There’s something about being nearly a year into living here that makes it feel like we’ve accomplished a fair amount of “evolution” over the last 357 days (not that I’m counting…). I guess it’s because living somewhere for a month isn’t really a lot of time for tweak-age, but twelve of those in a row – well, it’s enough time to get things going. Like living with a floor plan for 11 months (just to be suuuuure) and then knocking out a wall that we’ve wanted gone from day one:
It’s also enough time to make a few furniture and accessory changes as we transition from working with what we have (like random stuff carried over from our first house) and first-instinct choices to a few more thought-out decisions. Yup, these things apparently take time – at least in our experience (remember this post on that subject?). So here’s the story about a pretty sizeable three-fer tweak of epic rug, ottoman, and chair proportions.
We haven’t made any major furniture/accessory purchases since the just-moved-in phase when we got our sectional, our first rug, our bed, and our big dining room table. Then we went on a building/DIY kick for the next almost-year (making our $104 console table and our $124 wall-to-wall double desk and saving nearly 4K by laying our own stone patio and getting a ton of estimates to save 3K on our kitchen wall-opening). We’ve mostly just been picking up super inexpensive secondhand furnishings since moving in (like our $35 desk chairs, $25 dining chairs, and four secondhand kitchen cabinets for our in-progress remodel for under $100).
So after many months of building up the savings account and waiting for things that we loved to come along, it felt nice to actually buy them. And since we had some “store credit” towards Joss & Main from curating a sale with them as a side gig (more on that here), we loved that we could put that towards our living room tweaks, especially because it’s one of our most used rooms, so we’ll definitely notice and appreciate it. But now onto what we tweaked and why…
For the last almost-year we have loved our fluffy green shag rug (it was great for a wiggly crawling baby and a wobbly toddler – and was so thick and inviting that many an adult found themselves sitting/lying on the floor). But there are a few issues that have popped up as Clara has grown.
# 1. Let’s just say that finding milk dripped and goldfish or cheerios crushed into our plush rug was less than pleasing. Yes, we’re one of those casual families who doesn’t have a no-food-in-the-living-room rule (I mean, peanut butter & jelly or a bagel with cream cheese isn’t living-room approved, but dry crackers and a sippy cup of milk are). That’s just how we both grew up and we really appreciate the this-house-is-not-a-museum vibe, so we plan to keep it that way. And although vacuuming or a bit of scrubbing (for spilled milk) got ‘er done (and Burger was awesome about hunting down the occasional goldfish before we even knew it’d gone missing) the rug was still a bit higher maintenance than a lower pile one would be now that we have an energetic toddler.
#2. The size. In our first house both our living room and den rugs were just 5 x 8′ since the rooms there were so small. So although we knew that our new living room was much larger, somehow an 8 x 11’ rug sounded like it had to be big enough for our 25 foot long room. Well… try as we might to “adjust” to it, it always felt a little small (we’re definitely still learning how to decorate a larger space). Like our giant sectional was just baaaarely contained on the boundaries of the rug:
So when I saw this giant (10 x 14!) 100% wool rug for $599 (down from $798) on Joss & Main I got excited. And nervous. That’s not exactly peanuts around here. But it’s a huge rug – and rugs that size that we like are usually 1-2K (which made me fake ugly-cry on at least three occasions). It almost felt impossible to find something extra large, low pile, and our style that didn’t end in three zeros. So $599 started to sound pretty good. At least good enough to contemplate for a little while.
After mulling it over for a few hours, I decided to show John to see what he thought (we have a full agreement agreement, so we don’t buy anything that we don’t both love). That way if he nixed it I could just close the window and stop thinking about it. But when I went to show it to John, he had it up on his screen (he also gets Joss & Main alerts and had clicked on that rug and left it open on his computer to “talk to me about it” a little later). Crazy, huh? We were both secretly mulling over the same rug. It was meant to be. So we gritted our teeth and put in our order. I’m not going to say that we didn’t have sweaty palms, but we went for it.
