Becolorful

Motivated Monday June 27th - Painted Furniture Love

This is one of the pieces I have been working on lately.

It is almost finished.

I'm just waiting for the client to tell me what she would like on the plaque.

A significant date?

A monogram?

A quote?

I'll bring it back and show you how it turns out.

This is how she began

 

and how she looked part way through.

 

Today she is a flowers, quatrefoil and leopard embellished statement piece.

This client is so easy to work with.

She told what she liked after looking at other projects I had done and then gave me a free hand.

Got to love that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BeColorful piece to be sure.

I am a avid fan of color and pattern.

I like the unexpected.

This week on Motivated Monday there were so many great creative links for everything from carved fruit to tutus and I loved them all but there were also numerous painted furniture projects. I thought they tied in nicely with my post tonight so I decided it would be a natural fit to showcase them.

I wanted to share a few of them with you in case you missed them.

Another fan of the unedited style is my blogger bud, Mary, at

The Decorative Paintbrush.

Those legs just made me so envious that I didn't think of them first. :)

Her work here is flawless

and those colors are fabuloso.

Lately, though, I have been drawn to these more subtly painted pieces.

Subtle but something other that black or white.

I thought this gray thrift find number of Lindsay's looked sophisticated and cool in its chic gray coat.

Living With Lindsay

I have loved Linsday's blog for like .... ever. :O

 

Another take on painted furniture that I am drawn to are these bright colors on an accent piece.

Did you see this one from

Eclectic Nut?

Yellow is really a great neutral but can give a room that unexpected punch it has been lacking.

 

As a lover of adirondack chairs I thought this post was especially fun over at

Making It Homey

Two projects - one post.

Love her colors.

 

Sometimes we debate if we should paint.

Carol Anne is wrestling with herself over just that issue.

She has these chairs that she inherited but needs that push of motivation.

They are pretty but she is looking for something fresh and bright.

Stop over by

Use the Good Dishes 

and encourage her why don't you.

I will be linking this post to these few sites. Find more great creativity there.

 

 

Thank you to every body that linked up last week.

Looking forward to your most recent inspirations.

This week there were several links back to the blog's home page instead of the post.

Please remember to link back to your post.

And now...

Motivated Monday

 

Pillow of the Week # 50 The Audience Pillow

Sassy and Whimsical 

The Audience Pillow

Love it.

Want to own it.

For under 20 green backs?

I just might.

:)

You too?

You can find it here.

xoxo

P

Has It Really Been A Year? My Living Room Update

Hey, check me out.

It's my first inspiration board.

I made it on Olioboard.

It is a collection of things I have,

things I have ordered,

and things that represent elements that I could eventually see in my updated living room.

Some of you were so kind to say such glowing things about our living room in its "Before" outfit.

Thank you for that, but our living room really hasn't represented who we are for quite some time now and I have been itching to change it up.

Our home will soon be 100 years old and I think that is an important fact to consider when choosing a new look for this space. I want it to look fresh and chic but I believe it should also reflect the character of the house.

Slip covered farmhouse is too casual.

CB2 is too contemporary.

I am looking for modern traditional with a nod to that Hollywood glamour of the 1940's to 1960's.

 

It was hard to say adios to pieces that I had invested too much money on and that were  a bit too formal and stuffy for who we are now.

 

At first I tried to buy myself some time by changing up some smaller elements like lamps and accessories, but I still wasn't happy.

When that didn't work I finally took the plunge and last July I ordered new draperies.

Has it really been almost a year?

I

I don't know how many more years we will live in this house.

Maybe five. Maybe twenty-five but I knew when I started this project that this time I would wisely choose a window treatment that was more versatile.

My valences were my wow factor last time around and I have learned not to make one of the most expensive things in the room so style specific.

I am a apparently a fickle woman.

:) 

So with the draperies on order, I hired a painter.

I said goodbye to the yellow walls and welcomed in a soft shade of cream that was very close to the drapery fabric.

A lot of the comments left on previous posts about this room's

update have been concerned that I, a major color evangelist, am turning into a sheep and I am blindly joining the white room groupies.

Fear not loved ones.

:)

Color will always always always be my favorite decorating tool.

I do love all those white and neutral rooms though and white is  a color I haven't used before.

 I wanted to give it a whirl -

but with the BeColorful spin on it.

Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?

Maybe it is but I hope not.

 

So even though the walls and window treatments are monochromatic neutrals,

I decided to edge things up a bit by changing out the ceiling from white to a

copper metallic.

