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If At First You Don’t Succeed: Part II

living-room-update-11

See Part I right here!

I couldn’t shake that something felt ‘off’ in our living room. We spend a lot of our time in there, rubbing the dogs’ bellies, marathon-ing our way through Netflix, brainstorming upcoming projects and, of course, lots and lots of lounging. At first, I felt like maybe things were a little cramped. When we first moved into this house, we thought this room was huuuge! And it was, well, compared to our former condo. So we did what anyone would do when faced with a so-called huge room; we brought in the longest couch we’ve ever owned and paired it with a 6′ wide coffee table. 6 feet! As it turns out, the room wasn’t quite as large as we initially thought, and things started feeling, I don’t know, tight? I told Scott that I was tired of side-shuffling between the table and couch. He agreed. A flip switched, and change was needed. Again, our house wasn’t working for us, and that’s not cool.

We sold the coffee table at our yard sale, and after loving it for far too long, we picked up this ottoman (best decision!) to fill the void. Eventually, we’ll get/make a smaller table, too. Things were looking up, but I admitted to Scott, I think it’s the rug. A while ago, we swapped out the bold, crazy Persian for an equally crazy spread we picked up from this a local vintage shop. (Oddly enough, I had a hard time finding a good photo of rug #2, but you can see it in this post.) Over time, I realized that ‘bold’ and ‘crazy’ wasn’t how I wanted the living room to feel, despite being drawn towards that style in inspiration photos. Confusing, right? Instead, I wanted calm. Quiet. Truth be told, Scott admitted he was never nuts about the second rug, and so he agreed to look at options as long as we could break even financially. Challenge accepted!

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We still have all the heart-eyes over our first rug, and we think it’ll eventually find its way into another bedroom. The second rug was listed online, and the buyer was excited to see how it would pair with her navy wall. Navy – we knew it had found a great home!

In the meantime, I had started rounding up neutral rugs online, pinning and saving images to show Scott. Finally – finally! – we landed on a grey overdyed rug from this eBay seller, and I was shocked when my best offer was accepted, which by the way, ended up fulfilling my promise to break even. Yeah! And my goodness, I am done rug swapping for a while. (PS: Living room sources are listed at the bottom of this post!)

Below, I’ve rounded up a big handful of options that were all considered. Some were wish listed and some were thisclose to making the cut (#11 and #18 found their way into my shopping cart on more than one occasion!). A good neutral rug should be a long-lasting backdrop to the every day, and we think any one of these could live up to that:

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1. Citra Rug // 2. Navy Herringbone Rug // 3. Dollop Rug  // 4. Honeycomb Rug // 5. Memphis Shag Rug // 6. Blurred Lines Rug

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7. Baxter Grey Wool Rug // 8. Kailee Printed Rug // 9. Raskmölle Rug // 10. Ellis Rug // 11. Sequence Indoor/Outdoor Rug // 12. Anastasia Rug

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13. Harper Denim Rug // 14. Chunky Wool & Jute Rug // 15. Hand Loomed Shine Rug  // 16. Mid-Century Heathered Basketweave Rug // 17. Citrine Rug // 18. Emilie Sweater Wool Rug*

*The Emilie Sweater rug sold out at least two times while we were considering it. If you’re thinking about it, it looks like it’s in stock again!

While our current rug was in transit, I might have worried about having too much grey on our first floor, but once it was in place, all those fears subsided. It’s quiet. It’s calm. Scott loves it; I love it. The most important critics though? They love it, too.

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LIVING ROOM SOURCE LIST:

wall color, living room: Benjamin Moore Intense White | wall color, nook: Benjamin Moore Narragansett Green | door color: Farrow & Ball Hague Blue | couch | chairs | vintage rug | curtains and brass rod | leather ottoman  | sconce | dinosaur art | X pillow | navy pillow  | pink pillow | faux fur pillowplanter | knitted ottoman | nook chair

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  • AnnMarie8.4.16 - 8:39 AM

    It does give the living room such a wonderful, relaxing vibe! And I’m dying for the ottoman.ReplyCancel

  • Bethany8.4.16 - 10:14 AM

    So cozy, and so PRETTY. Love it! I’m a newer follower of your blog and I just want to make myself right at home in your living room. <3 plus your pets seem very lovable.ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.4.16 - 10:21 AM

      They are the MOST lovable. So happy you found us!ReplyCancel

  • Lindsay8.4.16 - 11:26 AM

    What about the source for the side table?

