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.
lonely wife project says
There is nothing in the world a rug can’t fix! Your room is coming along beautifully!
mdt says
Here’s another bench suggestion: Kmart for $99 http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_021W448041760001P?prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh I actually really love that! I’d probably change out the feet but it’s a great price for something longer and fulla storage. My only fear is that Burger’s claws might pull the fabric (any loopy open weaves can be trouble). It’s definitely something to think about though!
xo,
s
Ling says
Ok, my last comment of the day. I have just published an entire post on my blog singing the praises of YHL, because it’s the bee’s knees: http://decorchica.blogspot.com/2011/03/love-young-house-love.html
YoungHouseLove says
Aw shucks. So honored.
xoxoxo,
s
natalia says
check this out
http://www.livingetc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=3159
Ed’s cousin with a hint of paint.
YoungHouseLove says
No way- that is Ed! I like his green, uh, glove? Fun!
xo,
s
Barbara says
Love the changes (as always). Also, I know you mentioned when you got your new light fixture how it could be painted or otherwise altered to change the look of it with ease. I was wondering if you saw it in Amy Butler’s home http://www.flickr.com/photos/22397217@N02/sets/72157625843467159/show/. Nice, right?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my goodness. The metallic gold is uh. mazing! Thanks so much for sharing the link!
xo,
s
tanyad says
Oh oh oh I love it in gold! Thanks for sharing!
Cathleen says
This is my first comment on your site, but I literally read your blog every single night at the end of the day. When I saw your “Ed the Bed” it made me think of a bed on the Potterybarnteen website with a beautiful capiz light fixture hanging from it. You guys could work some beautiful shiny ribbon (if you add the four rails back on top)through it and hang some of these light fixtures from it too. It just looks absolutely gorgeous and very romantic. Here is the pic I’m thinking of: http://www.pbteen.com/products/capiz-blossom-pendant/popup/more-views.html?active=2
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! Love that chandelier too. Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Michelle N says
Completely off topic but….I had to share this fabulous find on Etsy. He’s turquoise. He’s vintage. He’s funky. He’s an owl. And he’s ceramic. Love it! Here’s the link.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/68269100/vintage-1960s-funky-ceramic-turquoise
By the way I love the rug and topless Ed! Looks great!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it! Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Heather's Garden says
I’m usually right with you guys on your design choices, but I’m not a big fan of Ed. Definitely better without the top rails, but I just don’t like the posts either. I’m also shaking my head over the faux sheepskin rugs. If you want soft under your feet in the morning, get a different rug. It looks like you dropped your towels on each side of the bed. And I love the light fixture in your photos, but I was just in Ikea during the day and in real life it looked sparse at best with the lightbulb super obvious. Are you finding that too?
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe it’s a case of Ikea using a different bulb? Maybe a brighter one or a clear one and not an opaque one? Ours is pretty subtle (the flowers feel too dense to really see much of the bulb behind them). As for Ed and our ever present bedside sheepskins, we’re sold. Ed + sheepskins + light + new rug = love for us. But we definitely don’t expect everyone to always like the exact same things that we do. No worries!
xo,
s
The White Bungalow says
Big ups on Ed’s haircut! It opens up the room so much! I agree the rug definitely feels right going “wide-ways.” Amazing how far this room has come in only 2 months!
KathyG says
Perfect choice on rug! Question.. does dad-the-math-teacher read the blog too? How do your parents (both of you) explain what you guys do for a living? My dad would give up and just say..”something with computers”.
YoungHouseLove says
I’d say dad’s an occasional reader along with mom (they mostly skim for Clara pics, haha). My dad is actually pretty tech savvy (he has a google alert out for my name- haha) so he would pretty accurately describe me as a home improvement blogger. My mom writes paragraph long emails as subject headings (true story) so she just says something like “is a website writer” which people assume means “web programmer,” which I can’t do to save my life. Haha.
John’s parents both totally get it. They read pretty regularly (hi guys!) but never comment (they’re shy).
xo,
s
Nicole says
Love love love the new rug and giving Ed the trim.
Two totally un-post related questions: Where does Clara sleep when you guys go out of town? I have a 13 month old son and I feel like we can’t go anywhere overnight unless they have an actual crib. And finally, I love the Clara photo project but am wondering when we can expect to see some of her sitting up or standing! She’s just too cute!
YoungHouseLove says
She sleeps in her pack & play and seems to love it (same hours down, etc). As for her weekly pics, she definitely tries to crawl away and sit up, but she’s off the fabric in those so we usually can’t use those shots. Good thing she gives us a variety of moves, haha. As for standing, we think after she turns one year old, we’ll hang the fabric from the wall for her to stand in front of (and we’ll only take monthly pics from then on).
xo,
s
Hayley says
Why did you decide to line the rug up in front of the night stands instead of right up against the wall behind the bed? Ive never thought of doing that, but I think I like it.