 

Before

 

After

Black would be my other color here.

Black is great for drama. Don't you agree?

 

I was pleased with how the draperies turned out and I love how they

puddle on the floor

 

Then the realization hit me.

Except for the piano, I didn't want to bring any of my furniture back in to the room.

I had to bring it back in though. At least for awhile.

 

Life was busy.

 We got through the holidays.

We watched our son move to Japan.

I had The Traveling Door market in May.

Finally my thoughts returned to this space.

I sold five rugs and my end tables.

I had to do something now.

Immediately after dropping James off at the airport and watching him desert us to go half way across the world,

I alleviated  my sorrows with a bit of retail therapy.

I marched myself over to Crate and Barrel and ordered this Nines Sofa.

It did help a little bit.

:)

 

I thought about ordering it in the cream but I envisioned the chairs in cream and cream, like white, has limitless variations.

Pinky creams. Yellow creams. Brown creams.

Pewter, I thought would be easier.

There was a chair available in this same group but I don't do the matchy thing.

How hard can it be to find chairs?

How foolish I was.

After the sofa arrived I decided that I would tackle the rugs next.

You can read all about that here.

In the end, though, I didn't choose any of the rugs I had considered.

I really wanted black and white. That much I knew.

My first choice for this room was a black and white stripe but let's just say I couldn't find one that was appropriate here.

I thought about a chevron then talked myself out of it.

I almost went with black and white zebra or as Martyn Lawerence Bullard would say,

"Zeb-rah".

:)

I decided to get some feedback from my big guy. He almost always defers to me in this area but even though he was on board with the zebra I knew when I showed him this mid- century vibe rug from Phelan's Interiors, a spectacular local furniture store here in CR, that he liked it better.

I don't have the rug yet but here is a photo from my phone of how it looked in the store.

 

The photo doesn't do it justice.

The image of the black and white Thomas Paul runner in my inspiration board?

That will be in the foyer.

I can't wait.

More on that later.

Also at Phelan's I found this Thomasville cocktail table.

The circles make me think Hollywood Regency.

The table looks black here  and gold on my inspiration board but it is really kind of a coppery gold that should repeat the ceiling color nicely.

I found this other AMAZING table at Phelan's too called The Modern Man table.

 

Again, not a great picture but trust me. He is fabulous.

He reminds me of the Oscar statue - another nod to Hollywood Regency.

He is from a company called Global Views.

You have to love a store that brings in jewels like this.

In fact, there is so much to see at Phelan's that I almost missed him.

I was able to purchase him right off the floor so he should be here soon.

I can't wait to welcome him home.

 

Finally it was time to decide on the chairs.

I had sold the cranberry damask wing chairs when I decided not to bring the furniture back into the room.

Since then, I have filled in with dining and accent chairs.

I was ready to replace them with something permanent.

 

I loved these and they were my first choice but sometimes I need to be practical.

This was one of those times.

They were more money than I wanted to spend for this room but I was obsessed with them.

Realistically, though? These chairs will be in a room that is seldom used and I have bigger design fish to fry when we get ready to tackle two more bathrooms.

So I chose to go with two of these Alexandria chairs instead from Bernhardt Interiors.

I opened up my latest issue of Veranda magazine and there they were -

calling to me.

A cross between modern and traditional that I was looking for and they will be great with this mirrored chest ( also from Phelan's) to help me create that bit of glamour I would like to see in this room.

 

 

None of the pieces are here yet but you can bet I will be posting about their arrivals when the time comes.

After a whole year I am so excited to be finally pulling this room together. Even though we aren't there yet, it feels fabulous to have made these decisions and to be able to close my eyes at night and think about something else...

like,

hmmm.... Fuchsia or Raspberry for the dining room?

Who knew decorating could be so stressful?

:)

Poor Mike.

He likes to quote a cocktail napkin I used to have.

It read,

Behind every successful man is a woman that made it necessary.

:)

Thanks for visiting and listening.

I'm just so excited I had to share.

How about you sharing your design processes with me?

I'd love to hear about them.

Better yet, link them up to Motivated Monday here.

xoxo,

P

Linking up my design post here:

 

 

 

Discovering Who I Am

Once upon a time there was a living room that looked like this.

The Queen who lived here ( that would be me) loved it for years.

I created this space back in 1998 to 2000.

There was a lot of house to do and we couldn't do it all at once.

So it came together over the span of a couple of years.

This book probably had the greatest influence on me in the designing of this room.