Since we’d been temporarily using a too-small placeholder-ottoman that didn’t have storage which used to reside in our first bedroom as a side table, we also found ourselves pining after this big tufted leather storage ottoman. Again, it’s not exactly a cheap addition to the room. At all. But nearly fourteen cubic feet of additional hidden storage was a huge draw (it’s almost 3 x 3 x 1.5 with an easy-open hinged top). Of course we also appreciated that it’s a correctly-sized counterpart to our giant sectional (as opposed to looking like a too-small donut hole) and that it isn’t hard and pointy for little toddler heads (but can be used for serving food & drinks with the addition of a nice big tray). Yup, she’s versatile. And we never could have sprung for it at 900 beans, but at over $500 off… well…
And then somehow this $169 chair (down from$339) said “how you doin’?”…
…which was especially convenient since the parson’s chair that we purchased for $70 from Target about four years ago was looking a little rough due to tons of use which led to one side of the faux-leather cracking so it looked like this:
So we waited patiently at the door for everything to arrive, pausing only to eat, sleep, change the baby, work on the kitchen, and blog. When everything arrived pretty much at the same time, it was sorta like Christmas. Literally, it kind of was (we declared these items to be our Christmas gifts to each other for last year, this year, and next year). Psst- pardon the rug wiggles, we still need to get a rug pad. And as for the art swap, I meant to blog about that a while back. It’s actually extra burlap-ish fabric that I used instead of the colorful paper. I love that it has more texture and doesn’t compete with the bright pillows and accessories.
Spending that kind of money on a rug and ottoman was definitely not a drop in the bucket for cheap-os like us. Heck even $169 for a chair isn’t usually our MO (we’re no strangers to spending $20-35 on thrift store or craigslist chairs). But it did feel nice to add up the sale savings ($199 + $521 + $170 = a whopping $890!). And more importantly, since we’ve worked our buns off to DIY so many projects over the last 11 months it meant that we were able to save a pretty nice chunk of change, so our bank account was thankfully just fine with the living room spree (we don’t like to buy anything we can’t immediately pay off – more on that here).
Of course we’re hoping to reuse the old round ottoman and the old living room rug in other still-evolving spaces (you know we’re use-what-you-got fans) and we might even try slipcovering the faux-leather chair in some fun fabric for another spot as well. So we’ll have to keep you posted on those cha-cha-cha-changes too. Of course we still have about a million other working-with-what-we-have items going on, like the wrong sized rug in the office, a too-small TV and media cabinet in the living room (we hope to build a nice media center to balance out our chunky distressed console table) along with many completely-missing elements (like a large buffet/console table with art and a rug in the entryway off of the dining area and an entire playroom and sunroom that have yet to be tackled along with all of our bathrooms). But we’ll get there someday.
Knowing that our first house took us 4.5 years to complete is a great comfort to us, because it takes away the we-want-it-all-done-now pressure. These things take time. But we’re feeling really good with our one-year-in progress (see a lot of that here). How about you? Do you have a “magic number” of months or years after living somewhere when you finally start to feel more settled and “evolved” (after feeling around in the dark for a few months while you get your bearings)?
Psst- To anyone looking to purchase the rug, ottoman, or chair – Joss and Main has flash sales (only lasting a few days) so of course by the time we got this stuff in the mail and took pics they weren’t for sale anymore. But lots of their stuff can be found on wayfair.com (though it’s not usually as heavily discounted over there) or you can get on Joss & Main’s mailing list here (that’s an instant invite, so you don’t have to wait). Hope it helps!
Heather W says
Love the changes!! Just wanted to say though be careful of the tufted stool. I had a big one in my family room and the buttons kept getting pulled off or coming up. We were careful with it too. I think a couple of times my son may have laid on it and used his feet to scoot up or something and they ripped off. I had to call someone to come out each time to fix at $50 a pop. We recently sold it. Yours may be fine but just wanted to let you know. Thnx
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the warning Heather! We’ll definitely keep an eye out!
xo,
s
Ana Silva says
Love, love, love all the new changes! Man I am loving the new rug, ottoman and chair. Much more grown up too. I just love a 100% wool rug. SCORE!
