look great with the green and white. You guys definitely got a great deal! :)
Wow! Love the rug and what a great deal. We are looking for a bright bedroom rug to replace our trusty and worn brown Ikea rug. It’s served us well, but the time has come. Enjoy your new purchase! It looks fantastic.
wow!! i’m loving the gray/tel combo… and it was such a steal! sometimes i wish we had a bigger bedroom that we could actually put a fun rug in… our bedroom right now is only 7’x8′, so even a tiny rug won’t do any good! the bed takes up the whole room! …”welcome” to city living? haha
Haha, oh yes, I remember that well! In my studio in Soho my bed was also the couch, chair – everything! It was the only sitting surface, haha. So it was weird when a platonic guy friend came over and we ended up sitting in bed watching TV. Haha.
xo,
s
I’m also digging the grey/teal. I tried for a cornflower blue/chestnut scheme in our bedroom and I’m so over it. I may be stealing these colors!!
What a crazy deal! You guys always manage to score awesome deals – so jealous over here!
We continued our beer brewing process over the weekend – http://mailboxjourney.com/2012/05/21/weekend-wrap-up-11/
Love it! Happy beer brewing!
xo,
s
That is one heck of a deal!! I love the rug, but I’m not sure how I feel about the striped pillows with it (although I like those on their own, too).
Oh yes, pillows will be changing for sure. Can’t wait to tweak, tweak, tweak, baby!
xo,
s
Love the rug! Can’t wait to see where the room goes with it! We went to RiverRock too, although we didn’t participate in any races. Happy Monday!
Aw man, I’m sad we didn’t run into you! We were there on Friday night and Saturday night!
xo,
s
Oh we for some reason decided to go during the middle and hottest part of the day. Good fun though. I think we’re finally starting to actually like Richmond!
Did you see the slackliners? That was my favorite part! And the bike guys and dog jumps of course. Haha.
xo,
s
How do you FIND these deals? Envious … It looks great!
I had a similar “damaged” rug deal last year, though not on quite such a grand scale. The person who ordered it had turned it down because she thought the colors were wrong (it goes from light-center-dark-border on one end to dark-center-light-border on the other, and she thought it should fade all the way back to the light center by the other end). The rug store sold it to me for 100 bucks, and I think it looks great (and told them so before buying it) — I found a picture of the style online, and that’s totally what it’s supposed to look like. It wasn’t damaged at all!
Haha, I love that! SO lucky!
xo,
s
Love the rug! It’s definitely a room-maker!!
I love it guys! Isnt it just down right thrilling saving that much money….Im excited for you right now! I may just go shopping here…i could use a good deal today
Love the rug! Love the way it anchors and balances the room. Isn’t it always about scale, anyway?
Ooh! Awesome deal!
I have a question: do you use rug pads at all? You probably don’t need one with a $1287 rug, but do you usually use one?
We use them in rooms where the rug seems to scoot around or is thin- like our living room rug since that’s a dhurrie. But since the yellow one in the guest room is anchored by the bed and our new bedroom one is also under the bed, that is thicker so it doesn’t seem to need a pad.
xo,
s
Oh. my. gosh. That is an awesome difference!
I will be in desperate need of rug sales like that one when we finish our entire new house with stained concrete. Here’s hoping!!
They aren’t the same high quality but I’ve been looking for a rug for our dining room, and I’ve found some nice deals at places like Ross and TJ Maxx! I love those stores for finding home goods even more than I do for clothes. LOL!
Oh yes, they have great rug deals!
xo,
s
I love that rug!! We unfortunately have wall-to-wall carpets everywhere (something we hope to change).. so all our flooring is plain boring beige. I am terrified of layering carpets so we haven’t tried that. Have you ever done that?
Surprisingly this weekend we actually were productive! Our home is builder grade new. It’s pretty but it lacks personality. We are slowly going room by room and making things pop. This weekend we installed gorgeous knobs to our kitchen cabinets. For $45 our entire kitchen got a facelift! I also broke out your favorite -ORB- for the first time and re-did some lamps. We also squeezed in backsplash shopping and a storm door repair!
I’m a huge fan of layering an area rug over a carpet- it’s a great way to define a space and add color!
xo,
s
hmmm… maybe I will have to give it a shot. You have totally sold me on graphic carpets so maybe I will have to find one for our living room!
Wow gorgeous. It looks so velvety smooth. I’m not one to comment on this usually, so please don’t take offense, but for me the “something is not right” feeling has to do with the striped green pillows. They look nautical or beachy or something and not like the rest of the room. I can’t put my finger on it. Anyway, those are just my two cents.