 

 

Ms. Jackie. Now there was a woman that just oozed style.

What woman wouldn't want to emulate that?

I have been fascinated by her for years.

When I was in middle school I read Death of a President and saw her as the tragic heroine.

What can I say? I was a romantic twelve year old.

I wanted to be just like her and even took to wearing white gloves.

Really?

This was Viet Nam era.

I looked like a fashion freak.

You can imagine what my  tween peers thought.

My standing in the social hierarchy known as  

the middle school pecking order

nosedived and it took me years to rebound from my fall from grace.

:)

I made the same mistake twice.

Again,I was copying a look that had passed.

Again, it was Jackie.

I never thought to put my own spin on this look and update it.

Classic is good but a period piece should only be in the movies.

 

I know that to copy someone else's style is never a good idea.

 The problem was I didn't know what my style was.

 I thought of it as a static element.

I should have known better.

I started out wanting whatever my parents didn't have.

Ahhh, rebellion.

They were traditional.

So, in our first home I went ultra modern.

In a couple of years I was all about the whole country look.

Talk about extremes!

Most of the decorating updates I have done in the last five years been more of a midstream relaxed style with a bit of a contemporary edge thrown in for fun.

Still I wonder and ask myself

who am I design wise?

For one thing, like most of us, I know I am ever evolving.

What I love today will not represent me as well ten months or ten years from now.

The changes will be subtle but they will occur.

Knowing that, I now realize that even though I like nice things and I demand quality,

I don't want to be married to anything other than my husband.

I have spent too much on pieces in the past and I have lived to regret it.

This time I decided to set up a mental budget for myself and stick to it.

(or at least pretty close to it).

:)

It was easier than I thought it would be.

In this economy there are a lot of sales to take advantage of

and almost limitless new resources waiting to be discovered.

I also know that the room I am working on also influences my choices.

A home needs that flow but a surprise here and there can be a good thing.

 

About two years ago I started writing about the idea of updating our living room.

I even posted some images of looks that appealed to me back then.

I was seeing neutrals and slipcovers everywhere.

I thought this was where I wanted to go.

It is pretty, but the more I studied that image I knew it wasn't me.

I wanted something a bit more modern.

Modern?

Who was I becoming?

I am still drawn to those ceramic garden stools though.

Something like that will be sure to show up in my new space.

 

I often find images online that inspire me and I will make them my desktop photo for a week or two.

It helps me to focus on what I like and what is maybe just a passing fancy.

These were just a few of the photos that I used over the past two years. 

I thought it was interesting to look back and see how my direction has evolved as I slowly discovered what look I wanted and what would really work well in our house.

probably a bit too casual for this room.

 

I need smaller pieces and although I love the room that art work is distracting. 

Sorry Erik Roth.

 

 A bit of overkill on the zebra. 

Pun intended.

:0

 

 

Robert Stern

Elegant and tasteful but maybe a bit tame to keep me happy in the long run.

 

Hodgodon

 

 

So fun and definitely closer to where I want to go.

I knew I didn't want the slip covers but I loved the rug, the pillows and even that purple chair.

Perhaps I will have a purple pillow from time to time in my updated space.

A pillow can be changed out so much easier than a chair.

 

via Inspiring Interiors

 

I am attracted to the wood edged chairs and  the neutral creams and taupes in the larger aka expensive to replace pieces. 

There are elements in each one of these images that have brought me to where I am now but it is probably a combination of the last two photos that most accurately reflect who I am today.

I like the fun, whimsy and wow of the room with the chevron rug and the sophistication and clean lines of this last photo.

So who am I?

Diane, at Phelan's Interiors, my design muse, finally put me in a category.

She thinks I am Hollywood Regency.

I looked it up and she could be right.

There are definite elements in this  style venue that I am drawn to and I will be incorporating into this room.

For example, I would love to bring in this iconic touch from that period.

and a pop of this.

I don't want it to be too oppulent though.

I felt like the room was too formal before.

I don't want to do that again.

I am striving for a more comfortable, approachable luxe.

I have heard the term transitional thrown around.

That works for me too.

When push comes to shove though I would have to describe this latest landing place of mine as

modern traditional with a dash of whimsy thrown in and of course a splash of color grounded by my ever present black and white elements.

So that's me in a sentence and it only took me three apartments, one condo, eight houses and a now an update to figure that out.

Now that I have discovered who I am I am anxious to share what my design choices have been.

This post is getting way to long though.

I hope you will visit again this week and I take you though my missteps and design process. 