Jenn says
Wow – so I like the room before, but the change is HUGE and now I LOVE it! That rug is fantastic, and that ottoman too. Those changes definitely made the room. The interest of the pattern on the floor is a nice addition, and I like the new art too. My current favorite color combo is apple green, teal and white, so I’m drooling over your color choices — they really pop.
Emily says
I’m a big fan of these upgrades! What posh looking furniture. I was never a big fan of the green rug. I think you said you had to see it in person, but it never appealed to me. (I like pretty much everything you do, so that was unusual!) These new pieces are gorgeous. Great choices! Will now have to go check out this company!
marissa says
fa-bu-lous!!!! the livingroom is lookin’ tres chic :) the rug is the perfect size and gives it the right punch of green.
Lesley says
This looks WAY better than before! (I am not a purple person) Now that you have had time in your house it’s easier to swap out too. I really like the frame wall change!
Jamie B. says
Just wanted to say I still love those blingy living room lamps, aaahhhh (that was a sigh of contentment). I think it’s the shape of them I like, besides the bling. I hope you don’t get tired of them any time soon.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, they’re keepers for sure!
xo,
s
Sarah says
Speaking of switching out items and changing minds, how is that couch holding up? Are you still loving it? Things you would do differently?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we still love the sofa! No complaints at all!
xo,
s
linda says
WOW! i absolutely L.O.V.E. the changes! the larger rug really anchors the room…. and that ottoman is to die for!
Cecelia says
Your new purchases add so much life and warmth to the room. They’re really worth the expense.
I must say that I love that picture of Clara traipsing around. I don’t know how you put her down. She’s too cute!
Jen says
I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything. All of the changes really polish things up {and it was already an awesome space!} I can only imagine how many magazines will be calling once you get that entertainment piece whipped up. It’s one of the best “real” family rooms I have ever seen. And that desk chair, ooh la la! I actually have been eying one similar and now you really make me want to take the plunge!
xoxo,
Jen
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks so much Jen… and everyone else. Your sweet comments have us grinning from ear to ear as we watch Glee on Karl and gaze lovingly at the ottoman/rug/chair. Love you all.
xo,
s
[email protected] says
MAJOR improvement! I love the new rug!! I hope you share some close-ups of the burlap-matted wall art, I am on a huge burlap kick!
Christina@Lessons of a Newlywed says
Oh dear S & J! You do this to me all the time! You tell me that you’ve changed something that I’ve already fallen in love with (like in this case, your living room). And I think to myself, there is no way that whatever changes were made could make it look any better. And then you show me the ‘after’ pictures and I think to myself, “Wow! That looks amazing! So much better!” Every time. Thanks for sharing, it looks amazing!!!
gemma@thesweetestdigs says
amazing! i adore the changes. Even the switch up in the frames makes the room look more polished. great work!
April T says
So when are you going to get a bigger TV? That thing looks more like a computer now. HeHe
Seriously though, I actually loved the pictures with the colored backdrops, but gotta say the burlap actually does look better. Who woulda thought? And the rug and ottoman are perfet fits. Love it! Nicely done, guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I keep telling John we need a new TV yesterday, and he keeps saying we should wait for sales. Sad we didn’t jump on any good black friday ones. Maybe after Christmas ones? Or spring madness sales?
xo,
s
Laura says
Don’t fret, my pets. The best TV sales of the entire year happen around the Superbowl (late January/early February)!
YoungHouseLove says
So great to know! Thanks!
xo,
s
Joanna May says
LOVE the new rug – I wasn’t as big of a fan of the old one, but this is so posh!
Kristi W. says
Awesome new stuff! You guys make smart, well-thought out choices, and I think you will get a lot of use out of your new items. Plus you can keep the old rug and ottoman to swap in when you want a change (other rooms or this one). I find that having options making home-ownership so much better! I had one quick question/idea. Have you ever thought about shifting your furniture arrangement in this room to define a smaller (read: more cozy) living space? I know, I know, that seems counter intuitive to having a big open floor plan and defeats the purpose of a huge sprawling room. But I was just thinking it might be interesting if you moved the couch 90 degrees from where it is now, and then hung the TV on the wall (where the little desk and chair is now). I am not sure if it would close things off or not, but I would be curious to see! Then you can showcase your beautiful console table even more, and maybe do something fun on the other side of the room. I am not certain about scale or how it would work, but curious if you have thought about it or if it would work! As always, keep up the good work. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Fun idea! Sadly the room is a log longer than it is wide, so shifting the sofa 90 degrees would basically leave no room to walk on either side of it (yes it’s as wide as the skinny side of the room- haha). Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s
Katie Truelove says
All three seem like great deals but I really really love the rug– that pattern is beautiful!