    Also, I wasn’t a blog reader in 2014 so didn’t know you had that couch recovered yourself. LOVE everything about it. My husband has always wanted a chesterfield, and I’ve been thinking we need a navy couch…so basically what you guys have is exactly what we want :)ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.4.16 - 11:32 AM

      Hi, Lindsay! both of our side tables were found secondhand on Craigslist. We love them SO much, but they’re basically marble topped pedestal tables (the perfect height for the couch arms!). Definitely try a search in your area for ‘marble pedestal table.’ Good luck!ReplyCancel

  • Kristin8.4.16 - 9:08 PM

    I loved rug #2, but the room really loves the new rug. It really works with all the other spcea open to it. The entry tile looks killer with it as does your reading chair in the readig room behind the tv.ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.5.16 - 9:52 AM

      Good point. The entryway tile LOVES the new rug, too!ReplyCancel

  • Bernadette8.4.16 - 9:15 PM

    If anyone is considering the Baxter rug you linked, BUY IT! And get the thick padding for under it. Cushy happy feet goodness! I’ve had mine for 2+ years and it still looks brand new even with high traffic and being a doggie play space. When we moved, it was looking like we needed to buy a bigger rug (I have the 8×10), but I just couldn’t part with the Baxter and buying another of the same if seemed crazy, so we rearranged the furniture to make it work :)ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.5.16 - 9:53 AM

      Thanks for the feedback, and we couldn’t agree more! We have the Baxter rug in our bedroom with a thick rug pad, and my goodness. It is the best. There is the slightest variation in the coloring that doesn’t show up as well online. Even though we have one already, we were considering it for down in the living room, too! That’s how good it is. It’s such a GREAT rug!ReplyCancel

  • HMB8.5.16 - 6:47 AM

    Great blog related to living room decor!

    I also love decorating my home but also asked some ideas and advise from experts at https://www.helpmebuild.com/ReplyCancel

  • Dakwerken8.5.16 - 6:53 AM

    Wow! The room looks so pretty. Moreover the room has a very cozy and relaxing vibe.ReplyCancel

  • Sarah8.6.16 - 6:05 AM

    I think this post just saved us a lot of money. I’m also drawn to the crazy rugs in inspiration photos, but I’m really not sure I could wake up to it everyday. Thank you for sharing this!ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.9.16 - 9:40 AM

      Sometimes it takes us a few years to figure these things out! We love the vintage runners in our kitchen and bedroom, and we think the first Persian will look pretty in another bedroom upstairs, but it was just a bit too overwhelming in a room where we like to wind down. :)ReplyCancel

  • Grondwerken8.9.16 - 6:49 AM

    Wow! Looks amazing. Cool colors and a peaceful look. ReplyCancel

  • Daniel @ Manhattan Nest8.9.16 - 11:46 AM

    I KNEW something about you living room looked different! Which makes my whole Jack-jumped-up-and-my-iced-coffee-spilled-everywhere incident make me feel OH SO GREAT. I’M SORRY NEW RUG!!! But I think it survived unscathed somehow so I’m gonna forget it ever happened. Hugggssssss.ReplyCancel

    • Kim8.9.16 - 11:54 AM

      I completely forgot that even happened! Jack was extra careful to make sure it only spilled on the floor so he could get every last sip. Come back!!ReplyCancel

  • Ash9.7.16 - 6:14 AM

    Another nice rug choice guys.
    If you need any others, please reach out to me at https://sfrugs.comReplyCancel

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We’re Kim + Scott, Chicago based content creators behind the Home + Lifestyle brand Yellow Brick Home.

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