 

If you would like to link up to this week's Motivated Monday click here.

xoxo,

P

 

Motivated Monday June 20th

Can it already be Sunday night?

I haven't written a post all week and I promised so much last Sunday night.

I haven't been slacking.

It is just that I have had multiple projects going and everything is still a work in progress but nearing completion.

One thing I did accomplish is huge from my point of view.

I finally took the leap of faith and ordered my living room furniture.

That will be tomorrow's post.

It has been over a year since I started thinking and writing about updating our living room and it was clear back in September when we had the room painted and the new draperies hung.

Since then... nothing.

Until now. 

Let me just say that the image above is a hint of what is to come

and that I am very excited and feel really good about my choices.

More about that tomorrow though.

Let's move on to Motivated Monday.

Did you see some the awesomeness this past week?

Incredible.

 

For starters, how about this MacKenzie Child's inspired table from Forever Decorating?

Her artistry is jaw dropping.

I hope you will give her a visit.

 

 

Then there was this really handsome ottoman from Midwestern Sewing Girl.

It is her first make over project.

I hope to see more from her.

I don't know what I was more impressed by, her stylish creation or the photography.

Gorgeous.

 

It isn't all about decorating here at BeColorful though.

I love a good party and this Pinkalicious Party posted by

The Crafty Chicka  

took me back to my own birthday party planning days for our now not so little girl.

How cute is this?

The post is jam packed with fun Pink Themed ideas you definitely don't

want to miss.

 

Finally, there was this French Chic beauty from

Biljana Shabby. It looks like something right out of a European magazine.

Wow, right?

 

Again, I can't wait to bring you up to speed on what I've been up to but it is getting late and I wanted to be able to feature these fabulous links.

They are all just so impressive.

Now I can't wait to see what you have been creating this week.

Drum roll please....

 

Motivated Monday June 13

It's Motivated Monday!

This past week was a full and fun one.

I received some of these.

 

and this 

quad core bad girl.

I am so spoiled ( as it should be).

 

 

 I Watched my big guy get ready to leave for his first fishing trip -

to Manitoba no less.

 

 There were birthday lunches (plural) with my peeps

and an overnight get away to Galena with great friends.

It was a full week so I didn't finish any projects but this is what I've started on.

A cedar trunk that is flashing a bit of leopard print,

 this vanity chair that will be dressed with white hydrangeas 

 

 and a silver chest that seems to have a plan of its own.

 I also did a bit of shopping and think I finally found the solutions I have been looking for this too long neglected room and redo project.

The lamps on the floor and rug pad just aren't cutting it.

So...

 Stay tuned. I will have a lot to share in the coming week.

For now, though, it is Motivated Monday and I want to feature a few of the

oh- so- inspiring links from last week.

For starters, how about this show stopper "pink explosion" chest and dining room updo from Home Sweet Homemade.

It is worth the visit to follow Diane as she steps us through her room's metamorphosis.

 

Then there was this stunning stencil project with a great tutorial and stenciling hints at Creative Mamas.

 

Hmmmm. Where to do this? :)

Finally I was blown away by the cleverness and outcome of this

tie purse from Cut the Craft.

Isn't that a fun name for a blog?

Clever name, clever project.

People are definitely going to ask where you got a bag like that.

Love it.

 

Aren't you inspired?

What have you been up to?

I hope you will link it up here on this week's 

Motivated Monday.

Inside the Outside

 

Last week I found the time to watch

Lady Gaga

Inside the Outside.

Such an appropriate title.

I was riveted from the first frame by this fascinating,

controversial, and brilliant artist.

Too often we judge too quickly.

Her look is definitely jarring and her demeanor irreverent but that is only a fraction of the

equation that is 

Lady Gaga.

 

 Shocking? yes.

Vulgar? yes.

Artistic genius? Also yes.

This was an impressively insightful and moving interview with an extremely provocative singer/songwriter. An interview with compelling revelations of the compassionate, human and surprisingly traditional sides of this multi-layered artist.

As she spoke, poetry flowed.

I was so impressed that I grabbed a pen and began furiously writing down some of her most memorable thoughts.

These were among my favorites for their insight into the inside of this woman that is so often demonized by eyes that only look as far as her flamboyant outside.

 

On her musical roots -

"Don't spoon feed me The Beatles, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeplin and Elton John and expect me not to turn out this way".

