Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Or, "How I No Longer Have Rug Regret".

When we moved, a living room rug was in order since we went from carpet to hardwood floors. I was immediately drawn to a geometric, navy rug:



via Houzz

The only problem was, I couldn't find anything like this anywhere on the vast interwebs -- well, at least not anything in our price range. Overstock and Rugs USA turned up the best options in terms of modern patterns, but all the ones I loved came in every color but blue. I considered some other colors, but kept coming back to navy: a beige rug against a beige couch would be blah, a gray rug might clash, and a lot of other colors would mean changing out art and other accents that we wanted to continue to use.

Although it doesn't have a pattern, we were strongly considering this ombre rug after seeing it in person and both liking it, but we weren't ready to pull the $500 trigger yet.

Stalking rug websites again, I came across this similar rug (the positive reviews said it had several shades of vibrant blue) and decided to order it and be done with it.
While I still longed for something like my inspiration photos, we needed to get something in there, and I figured I could bring in those patterns through throw pillows. Plus, the price couldn't be beat.

And then it came, and it certainly had different shades of blue. Different shades of light blue and purplish blues, which isn't what I was going for and didn't exactly match the product photo. Whomp whomp.

I was having major rug regret. It wasn't going to be super cheap to ship back, but I really didn't want to spend that much on something I wasn't crazy about, even if it was cheap compared to most area rugs this size. I contacted customer support through a forum and they were nice enough to offer up a free shipping label, so we stuffed it in the Prius and hauled it to UPS.

Back at square one, I vowed never to buy something so big without seeing it in person first.

And then about a month later I was catching up on my Google Reader and came across a post on rugs and saw this Moroccan Trellis gorgeousness:

Hello pretty thing, you're exactly what I have been looking for over the last few months! How had I missed you?!

I looked back through some old pins and found that I had actually pinned it at the very beginning of my search because I liked the trellis pattern, but it didn't come in navy at the time.

Both of my main rug resources were selling it, but Rugs USA ended up winning out with their 40% off coupon code. (They always seem to be running at least 30% off, which is what is was at when I found the rug, but I waited a day or two and it ended up going to 40% off -- so hold out for that if you ever order from there!) It ended up being only $40 more than the original failed rug. Yes, I had vowed not to buy another one sight unseen, and I knew it was going to be around $50 to ship back if I didn't like it, but I decided to risk it.

And I love it.
J and Trixie seem to like it too, as well as this Boston Terrier we're dog-sitting. What a cutie!

The living room is almost finished! I really ought to post a house tour up here -- that will get me motivated to finish off what's left in the other rooms!

6 comments:

Sweet Simplicity said...

I LOVE the rug! It makes me want to change my living room color scheme to navy and purchase it!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous rug! I love the color and the print! :)

Jane Pelham said...

Hi Laura, LOVE your rug. I am currently thinking about buying this exact rug myself but like you, am reluctant to do so 'sight-unseen', particularly as I'm in Australia so shipping it back is not an option. Can you please tell me, the white trellis pattern - is it really white or is it more beige or off white or cream? Are you still happy with the rug? Is it soft under foot? And does it show up dirt or fluff? How is it to vacuum/clean/keep clean? I can be reached via email at princesspells@hotmail.com - I'd be extremely grateful for your comments or thoughts on this rug. :-) BIG thanks, Jane from Adelaide, Australia!

Unknown said...

Ahhhh, I love it! I'm searching for a geometric rug too, but my husband doesn't like flat weaves and wants something kinda soft.

The rug I want is about $1300 and I can't bring myself to spend it. I'd love to hear more about your rug, too!

Haley @ Cardigan Junkie

Lara {simply irresistible} said...

Love the new rug. It is perfect for that room. Navy is such a great color too.

Cara Kuhl said...

I loved reading through this experience, as we're also now on a rug hunt (puppy has chewed up our existing rug ~ ugh!), so this gave me the courage to order online as I've seen several I like but have been shy to pull the trigger on such a bit a site unseen purchase ~ thanks! :)