We’re doing a little bit of happy dance boogieing on our new rug, hence this post’s title. Yes, it’s like High School Musical over here, lots of dancing and occasionally there’s even some ballad-y singing about our feelings. Feel free to click play and get in on it.
Now that we’ve gotten through that little dance interlude, here’s the new rug:
Oh happy day, we love it.
Here’s a recent shot of the space without it for comparison.
Isn’t it amazing what a rug – even a neutral and “safe” jute one – can do to tie things together and add balance to a 15 x 16′ bedroom (15 x 21′ if you count the sink nook’s depth). Well, there’s more going on when it comes to bedroom cha-cha-cha-changes, but we’ll get to those in a bit. As for the rug, we’re loving the horizontal placement in the space (which still frees up 3 feet of hardwood flooring on each side and 6 feet of it between the foot of the rug and the wall – actually it’s 11′ between the foot of the rug and the sink nook), which makes for some great “flow.” Here’s a more rug-oriented shot so you can see some of the hardwood floor around it:
Placing it vertically in our room (since it’s a vertical space) was our first instinct, but before ordering it we taped it off on the floor in either orientation and realized that we liked having more rug on each side of the bed to step down on and balance things out. So wide-ways it went. Here’s a wide shot of the whole room for ya:
We left our ubiquitous faux sheepskin rugs on either side of the bed, just because there’s nothing better than stepping out of bed onto them in the morning. And visually we like that pop of white on each side to sort of triangulate with the feathery white light fixture to create even more balance. Yes, Dad The Math Teacher, I worked “triangulate” into a post. How many Best Daughter Ever points is that? Oh and see that fluffy middle cushion on the bed? Target. $12.
We’ve always been huge fans of jute and this rug is softer than any other that we’ve owned. And just as we suspected, we love the subtle nubby diamond pattern going on. Not too obvious and compete-y with the patterned duvet, but not too flat and blah like some of the other woven jute rugs that we looked at. And we’re so happy with the color too. Not too orange or tan (which might make it disappear right into our floor, which kinda of defeats the purpose of a big rug to balance the room out and tie things together in the first place).
Now back to those other tweaks going on in that we mentioned. At first we were averse to the idea of removing Ed the Bed‘s top slats, but after living with things for a bit and the arrival of our new rug we decided to play around and give it a go. What’s the worst that could happen? And what do you know, we love his little haircut of sorts. Sometimes it’s just nice to take a little off the top. Removing those slats does nothing to compromise the sturdiness of the bed (they can best be described as 100% decorative) and we like how it opened things up and allowed us to move our new light up a smidge since we no longer had to worry about the petals bumping into Ed’s top rail.
We’re loving these little switcheroos for now, but who knows what else will change (or un-change) as we add other stuff into the room. It’s definitely still in progress (to do: add some wall art, bring in an antique dresser, eventually upgrade our nightstands, possibly change the lamp shades, etc). Oh and we might add little finials to the top of each bed post, just for a more finished look. We’ll see. The best thing ever is that even after raising the light a bit it’s still visible in the mirror when our heads hit the pillow in bed (see that magic, along with my hubby’s socks here). It’s a New Years Eve Miracle I tell ya.
Oh and about the absence of the bench at the foot of the bed in all the pics above. Such a short dark bench under the light was making the room look a bit top-heavy and unbalanced, but the one we’d like to someday upgrade to would ideally be as long (or almost as long) as the bed. We just thought removing it for some pics might help you guys “see” past that awkwardly small brown rectangle in the room. But for now it’s still in here since it serves a nice little Burger-related function (he hops on and off of it to get into the much-taller-than-our-last-one bed). So here’s how the bedroom actually looks these days, bench and all:
To go back to our post title (ah full circle, it’s like an episode of Family Ties) we, uh huh, uh huh, really like the new rug. And as for Clara and Burger, they love it too. Oddly enough for semi similar reasons: traction for Burger and texture for Clara. She likes to pet it and “pinch” the nubs, and he loves to run circles around it (which he can never do on slippery wood floors). Ah sweet rug victory. There’s nothing like it.