Oh yes, those pillows will definitely get tweaked as we go – now that we have a new rug going on!
xo,
s
Oooh, I think this rug will take the whole room in an exciting new direction! It’s funny because for a while your bedroom was the most “finished” room in the house! How does it look with the curtains?
I spent most of my weekend working on sewing my first ever dress! She’s mainly done and even though there’s a few issues (first times are like that, huh?!) (that’s what she said) I’m in love! Here she is: http://instagr.am/p/K4zDsXO0bC/
The curtains definitely don’t work as well anymore- I’d love to switch them out soon! And wow- your dress = amazing!!! Love that fabric!
xo,
s
I love that rug!! It looks really good with the bedding and the color the walls already are. What a great deal too!
Loooove it. I’m a sucker for geometric patterns too especially Moorish inspired ones. I too did some decor shopping this weekend at the Old Lucketts Store Spring Market in Leesburg. It is an annual event. If you guys haven’t been there, please drop in next year. It is totally worth it.
http://whatsurhomestory.com/the-spring-market/
Sounds amazing!
xo,
s
I love the geometric/moorish rugs too!! But I have yet to buy one for my home. The last time we bought a rug, my husband wanted it right away so we spent an hour negotiating in Ikea. I don’t love the compromise, but I guess that’s marriage! One day I will replace it with something like you have in all of your rooms. Until then, I will enjoy looking at yours!
It looks FAB! Love how fun it makes it look! Don’t you just love being able to reuse things like the jute rug?
Yes, so glad it’s so big and neutral that we can just shimmy it off to another room! John mentioned it might look great in the sunroom too- so that’s another possibility when we tackle that room!
xo,
s
Ooookay….now I must find a $1287 rug to see what all this hoopla is about.
Amazing buy!!!!
Blendy, blendy – not matchy,matchy so it looks as if your rug works with the wall color. Good job. I love a bargain.
LOVE IT!! What a killer find…nicely done! Loving the room’s new “punch” and can’t wait to see what follows.
{i’m obsessed with clean geometric rugs myself…so this one really hits home!!}
Cheers
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
I love the rug!
Also, way to go John on the James River Scramble! I did that in 2007, and when I signed up (to impress a boy), I thought it was a regular 10k… That is way more than a standard 10k. The railroad tye(sp?) stairs nearly killed me. And that’s the last time I ever signed up for a race to impress a boy…
Oh yes, those stairs were so crazy! John took a picture of them when he ran and I was totally sweating like a nervous mom.
xo,
s
Oh I love it! We need to find a deal like that. Our bedroom floor is linoleum. So weird. Rugs are just so expensive. One day though!
We went to the farmers market this weekend (http://lollingabout.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/things-we-love-local-food/). That’s about as exciting as it got!
Ooh we did too! Got us some kale! Haha. Delicious with avocado and lime dressing! Your farmer’s market trip sounds awesome!
xo,
s
Can you elaborate on the avocado lime dressing? Or is it simply some avocado with lime? Thanks!
Yes, chunks of fresh avocado with a lime squeezed over it with a little bit of oil and vinegar.
xo,
s
And I also love the new rug and the fact that you got it on sale. WAHOO!!
Love the rug !!
i’m LOVING it! What an inspiration piece to transform your room from the bottom up! I’m excited to see where you go from here. Happy tweaking!
Is it wrong to say I want to eat that rug with a knife and a fork? It’s way too cute! **giving you a virtual high five for finding that steal!**
High fiving you back. Wahoo. Love me a virtual high five in the morning.
xo,
s
Oh, do I know that feeling – Something isn’t quite right, and I don’t know what it is! My response is usually to over-think and lose momentum like you described. I’m excited to see you work through it!
And I bet the teal in the rug goes well with the pendant in the bathroom. Not that you would necessarily see them at the same time, but it’s nice to have things tie in together!
Yes! It’s funny how the art and pendant in the bathroom make more sense now too! Happy accidents, I tell ya!
xo,
s
I was thinking the pattern in the rug mimics the mirror too.
That has to be the most amazing deal I’ve seen in forever! What a gorgeous rug! I love the color!
Love it. Cute pic of the Burg posing :)
Love!
How can you sleep with all the screaming…I mean the room is just screaming Petersik now…
;)
Hahahaha, it’s true. I keep walking in there to smile at the floor. And this morning I woke up and said hi to the rug. Totally normal behavior. Haha.
xo,
s
oh sweet jesus… i love that rug. Super-duper find. Can NOT wait to see where you go from here in the bedroom.
I love the changes! I was really excited when you moved the framed Alaska pictures, and love the carpet even more! I think it’s starting to look more and more right as you go… the funniest thing about it is the more saturated rug balances some of the darker pieces you have, which I think you were going to change? Anyway, it looks great! Oh, and my husband’s family has super fancy rugs and they’re a-maz-ing.
