Maybe perfection is that elusive, unachievable thing that you’ll always be chasing in your home. Maybe it’s an ongoing process that evolves over time. This is a new philosophy for me – Usually I know what I like and what I don’t like. I either fall in love with something, or I don’t. But that’s just not the case with this new area rug.

Area Rug Rumble

We needed an area rug. It needed to handle high traffic, and we also wanted something to match the decor (mostly, the painting on the wall. Red, blue and brown.) There’s a whole story about the painting that we’ll share another time, if you haven’t heard it already. 😉 We wanted something a little abstract, but not too busy. And fourth, we wanted something in our price range.

 

 

Usually I sit on bigger decisions like a huge area rug, but apparently I didn’t want be to patient this time around. And now I’m paying for it. I’m not sure I loved any of the options. After getting this thing down, I don’t even know how to feel about it. What I do know is this: Area rugs are expensive. Really good rugs are really expensive. I think this is a good starter area rug and it fits our needs for the present.

Up Close vs Online

What I also know: The 30-day return window has come and gone…

It’s hard to tell from these photos, but the color looks different on the website than it does in person. It seems a little more muted and blue online, but up close it’s a vibrant aqua blue/green color. The painting on the wall is an an azure blue. You can tell they don’t match.

Joe l.o.v.e. loves it. I’m not even sure I like it. I’m in this wrestling with it phase. It’s at least been a good conversation piece. Mostly with me in my head every day… I really hope it grows on me.

 

The Contenders

After spending an evening scouring tons of websites and thousands of rugs, I narrowed my short list to a handful. I put a link to each below the photos. Let me know if you like any of our other options:

 

Nate Burkus Target Large Area Rug

Initially, this is the rug I planned to buy. Joe didn’t seem sold on it, and after pooling our Target gift cards and factoring in the sale price, it still came to $500ish. So that spurred my extensive search.

 

 

 

Target Area Rug #2

This was another option from Target. I liked it, but not as much as the first one. Maybe now you’re starting to get a sense of what I was looking for.

Deco Area Rug Wayfair

I really liked this one! The only problem was, it wasn’t in stock. So I kept it in the back of my mind, but proceed to find something in the meantime.

Valery Area Rug Wayfair

At this point, I was really loving the prices at Wayfair. I had checked out Joss & Main, west elm, and some of my other favorites. And of course I did my Pinterest research.

Catalina Checkered Area Rug Wayfair

Wayfair had it going on for me. It had the best selection, and by far the best prices. Plus, I had a 10% off code that came in the mail that very week. But this one was pretty boring. I was lost at sea in thousands of rugs. All starting to look the same.

Elegance Area Rug Wayfair

This was a variation on the last one, but had a little more movement. Still, not very abstract art. Oh man, I should have made this post and got opinions before hitting, “confirm purchase.”

Daybreak Area Rug Wayfair

This one looked a little too cowboy crazy, but I liked the way the colors bled together. Definitely a simple, yet visually interesting rug. Just a little too country-westernesque.

Aqua Mohawk Area Rug Wayfair

After exhaustive research (over a couple days), I found this wild card rug. At this point, I showed Joe all these options and told him I was ready to pull the trigger. He really liked this one! Probably because blue is his favorite color. Out of 432 reviews, the average rating was 4.7 stars! I’m actually only aware of this after the fact. A few of the reviews do warn that the color is different up close, but most people seem extremely happy with it.

I do like it from far away when the lights are dim, but in full light and up close, something about it just doesn’t do it for me. Not really much I can do about it now, but I’d love some opinions! All I can say is, when we remodel the basement, I’m choosing a really good rug 🙂

First Time Buying Confessions

Ok, I fessed up. It was my first time buying an area rug and I was a deer in the headlights. Have you ever rushed into a purchase? Or have you ever felt lukewarm about something, only to come to love it? Or maybe you learned something in the process. Let me know below.