Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Help with Rug Decisions

Well I wanted to have a happy post today where I showed off some new roller shades, living room rug, and possibly some shelving from Ikea. However, when Rob and I set off yesterday for the normal 2 hour drive up to Cincinnati we got jammed in horrible traffic. We left at 4pm and never reached Ikea by the time it closed at 9pm.  Seriously. At one point we did 6.5 miles in 2 hours. By 8:30pm we were still 40 mins away from Ikea if traffic had been flowing normally. If you know Cincinnati at all, we never made it across the river into Ohio. In total we spent 7 hours in the car yesterday. Rob and I about went bonkers with boredom. I was very upset about all of it. I really like Ikea trips and we both get excited about swedish meatballs so to get so close only to sit in traffic and watch as the hours ticked by on the clock was depressing.

Flipped car live cam picture... but more importantly, look at the roads! Pathetic.


Apparently there were several accidents, including a nasty 40 car pileup, another 30 car pileup and several semi jack knives. The annoying thing is that we only got 1/8 in. of snow. This winter has been dry so far so this was the first "snow" storm. It was ridiculous. Yes it was icy in patches and slick, but we're used to that kind of weather in the winter, you just drive slowly and carefully. People just lost their heads yesterday and decided to zoom about playing bumper car and ruined our plans and gas tank. Obviously I'm not bitter at all ;) So instead we decided to go a nearby B-Dubs and chow down on 24 Honey BBQ wings and badmouth Ohio drivers. Of course it took 45 mins to get another mile down the interstate to the actual exit!! It was yummy, but if you take into account the full tank of gas we wasted, those were some 'spensive wings!

So, since I have more time to make my rug decision, how about a little input from you all to help me decide?


As a reminder, here is the space where the rug will go once we put our new "wood" flooring down. The above picture shows the couch layout pre-hutch in the corner, and the bottom picture shows how it looks with the hutch.




Option 1. Flokati


Ikea has a 4'7" x 6'7" one for $79.99. I want this rug the most I think, hence why it's #1. I've read up on them and done a lot of research, I know they trap small objects in their fur and shed a bit at first. But we have no children and we don't own any dogs. It will be in our living room which we don't use all that often aside from entertaining. So there will be no food around it, no stickyness or little things falling into it. But, if something like that should happen, you can machine wash them on a wool cycle with woolite according to Apartment Therapy.


My Nana has one next to the bed in her basement that we slept in for months while we were waiting impatiently to get this house. We both loved how soft and squishy it was, and how warm it made our feet in the morning. Hers does not show dirt and is still sparkling white.  I've read that they can gray naturally over time but honestly that sounds even better to me than sparkling white does! But, if any of you have any horror stories, please share!

Option 2. Jute


Ikea Tarnby (link here) for $99.99. This is our second favorite. It is 5'11" x 8'2". So it's a bit bigger and $20 more. Fair trade really. I like the natural thick texture of jute, and Ikea's is nice and chunky, which is even better! My worries are that it is too big (the 5'11 is good, but the 8'2 will need to be tucked under a sofa to hide some of it). Plus, you can't machine wash jute. You can't do anything but spot clean it or flip it over to hide it. That worries me. But maybe it's so chunky you won't be able to tell?? Plus I've heard the chunky ikea one is not soft/comfy to walk on barefoot, that seems a bit wrong.


That's not a living room, but I got bored trying to find one I liked. :)


Anyhow, there is also option 3. 


The Ikea Erslev for $59.99 (link here). It's flatwoven 100% cotton. It is also 5'11" x 8'2". This is a banging steal. The only issue is that it's white (but it can be thrown in the washer and bleached, or scrubbed down with hydrogen peroxide) AND, the biggie, our Ikea usually doesn't have it in stock. It's hit or miss. Boo. I'm also worried that it's a bit bland. And that the white will get dirty so quickly and I'll be too lazy to bleach it every week so it'll just be all ugly and blah (the difference between this and the flokati is that the flokati is thicker and fluffy, so any mishaps don't look very obvious, so if I want to be lazy and not clean it for a while I can... whereas with this tight weave it'd be obvious it was dirty). 


It looks nice with wood tones though! 


So help a sista out and pitch in some opinions please! The fluffy wool rug (option #1), the chunky jute rug (option #2), or the cotton flat rug (option #3). This is the part where you imagine me in a sparkly dress Vanna White-ing it all. ;)

8 comments:

  1. I personally like option 3 best... but it's really about what'll work for you! My reasons, I DO have a dog & a messy husband who spills stuff a lot plus a so-MUDDY-you-sink-into-it backyard. #1 would get gross real fast in my house, but at your house it might be ok, sounds like you have experience with it. I wouldn't get #2 because of the concerns you mention, about it not being very soft, I want to be able to lay around on the floor on my rugs. I'd probably pick #3, but in grey or tan if they have it & get a really squishy rug pad to go under it. You could also paint it with stripes or chevron or whatever if you wanted!

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  2. Flokati! lovely for tired toes, lovely to look at lovely as a bit of affordable luxury. We have maltese wool (goat?) woven rugs which belonged to my parents so they are about 50 years old, go in the machine and are still good looking, and still feel good underfoot, they "go" with everything too. Being able to wash and maybe fluff up on low heat for a coupla minutes will help the flokati's looks. I also have a white/cream sheepskin rug by my bed, this is bliss on the toes too. Yup, Flokati.

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  3. Flotaki. We had one pre-baby and it was great. I LOVED the look of it and even though it did shed a bit, it was fine. It went bye bye once the baby arrived since there were fluids everywhere :)

    I think jute rugs look nice, but don't quite get the point since they aren't soft and cushy. The last one just looks like it will get dirty :)

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  4. I think you have totally made your decision already. Go with your gut on option #1. We just got a jute one for our dining area. I wouldn't recommend it for the living room...not comfy enough!

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  5. #1! Looks suuuuper comfy for floor snuggling/game playing =)

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  6. #1 all the way !!!!!
    It's not the most pratical but since you don't use the room that much, your sweetie is not a messy pig and you will only be serving clear liquids to your guests, why not????
    BTW, does your kitty have claws? If so you might find kitty "fluffing" the fur which would cause bald areas in the rug.
    That being said, I'd STILL pick #1.
    Vanessa

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  7. Definitely the flokati! I even have dogs & am not a good housekeeper but mine looks great - the pile does hide a lot. The other 2 will get stained right away & you won't be able to remove it, I'll bet.

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  8. As much as I love the look of the soft squishy rug, it will be very inviting for Loki to pee on. Especially if you get rid of his litterbox in the house. Cats love anything that resembles shag carpet :) So I would vote against that because I think he will ruin it. He could also chew on it, Murphy would eat it even though he isn't a dog.
    Just my $.02 :)
    Cary

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