And now, just for fun, we’ll leave you with a shot of the room as it looked a little over two months ago. It really feels a lot more like “our room” than it did back then.
Gotta love that Christmas tree in the background.
Suzanne says
Topless Ed…now I’m having a moment. HA
Margaret says
Looks great! It’s really coming along :) I’ve been in my house 7 months and we still don’t have a rug in our bedroom! We’ve been looking here and there but we can never agree on what we want. Also we don’t have a headboard and our ceiling light is really old so really this all equals a really unromantic bedroom :(
mike @ the lil house that could says
I’m falling for the ceiling light fixture!
How is Burger with rugs and what not?
YoungHouseLove says
He’s good. He loves to motor around on them since he gets more traction than on hardwoods, but we haven’t had any jute or wool casualties because of him (we usually stick to those materials because they’re so durable and easy-care).
xo,
s
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
The husband and I think alike, I was wondering the same thing scratch-wise. We have cats and I always worry that if we got a jute rug they would think it was a scratching post. So we try to stick to flat weave/low-pile/berber type rugs. I often wonder who owns who….
I noticed the bed difference right away and I was reading as fast as possible to get to the explaination! I do miss the top pieces a little but the light fixture does look great without them!
YoungHouseLove says
Does anyone with cats and jute have additional info for Rebecca and Mike? Burger’s claws are thicker and less pierce-y, so I’m not sure how cats + jute would do.
xo,
s
Sarah says
We have a circular jute rug that we purchased from Overstock under our kitchen table, and the cats seriously love that thing. We have a dog, too, who is totally fine with it but of course the cats treat it like a scratching post. So of course we are always doing the whole *clap clap!* “Viking, no scratching that!” and nudging them away from the rug…. seems like they will always love it since cats don’t tend to listen, ha.
mike @ the lil house that could says
Thanks Sarah!
I find it funny that you can teach dogs “No!” and they’ll always follow the command — you can also teach cats “No!” but 9 times out of 10 they won’t listen nor care that we’re standing there going, “No! Macky, no!”
Maggie Rose says
We have a cat and a loose-weave jute rug. She pays very little attention to it (actually she had way more fun wrestling with my antique wool rug, grrr). We even have a jute rope scratching post that she loves, but it doesn’t seem to transfer to the rug at all. Her claws can get stuck though if she’s feisty and running circles.
Leigh Anne says
I have a dog and a cat, and both could care less about our jute rug (we purchased the West Elm one a couple months ago). It helps that we have other scratching posts that our upright that I think our cat likes better anyway. As long as they have other options, I don’t think the rug would be that tempting.
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
My cat loves our regular old wool rug and has torn its’ hand-me-down self to shreds. It’s going to be trashed when we move, and I’m not sure what to get next. A jute rug or other?
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
We’ve actually noticed that the cheaper the rug, the more our cats like it. Which makes sense since their giant scratching post is covered in cheap carpeting (like the kind that leaves the crazy noticeable vacuum marks). So we normally try to go for things that are not as fluffy and appealing to scratch… though they’re completely unpredictable sometimes. We swore our one cat would be opening and closing the doors to our entertainment center constantly and he hasn’t touched it!
We recently got this Hemmet rug from Ikea and I think it’s pretty cat proof ::knock on wood!::::
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70152009
Sandye says
Regarding cats/rugs: I think you have to consider whether your cat is a horizontal or vertical scratcher. One of our cats (the vertically inclined) could care least what kind of rug we have, but we better have options available for scratching to keep her from the sides of our sofa and bed springs. The other cat, who only stratches on flat horizontal surfaces, takes out her anger on any type of carpet or rug so we avoid anything with loops, which alway seem to snag on her claws.