CATHY says
wonderful! the room is so polished, fun, kid-friendly, and of course adult-worthy!
its spectacular! it looks fabulous! congrats on pulling it together soooooooooooo pefectly! LOVE IT!!
CATHY says
PS. WHATS THE NAME OF THE NEW RUG?(NOW THAT KERMITS BEEN REPLACED)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, not sure. Maybe Erica? Sounds right since she’s angular and cool.
xo,
s
Angela says
Oh gosh, guys.. I am crazy about ALL of this, especially the rug. I am one of those (I hope I’m not alone!) crazy, flip-flop people when it comes to style.. traditional/contemporary..? My husband is all about sleek lines and modern decor, and although the kids like “cozy” (and DO eat in the living room quite often :)) they think my traditional choices are very “old lady”.
I love the new look in the living room and I can’t WAIT to see your kitchen take shape!!
Kelly says
I’m new to your (fantastic) blog and am IN. LOVE. with your living room…may I ask where you got that fantastic sectional?
YoungHouseLove says
That’s the Karlstad sectional from Ikea! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Ilissa says
You went from college dorm room to living room:)
Bryan says
$herdog, my wife and I have been looking for either one large rug or two smaller rugs for our bedroom, but couldn’t find anything: 1) that we both liked, or 2) was in our budget.
I’d seen your rug online before, but seeing it “live” in your photo sealed the deal. I showed it to my wife and we pulled the trigger and bought it in an 8 x 10 from Overstock tonight! We got one of the last three, boo-ya.
Your chair is pretty sweet too. Safavieh makes great stuff, and luckily it goes on sale quite often on daily deal sites like Joss & Main and on Overstock.
Keep up the good work!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, congrats! Good luck with your new rug!
xo,
s
Samantha says
I have always loved your living room but WOW did you guys outdo yourselves!! It’s even MORE amazing now!! That rug and ottoman… SO. PERFECT!!!!
jennie says
wow, the bigger rug and ottoman make the whole room pop instantly. love the changes!
Andrea says
Ah, I was just thinking about a Dhurrie rug for our family room… was very tempted by that same Joss and Main sale! It looks great in your room and will be so more practical than ol’ Kermit.
I have to also add that I admire not only the work you do on your home but also your attention to to the blog… you are so kind to provide individual answers to our many questions (even when we ask the same one multiple times!!). Thank you!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw shucks, you’re welcome. I just love to chat. Haha.
xo,
s
Holly says
The room looks fabulous! I am in love with that rug!
jana says
Great choices, as usual. I have a too small rug situation of my own I am hoping to remedy soon. It is amazing how the “just right” proportion can alter the whole look of the room.
Kathy says
I especially love the white storage ottomon! Beautiful! I’m starting to picture a large white entertainment wall to coordinate.
Lindsey @ A Pear to Remember says
I saw the price tag, and I was nervous for you. Then I saw the result and verified YOU ARE SIMPLY BRILLIANT.
love,
a fan in Burke
Jen says
LOVE the changes! The bigger rug fits so much better, and adds a note of sophistication without making the room uncomfortably formal. Ditto for the ottoman. As far as I can see, your money was very well-spent!
Sara says
This post made me so happy. You deserve a splurge, and even your splurges are bargains!
kaytie says
YES! I love these changes, it’s amazing what a few tweaks can do, I feel like the rug, ottoman and burlap pictures have really brought everything together. I’m lovin’ it!
Meaghan says
ooh, ooh, ooh!!! lOoOoOoOoOoOve the new rug- the size, the color, the pattern! it’s radical. :)
great find!
