When we first began furnishing the other half of our living room, we were pretty much at a loss. We went through all sorts of configurations and options in the past year and half: window seats in the corners (which lasted about 6 months before we found a better use for them in our ping pong room)...the white lounge chair was stranded in the middle of a blue-and-white striped island for about 8 months...not to mention our somber navy drapes and stark white corner. All in all, this half of the living room was looking grim. However, thanks to many of your comments that were posted whenever we blogged about our home, we finally took action: The too-small blue-white striped rug has now been replaced...
Our biggest mistake with our old rug was that we simply considered the size of it (4' x 6') without factoring the scale of the stripes or how big our chair was. Looking back, a 4' x 6' rug would have worked in the corner if the rug design was more intricate and if the chair we had was smaller and less bulky.
When it finally came time (read: when it was on sale) to spring for the new rug, we decided to go up a size (6' x 9') and tie in more colors. The new rug now runs the same length of the white shag we currently have, and it ties in more of the reds and browns of our fireplace. The old rug is now in our small office where it...sort of...fits. Final verdict? We were really surprised by how much of a difference it makes getting the right size rug to fit our furniture--the room feels more unified, inviting, and cozy. Granted, there's a lot of stuff we'd like to change in the room (adding lamps and getting decent end tables is next on the list), but at the very least, we've been spending more time listening to music and reading books than parked in front of the TV.
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The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
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The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Tom Black Espadrille
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Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
Comments (13)
Very nice.
It's better - but I would have replaced the shag as well and gone with a room-sized rug that would tie the entire room together.
HAHA, I love your dog! Looks nice. You might consider making the frame above your couch a dark espresso/black. It would look like your coffee table.. dark item floating on a white/creme background. Have you tried rearranging your furniture? If it was me, I'd have the seating facing out the window.
Looks great. I like the repeat of the red color in the room - very unifying. --Tara
It doesn't look that different (sorry!). When I clicked on the post, I was expecting a new rug in a new size. Maybe the last picture illustrating the change could have been from a wider angle so we could appreciate it better. P.S. Herbie is adorable.
On a similar note, try using a long runner in front of your kitchen sink instead of a dinky little area rug--it makes a world of difference: http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2008/11/inspiration-go-big-with-kitchen-mats/
I would suggest trading in Herbie for a irish setter whose coat would add a punch of color and tie in the red. The tone on tone dog is over IMO.
Having the two different texture rugs is bothering me slightly. Go shag or go home!
I'd suggest pulling the striped rug closer to the corner with the shelves, flipping the chair so it's back is next to the shelves with the lamp behind it in the corner, with the chair facing the windows and the sofa.
If that doesn't mess up the traffic flow from the kitchen or whatever is beyond that space, anyway!
Then maybe put a plant in the window corner.
You've been given lots of advice but did you ask for it? I like your cat.
it looks too balanced...split and not cohesive.
i dunno, i would have anchored the lounge chair with a dark circular rug echoing the the round coffee table maybe? the two spaces feel very separate and the very different rugs underline that imho. your floors look great too, you could have left the chair on its own.
Herbie!! I save his last picture on the red sofa he got BIG.
I'm sorry, but I'm just not feelin' it.
And is that the *front door* over in the corner of the first pic? What happened to your entry? It seems odd to have a seating arrangement clumped together practically on top of the entry, and then have a solo chair on an overscaled rug in the "main" part of the living room. Sorry.