YoungHouseLove says
You just blew my mind Sandye! I have never had a cat (sad sniffle- I’m allergic) but I had no idea there were horizontal or vertical scratchers. So insanely interesting!
xo,
s
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
Very interesting! I guess I never thought of that because I’ve always had multiple cats and well, between 3 of them they seem to wreck every surface imaginable. One even chews paper so we can’t leave magazines out. We often feel like we run a zoo…but a very happy one :)
Thank you John & Sherry for hosting our little kitty discussion, it’s been very entertaining!
YoungHouseLove says
Our pleasure! Haha.
xo,
s
karen @ our slo house says
It’s beautiful. Love the texture, love the color, just love it.
The entire room is coming together so nicely.
p.s. I am so glad you’re not leaving the brown bench there — it really detracted from the look.
Emily says
Okay. So actually I’m replying to the comment above, which for some reason is not showing a reply option at the moment. We have a cat and have had zero problems with our cat using our jute rug as a scratching post.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for sharing that info! We wish there were reply buttons to every comment below the original top one, but the way our coding works it only allows people to click reply below the original comment- but it’ll thread your response at the bottom of the chain, so it hopefully all makes sense at the end!
xo,
s
Emily says
I had a moment, I think. I just didn’t scroll up far enough. Sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! It’s definitely confusing!
xo,
s
Elisa says
Loving the rug! And the removal of the top slates really does good things for your disco ball :D
LauraC says
Totally agree!
yellowrose says
love the fluffy white cushion :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah that’s from Target for $12!
xo,
s
DebInNYC says
Good Morning,
I love the rug and I must say my favorite part is Ed’s haircut! I think it make the light really pop!!!
Good call as usual!
Deb
Roshni says
Yes, I think that was the main criticism for poor ol’ light fixture… the fact that it was too close to the top slat and that the horizontal slat was actually visually impeding the effect of the light fixture! Glad you sorted it out but I’d love to see what modifications you have planned for the bed!
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
It’s all coming together nicely! Love to see the progress. Don’t know if you’ve ever blogged about this but what tips do you have for photographing your rooms? We’ve got a nice fancy cam but not sure about anything besides that. Tips for lighting, clearing clutter etc?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we clear clutter, shoot in A mode, remember to white balance, and just take a million pictures with different variations (with the lights on and off for example). Wish we had a big secret, but we just take lots of pics and choose the ones we like after we upload all of them, occasionally cropping and straightening in photoshop. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
debbie c says
Love the rug!! Don’t mind the bench at the foot of the bed either….have you considered recovering it? Where is that leather chair hiding these days? Would it fit over in the corner of the left side of the bed? Like the bed without the slats on the tops too and the finial idea would finish it off.
YoungHouseLove says
The leather chair is on the other side of the room. You can see that side here: https://www.younghouselove.com/look-how-domestic-my-wife-is/
As for recovering the bench, we just think it’s just too narrow, but we’re on the lookout for something a bit wider on the cheap. There’s no rush so we’re sure we’ll find something. I hope. Famous last words?
xo,
s
annabelvita says
I love it, can we get some day time pics sometime? I love the soft pattern of the rug.
I think switching up the bench will be great when that happens and I love that you’re playing around with Ed.
For the bench, I’d like the simple look of something like this: http://www.the-brick-house.com/2010/11/fence-bench.html – but maybe even simpler legs for your space (or maybe wood Xs if you ever move those night stands somewhere else)
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that’s gorgeous. Love the link! Ideally ours would have some sort of storage (you know we’re addicted to storage ottomans, right) but who the heck knows where we’ll actually end up!
xo,
s
Paige says
o.m.g I LOOOOOVE that link with the bench…it’s beautiful…I’m going to have to keep that in the back of my mind…maybe one day I’ll come across some reclaimed fence post’s of my own, ha!
Katie @ Domestiphobia.net says
Wow, I can’t get over how quickly you two can pull a room together! I know you’re not done yet, but yeesh! We’ve been in our place almost 4 years now, and we have yet to paint the master bedroom…
I’m loving yours so far!
