Stepping in the Right Direction: Dining Room Transformation

Well after becoming somewhat dispirited about my lackluster dining room last week, I set out for HomeGoods for some inspirational changes.  Since it's the biggest missing item in the room, I started with the rug.  I generally find it works well to start with the largest (and often most expensive) items in the room when you are trying to decorate a space.  I already had furniture and curtains which definitely set the overall mood, but it was definitely missing warmth.

So, the first obvious step is to find a rug.  I considered a natural fiber but was a little concerned about the dog and red wine spills - we mostly use our dining room for dinner parties which sometimes go late into the night if you catch my drift...

So, I headed out to find a magic carpet to set the tone for the room.  Honestly, I never though I would find something on one trip to my favorite discount big box store - HomeGoods - but I did.  As I type this, I can practically hear my friends saying "Of course you found something on the first trip, Melissa!"  I looked at this one rug three different times while in the store and kept coming back to it.  I wasn't sure it was exactly what I wanted as far as pattern (I was NOT looking for an oriental) but it had the colors, fabric content (wool/poly blend for easy cleaning and durability), and it was relatively flat.  Plus, it was very reasonably priced for an 8x10 - only $249! Yes, it's probably exactly what everyone expected me to get, but I guess I do know my own style! 

I couldn't even wait for Jim to get home to put it down so I moved all of the furniture myself just to get the rug down to take this picture!

The center is chocolate brown and it has gold, olive and gray-blue in the swirling floral patterns.  It was a bit more traditional than I was planning on getting but I think it works well with the room and especially with the chair fabric and the curtains.  And, I found a great accent color in the process - blue.  It works really well against the gold/brown/neutral tones I already had going.  I think the intense blue/brown combo is a little trendy so I am going to keep the gold tones in the mix with the curtains and other accents.

That's not to say that I didn't debate about it all weekend and ask friends and total strangers off the street what they thought about the rug in the room.  I love to hear everyone's opinions but in the end it's my own that counts the most (sorry Jim).  In the end, it wasn't a huge investment for what it is and it does really work in the room, even if it's not what I originally had in mind.  So, I took the tags off.

One item to check off the list, several more to go but at least I feel like there's a direction now.  Stay tuned!