Alyssa says
Bawwww! You don’t have to justify to us your little splurge to sessy-fy your living room. Looks fantastic! A rug with the right proportions REALLY polishes up a living area. The hunt for my own 8×10 continues…
Carla Runs The World says
Have you guys thought of using square black & white family pictures instead of the burlap art/paper squares on the frames? You know, some of you, some of Clara, some of burger, some of other family members… Not a whole family shot, but more closer portrait-like pictures. I think the black and white would look awesome with the colors you already have there.
And on another subject, you guys probably already read Catalog Living, but I saw your white piggy charger and knew it had been featured there — I was too lazy to search for it before, but as I was already leaving a comment, I figured might as well look for it: http://catalogliving.net/post/11316586579/makin-bacon
YoungHouseLove says
I have talked about that with John but he thinks since the hallway gallery is so close (literally a few feet to the left of the frame wall in the living room as you face it) he thinks it’s too much us/family so he likes the hallway being devoted to sweet family photos (black & white and color, cropped and pulled out, etc). As for that Catalog Living post, it’s hilarious. Love that blog.
xo,
s
Aron says
Ah yes, that is the rug! Just what the living room needed!
Linda says
The room looks fantastic now – that rug was a wonderful investment. I’m glad you’re going to look into a good rug pad….I found out the hard way that a good pad may cost more, but it’ll add comfort to daily living and years to the life of the rug.
Ruthy T. says
love the new look. Your living room looks SO comfortable. That is a sofa you can definitely relax in!
Elizabeth says
Btw, I am SO jealous of the size of your couch!
Amanda Nowak says
It’s perfect! :D I love it.
Zoe Feast says
As much as I loved your original green rug I did wonder how easy it was fairing with toddler mess! The new one is fabulous. I too have a huge living room and getting a rug was a real challenge. I ended up picking out a carpet and having a it custom cut and bound, if you have this done at a dedicated carpet store they usually throw in a free pad so you end up with a wonderful finish.
p.s on another note how did the updated css work I sent you yesterday work out?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for that info Zoe! John got it but hasn’t looked at it yet (crazy around here with counters, etc). Hopefully he can get back to you by tomorrow. And thanks again for the help!
xo,
s
Rose says
Even though I’m not a huge fan of green, I’m really digging the new look. You guys did a great job!
Jenny says
Absolutely gorgeous!!! I thought it was looking pretty good before, but WOW. It’s stunning!! Have fun vacuuming the goldfish crumbs out of the button tufts on the ottoman, though… ha! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so far so good!
xo,
s
Becca says
All the changes look wonderful. I’ve had my share of do-overs in home DIY and decorating – happens to the best of us. Sometimes it takes a few tries (and a few extra bucks, unfortunately) to get it right.
Kathrine says
I love, love, love this rug. I am looking for something just like this for my sunroom. I am seriously thinking about getting it but is the color as fun as it appears on your site? I really want something bright and fun but the description of “olive and ivory” scares me a little and makes me think that perhaps it isn’t as bright as it appears online. Were you able to get a rug sample first?
YoungHouseLove says
I would describe the color in person as celery/sage green and white/soft cream. Oh and I didn’t get a sample. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kathrine says
That is helpful, thanks! I am going to bother you with one last question, if you don’t mind. How thick is the rug?
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a flat weave, so I’d say it’s about a quarter of an inch thick or so? Not super thin like a runner or a blanket, but not super thick like a regular wool rug either!
xo,
s
Katherine Fitz says
Great success!
Faith says
Woooow. I didn’t think it could get better. I love how you guys make tweaks here and there and it just changes the whole feel of the space and looks even nicer.
Heather says
Beautiful updates. I’ve been having fun with Joss and Main too, and have found a few good finds there since your collection. Thanks for introducing me to it. However, the ‘no returns’ policy freaks me out when I consider a major purchase online (like your rug). Were you worried? What was your process/ how did you decide to go for it? Did you have a plan if it didn’t work in the space?
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
We figured that if we absolutely hated it we could try to sell it on craigslist (so we wouldn’t have to pay shipping like putting it on ebay). We definitely didn’t click buy until we were 99% sure we’d love it though!
xo,
s