Mary says
Moving the “New Year’s Eve Ball” up has totally made the difference for me!
I’m liking the room so much better!! In all these years of following you the lower hanging “NYEB” was the only, underscore only, thing that ever bothered me!
Glad we’re on the same page again! LOL!
Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog says
It’s interesting how adding a large rug makes the room look so much bigger (to me). Maybe it’s also the new height of the light? Either way, I’m loving the changes!
Lorie Smith says
It’s beautiful! I really love everything you’ve done to your house…so inspiring. Quick question, is the big, tall mirror in your bedroom attached to the wall in any way? Just curious how you did it if it is. Thanks!
Lorie
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we got an anchoring kit from Home Depot. It just screws into the mirror and into the wall with an anchor to baby-proof it. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tanya from dans-le-townhouse says
Ooo – love the splash of neutral. Great rug choice!
Jessica says
The new rug looks great, and I think bringing the light up a little was a great idea. Are you thinking of putting anything in the corner by the top of the bed? I have that weird not necessarily big enough for a piece of furniture but a little too big to leave blank space too…
YoungHouseLove says
We actually want to make a built-in something in that nook someday. Should be interesting…
xo,
s
L.Duncan says
Love it guys! I’ve been looking at that rug as well for my family room and was wondering if it was soft on bare feet. I do have a question; Will you be doing anything to the wood floors? Either refinishing or something? From the picture they look a little rustic, but you know pictures can be deceiving!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, rustic is a nice way to describe them. They’re actually stained and splintered, so we’d love to refinish them (and potentially stain them a richer mocha color to tie into the other hardwoods that we hope to refinish as well for some nice whole-house cohesion). Someday is the key word though, since it’s a huge job that we’ll definitely have to save up for and work up to.
xo,
s
Annabelvita says
My mum hired a belt sander for floorboards like these and then stained and sealed them herself. They look fab! (these were Victorian floorboards that had been carpeted for years and had all sorts of paint stains on.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- your mum is my hero!
xo,
s
Ashley says
I like the light soooo much better with Ed’s top rails removed! love it
Melody says
The room with the new rug looks really great! And I love Ed’s new haircut!
Vicky says
Ok, just so you can ramp up the happy dance another notch, I just went to PB.com to look at the rug–and it’s sold out! Your timing was perfect, congrats! I love when that happens.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s crazy! We’ve heard that it tends to sell out and come back, so many for those still looking for it there’s hope!
xo,
s
Erin Howard says
Love it! Removing the top part of the bed DID open up the room quite a bit! And I just LOOOOOVE that lamp over the bed. It’s so decorative and decadent! It’s perfect for a bedroom!
Lyndsay @ Mr. & Mrs. says
I love the way the rug looks! I have been loving the way the natural jute rugs look, but I was worried about them feeling too rough on the feet for a living room or bedroom. Glad to hear from yesterday’s post that the one you went with is softer than expected! I may need to pay them a visit :)
Hanna says
It looks awesome! I loved the slats on Ed the bed, but he definitely looks better in the room without them. He embraces the New Years Ball much more. :)
Crystal says
oh I really like the “bed haircut!” I loved the light when you put it up but could never stop thinking it looked awkward with those bed rails right there…so now I can say I really love it! =) (Unfortunately my hubby would NEVER go for such a light…oh well, this is why I live vicariously through you guys!!)
Laura says
I love the rug and I love that you took the top slates off Ed even more. It looks great with the new light. Adding some finials to the top of the bed posts is a great idea!
Carrie Klein says
Not sure if it was mentioned, but where and for how much did you purchase your new rug? I’m looking for something similar in an espresso color.
YoungHouseLove says
Just click the link at the top of those post, or scroll back one post to yesterday afternoon’s write-up all about it!
xo,
s
Karen says
Funny… yesterday, I was looking at the pics you posted of your new light fixture and was thinking that it would look better if you removed those top slats and raised the light a little bit. They seemed to detract from the impact that light makes in the room. I love it. I’m contemplating buying one of those lights myself, but I’m afraid it might be a bit much for my 12×12 bedroom.