 

"I would spend hours listening to music in front of the mirror in my mother's pearls. In her fake pearls. I didn't care what they were. I wasn't a little girl in that mirror. I was Whitney Houston in The Body Guard. I was Gloria Estefan on stage. I was whomever I wanted to be."

 

Explaining where her inspiration comes from -

"I always wanted to be a pop singer. I would work endlessly toward this experience with music, with song writing, with performance art.  (working toward) how I could bridge fashion, technology and pop culture into one performance and make it commercial... I never backed down."

 

On her fans -

"The fans changed my life. The fans are the thing you can't learn. They were the instrument in the music nobody taught me about.

 

On herself-

"I define my own fame.

I define my own existence.

I define my own identity.

I define my own beauty for myself.

No one can define who you are."

 

"I am a perpetual underdog".

 

On bullying -

"I think it didn't sink in with me, how bullying affected me until later. I knew that it affected me deeply but it wasn't until later that I realized how much it affected me and that it was still very present. It took me to know my fans and see similar struggles in them to access that wound in myself. The fans have been a key to my heart, unlocking things about myself I didn't want to hassle or deal with or address - that make me a "gooder" song writer".

 

On being Italian -

"I believe in ghosts and bad luck. I am Italian".

 

On her jacket -

"My leather jacket is like my Dorothy slippers".

 

On NYC, the city she refers to as her husband -

 

"All the neon signs popping out of the sky.

All the darkness  lifting into florescent colors.

                  All the dirt turning into gold dust and rainbows.

The way I see New York City?

It's so other worldly.

It's this neon Roy Liechtenstein look at life".

 

Inspired.

 

A short segment from

MTV's

Outside the Inside.

 

Fan or not, it is a fascinating peek into the vulnerable artist that is Lady Gaga.

xoxo,

P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby I'm Amazed

    If I had a baby

I would definitely have to have one of these.

I'm just sayin'...

Where was this when I was having babies?

I had to settle for Fisher Price.

I would design my kitchen around this saucy seat.

:)

My baby days are over

but baby I can still be amazed.

xoxo,

P 

BeColorful Color of the Week - Faded Lilac

 

Oh no she din't

Oh yes.

I did.

Once upon a time,

I pulled together a guest bedroom that I thought was beautiful.

I spent the better part of the last hour looking for a picture of it to share with you.

Well the only picture I could find of my lilac smashup was this over exposed pre-digital aged photo. I tried to photoshop it but it was beyond my editing abilities.

I remembered this room as pretty but when I finally found my one and only picture I realized it wasn't as pretty as I had remembered.

In fact it was really pretty damn hideous.

Mother of God what ever possessed me?

I can't believe I ever thought this was a good look.

 

 

 

 

 

Lace curtains? faux flowers? 

Wow.

I went all out.

I am now hanging my head in shame.

It almost looks Victorian and I despise Victorian.

So let me reassure you that room doesn't look anything like that today and

that is NOT what I am thinking of when I suggest this week's 

BeColorful Color of the Week...

California Paint's Faded Lilac.

 When I was thinking of this palest shade of lilac 

I was thinking of something soft, subtle and sophisticated like this -

 

Unknown

 

or this

 

Amanda Nesbit

 

 

Coastal Living

 

Dorothy Draper lilac chest

 

 
 via Master Class

 

 

Boca Grande

 

Decor Pad

 

 

 

House to Home

 

I love that striped tile.

I'll be keeping that in a Dream Designs Folder for sure.

So Palest Lilac, it doesn't have to be old and stuffy or Easter egg looking.

I think it can be very soothing and chic especially when paired with silvers, whites, and maybe a touch of black.

The trouble for me is that now I can't get that lilac disaster of mine out of my mind.

I like this color but after that rude awakening of design fail I think I will have to wait a few more years before I go there again.

xoxo,

P

Pillow of the Week # 49 and Another Motivated Monday

 

A Pillow of the Week With an Artistic Touch

This embroidered 24" square pillow is one head turning work of art.

I always think of throw pillows as a compliment to the room.

This one, though, is outstanding enough to make a statement all by itself.

A pillow as art!

Bloody brilliant!

These embroidered designs are also available as wall hangings

and they are gorgeous.

I could see one of them in Galena.

Where to find this 

unconventional sofa sass?

Right here.

Before you get too wrapped in that, though, don't forget to link up to this week's 

Motivated Monday.

Did you catch some of the jaw dropping creations from last week?

I was reminded that paint projects don't have to be wild and crazy to take your breath away.

I loved the subtle elegance of this chest of drawers from 

Conspicuous Style.