LOVE that RUG. Love the Price even more! That’s bargain shopping at it’s finest!
That rug is awesome! And so you!
Oh my gosh! What a deal! I’m always hoping to find great deals like those, but never quite manage it.
We finally finished up our nursery! (Well, nursery phase 1… just keeping it real…)
http://www.kellyandellen.org/house/2012/05/nursery-reveal/
Aw, what a sweet space! Love the colors!
xo,
s
You know what I love about it? Oh, sure you want to know, it makes the light fit in better. The light is whimsical, the floor is whimsical. They just seem to jive better to me!
I love the rug, and I wish I had the cajones to do a big ole patterned rug!
I see a change out of the curtains in the near future! I bet they compete with that rug!
The rug drastically makes the room appear wider and therefore more extravagant. Great deal hunting skills :)
Ooooooo, I am loving those colors!!! I think gray walls are in order! ;) Plus, maybe it’d make the room feel more cozy. Just a thought. Heck, what do I know?! I come to y’all for help – lol :)
WOW what a difference, it looks great. Super jealous of your ability to find amazing deals as well. Everyone gets their first for us usually!! Looking forward to hearing about the other changes xox
Love finding great deals like that. How do you find all these awesome stores? I can’t ind any sort of liquidators near here. To me something looks off in the corner. On the right side, you have your door and a mirror, but on the left, there’s really nothing and it looks so empty, just needing something glorious over there.
Oh yes, we mentioned that the room is far from done! We need lots more furniture and will be playing with everything from the pillows to the curtains and the lamps! As for how we find those stores, we just stop if we see a sign to check things out of google things like “lighting outlet Richmond” to see what we find!
xo,
s
What a deal- you may want to put an iron on patch on the back of the rug where the hole is. It will anchor the fibers so you don’t accidentally pull any out with a vacuum cleaner. You can iron it on while it is still on the floor- just flip the corner of rug over and lay it flat to put the patch on. (Cheating fix is to put duct tape on it!) It sure makes a difference in the room!
So smart! I love that tip!
xo,
s
I’m with Shirley. While the hole isn’t big now, walking on it will eventually stretch it and make it noticeable. I found that out the hard way. Patch that sucker!
Thanks for the tip guys! Will do!
xo,
s
I was thinking something similar, but I was thinking of carpet tape that I have seen many bloggers use o join rugs together.
Stunning rug, it works perfectly in the room, and so nice to put bare feet on :) But you definitely want to do a reasonably decent repair job on that hole, or it will really GROW! And even though you only paid $250 for it, you want it to last like it’s worth $1287!
Oh yes, we’ve heard from a few folks who have said an iron-on patch applied from behind will hold those fibers in place! Someone also mentioned they used rug tape on a hole and five years later it still looks great!
xo,
s
I was just thinking the same thing……….. LOVE the rug, and what an amazing deal. But, not so amazing when you vacuum the rug and fibers begin to pull :( So glad its such a simple fix!
I love the rug!
You’re always mentioning different decorating outlets or fabric outlets in Richmond, but how did you find out about them in the first place? I’d love to find some similar stores near me (Pittsburgh), but haven’t had any luck searching on google. Any tips?
We just drive around and see signs or storefronts and pop in or look up terms like “lighting outlet Richmond” online to see what pops up!
xo,
s
Love the contrast that it adds to the rest of the room! And hello gorgeous colors! I totally got a steal this weekend on a kitchenaid mixer- it was on clearance at Target for $100 down from $300 because it was missing the mixing attachments. I got the mixer and will buy the attachments for $30 online. Who can beat that??
Wow- that’s amazing!!
xo,
s
I love it! It looks great with the wall color. I think y’all should pull in some more navy and gray and ditch the green pillows.
Oh yes, as we mentioned in the post, we are definitely planning to play around with the pillows, the art, add more furniture, contemplate some lamp/curtain changes, etc. Nothing is safe!
xo,
s
WOW- that rug is STUNNING. I have a serious case of rug envy (is that a real thing?). I hope you design the rest of the room around it, that is the kind of rug that deserves it!
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you had the rug already and picked the wall paint to compliment it. The rug is that perfect! You have a great eye for color.
Aw thanks Katherine! Happy accident, I tell ya!
xo,
s
That rug looks amazing! I can’t believe the price either!!
I love a good deal! In 2008, we scored a $4,000 oriental rug from Linens and Things for 90% off. The store was going bankrupt and liquidating everything. For a mere $400, we couldn’t pass it up.
Wow- that’s amazing!
xo
s