Love that rug, it looks great.
Tash says
The walls are screaming out for art or something decorative. Love to see things coming together. I can’t wait to see a new dresser.
Allison says
Hi – I’m newish to reading the blog – where did you get the rug? And where did you get that fab ceiling fixture? Are your resources posted somewhere all together for a room? Loved stumbling on to your blog. I’m currently ripping off your kitchen design from your old house:)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Allison,
So glad you found us! As for the rug, we linked to the post about it in the first sentence of this post, so you can follow that link (or just scroll back one post since we talked about the rug yesterday afternoon). As for the ceiling fixture, we linked to that too (the words “light fixture” under the widest shot of the room lead to that post), but here’s that direct link for ya. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
The new rug looks great! The horizontal placement is definitely better than a vertical. This way, you might be able to create a little seating area and add another small rug.
Adrienne B says
Love it. Questions about the sheep skins on the floor- I really like the idea of having a soft fluffy landing in the morning, but how do you keep them clean? Just shake them out?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we shake ours out. And since they’re faux (from Ikea) they can actually be washed. Life changing.
xo,
s
Lori at wom-mom.com says
The room is really coming together! Love the rug…can’t wait to see more updates!
http://www.wom-mom.com
Meredith says
Love it!! So perfect/ But good grief! Stop including your “sink nook” in your dimensions of your room! You have an attached bathroom that doens’t have a door. An unconventional layout yes, but it is a bathroom sans door nonetheless. Most homes here don’t have bathroom doors. Just archways leading into the bathroom.
YoungHouseLove says
Just tossing in that info for those who ask about measurements – you’d be surprised how many times I have to break out the tape measure when I don’t include ’em! And for clarification, we actually do have a bathroom with a door – there’s just a toilet and a tub in there. The sink is in the corner of the bedroom across from the bed. You can see that side of the room here.
xo,
s
Dawn says
Meredith, I’m not sure where you live, but most houses that I’ve seen (I live in the southern U.S.) do have doors to the master bath. I like how Sherry gives both measurements, but I’m a math teacher so numbers make me happy. :)
Meredith says
Yes, you do have a door to your toilet/shower area, I get it. I just consider the whole master bath suite as the closet/sink/shower/toilet area. I have an arch that leads to sink area/tub/shower. Off that is the “water/toilet closet” and regular clothes closet. Each with a door. I just consider the bedroom ends at the arch and then the bathroom begins. It just strikes me as funny, that’s all, to include it as part of your room. Love Ed’s haircut. Love the lamps. Love the rug. Love the floors. Love it all. :-)
Stephanie @ A Life More Southern says
Yay, glad to see that it worked out so well. I think it grounds everything nicely :)
Also glad to see that you were able to move the light fixture up a bit…it seemed so low!
julie g. says
The room is looking fantastic and has such a great feel to it. I am still in awe at all the stir that light fixture has caused – taking the top of Ed completely changed it’s presence in the room and it is now perfect!!!
And since we all throw our two cents in, I like the bench at the foot of the bed. All of your espresso colored items help ground the other light and airy qualities.
Rock on YOUNGINS and P.S. Clara is looking more delicious by the day!
Wintry Mix says
The rug is awesome, but removing the top bars from the bed frame is easily the most dramatic change here for me. I LOVE the light now that it’s not being crowded by those bars. And although I thought I liked the bars by themselves before you got the new light, looking at the “before” pics now I’m struck by how much it looked like you were sleeping in a box. Taking them down was definitely the way to go IMHO!
Jill says
Lookin’ gooooood! I noticed Ed’s haircut right away (love it) and the idea to add finials to the posts! I’m happy dancin’ with you right now. Can’t wait to see more!