 

How great is that edging on the front of the drawers?

I told her this looks like something right out of some exclusive furniture boutique.

Gorgeous.

Then there was this post from

Creative Mind

These henna designs are just so intriguing.

 

I would love to learn more about this art form.

 

 

Finally, there was this great door submitted by 

Sunny over at Life in Rehab.

Sunny is a creating machine.

That door looks clear in the photo but actually it is reflecting because she spray painted it with the new mirrored looking glass paint from Krylon.

Inspired.

So how about you?

What have you been up to?

I hope you will share it here because it's that time.

Time for Motivated Monday.

I will also be linking up at BNOTP.

Join up there too.

More Pliner Love

  
 
 

Aren't they gorgeous?

The shoes,

not my legs.

When did I get so many age spots?

I'll call them freckles but really...

we know what they are.

: (

The shoes are Donald Pliner's.

Love them.

 The name for this sexy stiletto is Maddie

Even with that  extreme heel they are unbelievable comfortable and stable.

All those straps are made from a stretch fabric

and the small platform is recessed so I don't trip myself up.

 

 

 
 
 

 

I live in a smaller midwest city so I don't have a lot of immediate access to this line of shoes.

I do, though, have this great hook up at the Donald Pliner store in Vegas.

It is in The Forum Shops

If you are ever there be sure and ask for Joanna and tell her Pam sent you.

I got these beauties 1/2 off.

 

 

 
 
 

 

Gotta love that.

Thanks Joanna.

If you aren't going there anytime soon you can still check out their great sales

here.

Happy Shopping!

xoxo,

P

 

Listening to My Heart

 

She listened to her heart above all other voices.

unknown

 

I thought I would give the whole rug dilemma a rest 

 and write instead about this bright and bold jewelry box that I painted up last month for  The Traveling Door.

I found her all plain, brown, and forlorn at the G.W. 

I knew I could bring her back to life.

I got such great feedback on this obelisk that I had painted a few weeks earlier

 

 

that I decided to use a similar color scheme on this piece.

 

 

So here she is after the first few blocks of color.

 

 

In the past I have painted jewelry boxes in more neutral colors that would fit in almost any bedroom but I decided to throw caution to the wind on this one.

I would 

"Listen to my heart above all other voices"

Not only am I a fan of bright and bold hues but I also like to mix patterns when I create a painted piece. 

So, I blew this baby up with both...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, when ever possible, and if the right quote comes to mind, I like to add words to a piece.

I just think it makes it a bit more interesting.

I saw this quote somewhere and knew I wanted to use it.

I thought it worked here.

Thanks for visiting.

Have a colorful weekend and don't forget to listen to your heart.

To link up to this week's Motivated Monday click here.

xoxo,

P

I could use a little inspiration myself so I will be linking up my jewelry box and these fun parties and searching out other colorful painted pieces.

 

 

 

 

Chevron or Stripes?

It seems that selling my rugs was the easy part.

Deciding what to put in their place appears to be more challenging.

From the beginning I've known that I wanted to bring black and white into our living room.

The perfect way to begin to do this is with the rug.

The question is a chevron pattern?

or stripes?

I love them both.

I have found two chevron rugs I like but in two different price ranges.

Is the more expensive rug worth the price difference?

Both patterns are versatile.

A chevron is a bit busier but also maybe a bit dressier.

Initially I was thinking stripes but now I feel like Goldilocks looking for that striped rug that is just right.

The first one I found  that I liked was wool but the reviews said that the colors shed onto each other and that is not a look I want to deal with.

I like the look of a flat woven stripe

 

but,

these flat woven rugs apparently wrinkle up. Messy is also not a look I am fond of.

See the way the rug isn't lying flat in this advertisement?

 

 

Not for me.

Next I found a great braided style but my concern with this one is that it will look too casual.

I love that bold design though.

Thoughts?

I'd love some input.

My head is beginning to hurt from thinking about this so much.

We bought our home in less time than it has taken me to choose these damn rugs.

I had thought about using a damask like this in the foyer but I am having trouble finding one that I like in the length that I need.

Then again, maybe I could use this damask in the dining room instead of the leopard print that I was thinking of.

Then the leopard print idea could be moved to the foyer.

Oh the decisions, and it doesn't end there.

My mind is whirling.

After the rugs, I still need to find chairs, end tables, art, and accent pieces.

Don't think I'm complaining though because actually I love firing up these old decorating neurons.

I just wish I could do it for less $$$.

:)

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xoxo,

P