apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I really like the Seaglass rug! I don't think anyone will look at it and think "omg, 80s!" when they see it, especially if the rest of the room looks more modern.

I love her rugs, I have the brown one with the colorful dots...super soft and not made by children! I orginally wanted the seaglass one but the store didnt have it anymore. Its much more beautiful in person than online. Not 80s

I love all the rugs she does - so no, I don't think the Seaglass rug looks 80s. I think like jamiealyse said, make the rest of the room semi-modern. I see some white upholstery with it.

A rug is a great jumping off point - it's much easier to design a room around one piece, and pull colors and textures from it than to try and find an exact rug you love after everything else has already been designed and purchased.

I think the only way the Seaglass rug would look 80s is if you paired it with matching 80s furniture and accessories in your room. As long as you stay away from light pink drapes and chrome and glass coffee tables, I think you'll be safe. I love that rug!

And ditto on atlantadesigner's comment about trying to find a rug to go with a room you've already designed around other pieces. I've been in that boat before.

They both look great, and the Seaglass doesn't look 80s to me at all. I do think the other one, though, is very "right now" and you risk its looking dated before too long.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to design a room around a rug, and I think Maxwell suggests that very thing in the AT book. It's a great starting point when you're not sure what colors to use but you know you love the rug. The only thing to watch for is getting too matchy-matchy (my own sin!).

Completely agree w/all comments so far. I have Angela Adam's Islands rug in midnight. It was the first purchase I made and bought all neutral furniture to match it in case I ever do get tired of it. Furniture people said the process was usually the other way around, e.g., first furniture then accessories, but if you really love a piece, I say go for it!

p.s. I would probably add that one of the more important decisions would be size of the rug wrt size of room. I have a small-ish living room in a 1BR apt and went for the 8x10 size - rug is really the focal point and fills the room.

It's a lot easier to match paint and accent colors to a colorful rug than the other way around. Some people like a bland surface underfoot, whatever, easier to maintain, less of a commitment when they want to change things or move, already have a lot going on with patterns in the room. But - rugs can be more attention-getting than the norm. There are many multi-colored and vivid and beautiful designs. Would you feel safer or more correct in designing a room around that pattern if it were curtains or wallpaper or upholstery?

I don't think it's 80s. Just mind the rest of your decor isn't that "modern" streamlined oak, brass/glass, geese with bonnets, er.. it's a little tangential. Depart from any notion that you're in the 80s and the rug isn't going to betray you. It's a pretty pattern. Measure, make a template out of newpapers, and don't have it floating out apart from things and too small. Hope you have fantastic results and looking forward to the pics!

I love her rugs and don't see 80s in that at all. I agree that a rug can be a great starting point to designing a room.
I do have a question if anyone knows the answer... why aren't any of the online retailers selling her rugs anymore? I have the kenga (red) rug and mammy (grey/white) and bought mine through designpublic.com. I noticed that none of the etailers carry them anymore. What's up?

I kind of think the Seaglass rug looks 80's. I vote for the other one, the colors are more unusual and vibrant.

The rug is not at all characteristic of 80's style, but even if it were, that wouldn't *necessarily* be a bad thing in my books -- as long as I liked the piece and it worked with the overall design scheme that I had in mind.

For example, I like modern pieces, irrespective of when those pieces were produced, like this rug. The thing that binds modern design is that the designer (to some degree) broke away from the traditional design orthodoxy of the time, and this sort of forward-thinking persists whether the piece was made in the 30's, 60's or 80's. I think this can be just as coherent as sticking with strict chronology (ALL MCM for example) and it has the benefit of being more unique and original if done right. IMO, it's the *relationship* of various pieces that counts, not their date of design. For example, two pieces separated by decades may work perfectly together, and two pieces designed in the same era might clash in terms of form, scale, color, etc.

Choose pieces you love, find relationships between pieces that work, and you'll be in good shape.

turtleesq and I must be twins! I, too, have the Islands rug in midnight. I had been waiting and waiting for it and you better believe that when it (finally) came home with me, I absolutely designed the room around it. I have mostly neutral furniture, but do have a lot of things with texture. They don't compete, just compliment.

I love the ocean rug, I plan on getting the runner for my entrance hall (I live in a studio and I love the idea of the entrance way saying "Now leaving the world, entering your island retreat"...also I have a pirate mural on the closet...don't judge)

I think getting something you LOVE is never a mistake, its always those super pratical pruchases (for me, a massive solid black rug to meet the co-op's 80% of the floor covered requirement) that make you groan later.

The seaglass doesn'y look 80s to me, but then again I only lived through 4 years of the 80s...Both look rich and lovely. Go with your gut on which one you will adore more and design the whole space around it. Just invest in a good vacuum cleaner ;)

Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments. They were very helpful. I think I'm going to go with Ocean. Maybe I should post some pictures of the room for some additional help.

I have two Angela Adams rugs, and one is the Ocean in the sand colorway. We did design our living room around it, and we're very happy with it. Doesn't look 80s at all. We used the Kagan velero loveseat in a bone leather and 2 vintage Baughman club chairs (eBay) upholstered in the blue from the rug, with a chrome and glass-top coffee table, and a George Nelson walnut chest in the corner (our big splurge). Go for it.

lovemcm, do you have any pictures?

I hope you post pictures of your room when you're done!

I think both of the rugs are sensational and you should definitely do them the justice of designing your room around them.