Erin S. says
Very pretty rug! We just decided on a horizontal rug placement for under our bed as well. Just curious . . . how much space is between the front edge of your nightstands and where the rug starts? I’m trying to figure out the best placement for that and couldn’t tell in your pics. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
There’s about 2′ of space between the rug and the wall behind the nightstands and about 5″ of space between the front of the nighstands and the rug. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erin S. says
Thanks for answering so quickly! :)
Kelly says
I love the rug! Your bedroom is coming together perfectly. I just bought a couple of Targets pillows in there garden/ outdoor section for $12.99. They are blue and green and have flowers on them. I love them :O) They had about 6 different patterns and even IKAT ones. I will have to see if they have the fluffy white ones- very pretty!
xo
Kelly
Elizabeth says
yay!!! I love the new rug and what you did to the bed! it totally makes the light fit in that space now. That bed totally needs finial though.
renee says
Forget triangulate, I give Sherry mega bonus points for using one of my fave words, ubiquitous!
Gorgeous room :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yessssss. I love mega bonus points.
xo,
s
Nicole says
Oooooh, your room is so glow-y all lit up. Great rug, but I just can’t stop looking at how much I love all the light the wall sconces throw. I must be part moth.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so that explains me too. I’m part moth!
xo,
s
bungalowbliss says
Yes, yes, yes. Love the “haircut,” the raised light, and the new rug. Beautiful!
Erica says
i don’t think the new years eve ball will be so polarizing anymore, now that the slats are removed. you brought everyone back on the same team – the john and sherry team! how lovely!
Lindsey says
Beautiful! Can you tell me about your floors – I love them! Did you install them yourself?
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, we inherited them with the house. But they’re reclaimed pine floor boards that are 8″ wide. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Holly says
Oooohhhh I like this rug!!! I am looking for something big like this in jute for our dining room. I am doing a rustic chic thing in there!!
This may be perfect…. well… depending on the price! I’m cheap ;)
Christy G. says
I HAVE to have that light fixture. Could you please give me the info on where to buy it, the cost, etc. Or the link where you talk about it. :) LOVVVEEEEE it! You two always find the coolest decor! Thank you!!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s that link for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/happy-new-year/
xo,
s
Paige says
wow—love love love everything.
the rug is awesome…aaaaaand I have a crush on your faux sheepskin rugs (Ikea, right?)…I want some for myself!
aaaaand I think Ed’s haircut looks perfect. I wasn’t sure about it at first–well, I didn’t even NOTICE it at first glance, ha! But I think it blends so much better with the light fixture. I was always pro-light, but it looks even better now.
p.s. I was on Ikea’s website yesterday just dreaming away…we’d like to upgrade to a king size bed because our boxer/lab mix tends to cramp up the Queen…I saw Ed the bed on there–he’s a great price!!! I was expecting him to be much more…makes me like him ever better…
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, isn’t Ed affordable?! And yup, those faux sheepskins are Ikea too. What would we do without Ikea?
xo,
s
Betsy says
Great job guys, it looks awesome!! I wanted to ask if you think a jute rug would work in a dining room (with th inevitable food and drink spills)? I’m in a similar situation where I’ve kind of maxed out on color and pattern so far in the room, but I think it still needs a rug. I love all of your posts! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve seen many a jute rug in the dining room (it’s probably one of the most common solutions since it can be vacuumed and repels stains like straw). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Rocky says
We bought a jute rug for our dining room a few months ago and love it! It’s easy to clean and the crumbs stick to it instead of fanning out over our wood floors. If there was a facebook “like” button here I’d be pressing it :)
However, we happen to have a “horizontal” and ” vertical” scratching cat and she claims the jute rug as her own. Luckily it has weathered her scratch attacks well and still looks great!
Krysta says
I Love the changes you have made in the bedroom!! The light ball looks mucho better hung higher up like that.I am trying to find a similar jute rug for my dining room in dark brown under $200. Anyone have any suggestions?
YoungHouseLove says
Anyone know of any dark brown jute rugs for under $200 for Krysta?
xo,
s