YoungHouseLove says
We just played around with what looks best, and since there’s hardwood showing in both sides and at the bottom, it felt balanced to let about 2′ of hardwoods show at the top- especially since the nighstands took up most of that space anyway. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hayley says
I think I’d prefer the bed without any posts at all. I didn’t like it before, and though this is an improvement, it just lookds odd now. Kind of pointless. Finials might help, but I can’t help thinking it will just look best if you take them off all together and it looks like a regular bed. Sorry. The rug is nice.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! We picked up a few finials and we’re trying them on for size. It’s looking awesome to us, but we know not everyone is going to love our bedroom. The good news is that we’re the ones who have to sleep in there. Haha. Finial pics and other bedroom angle shots to come! Then of course there’s art to tend to…
xo,
s
Nadine says
Didn’t know how to tell you that the top slats and the light were competing for attention without hurting your feelings, but I love the way it is now! I wish I had a space for that light, check on it every time I go to the Ikea store, but no, not a good idea in this house of mine. Maybe in another house? or another life?
Ling says
Love your ideas for Clara pics. Wish we had done the same for Owen, but our photography skills aren’t nearly as good. We’ll have to get you to take a couple of good pics of him when you come to DC ;)
Dayna says
I’d be doing the happy dance too! It looks fantastic!
tanyad says
Another comment from me today!
Have you guys ever tried tucking in the sides of your duvet cover? I too have a king sized duvet on my queen size bed and for years the extra length hanging on either side when the bed is made up had been bothering me. So I tried tucking it all in after seeing it done in a friends bedroom and now it looks so sleek and sexy!
It looks like you guys might tuck in the bottom so thought you might want to give it a whirl…
YoungHouseLove says
Sure, we’ll give it a whirl!
xo,
s
Sonia says
WOW!!!! What a difference those little adjustments made!!! Is is looking good!. A great improvement!
Carrie C says
I apologize if this had already been discussed.
I need a bed; my mattress and box spring have been on the floor for a year and I love Ed and Ikea’s prices! Do you have a box spring and mattress with your Ed? On the Ikea website it looks like all the beds are displayed with just a mattress. This confuses me to no end!
YoungHouseLove says
We don’t have a boxspring on Ed, but he works with or without one (there are different rail heights so it accommodates one or can be raised and purchased with bed slats, like we did, to be used without one). Maybe call Ikea to be sure, but that’s our understanding (we saw one with a boxspring on their showroom floor). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
michelle thomas says
Looks so nice. Question though…are you having drama with this rug? I got this rug and had to return it because my house looked like a barber shop specializing in blonde afros. There was fuzz all over, and I had to swiffer and hoover every single day. I finally returned it. Is this the one from Pottery Barn? I thought it was so pretty and I was sad when I returned it….boooooo! I am now rugless and searching.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no that’s so sad. No drama with ours yet (zero smell and zero fuzz so far, but it’s only been a few days). We’ll keep you posted if something crazy happens though!
xo,
s
VettyV says
Hey guys your abode is shaping up nicely…luv shots of clara and burger enjoying the house as well nice to know the “kids” are enjoying exploring their new place…have a quick question about care for your jute rug…have you inquired as to how you can get it cleaned? I have 2 jute rugs I LUV but unfortunately both ended up with big pink “kool-aid” stains (both kid related)…any idea if that can be cleaned out or fixed?? Im thinkn no :( but knowing that Sherry is the resourceful and persistent type (both qualities I wish I possessed in greater supply lol) i figured if anyone would know…it’d be her
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve only DIYed jute cleaning (but have owned rugs of this material for 3+ years so stains happen and we’ve been able to get all of them out). Here’s what we do: try to soak up as much of whatever has spilled by dabbing and blotting with an absorbent rag over and over again, moistening another clean rag and gently dabbing the spot to get it damp but not soaking wet, letting it air dry. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
heather says
Okay, thanks to the YHL facebook page I was introduced to The Foundary, and today they have a couple long benches for sale, which immediately made me think of this post. There is a leather and wood 48″ for $175 (349R) and the other is a 71″ rectangle Rattan Bench for $250 ($469R). Still pretty darn steep. Leather might not be long enough and Rattan would probably clash with Jute but who knows in person.
Just thought I’d give a heads up!
http://shop.thefoundary.com/product_11477.html
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! We’ll have to check them out!
xo,
s
Claire @ Claire K Creations says
It’s just perfect! I love the way you guys can transform something in such a short time. The room looks fantastic.
JoDi says
Lovin’ that rug, and Ed’s haircut is even better! That bed just never seemed right with the bare boxed in top. You usually see something draped on a bed like that, but I couldn’t see you guys doing that because it just doesn’t seem like your style! Taking the slats off makes it look so much better and keeps the clean lines you like. The room is really opened up now!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks JoDi! We’re playing around with finials for a more finished look and we love it! Can’t wait to share the details. So many projects in progress, it’s hard to focus. Haha. But somehow we seem to love chaos. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura says
We have that rug! It really looks great, but one word of warning–it leaves jute dust. Especially underneath the rug. If you have allergies, it it bad news. I found out that jute is a common allergen, so we ended up taking down the rug and storing it away sadly. Hopefully you have better luck with it.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! So far so good. We’ll definitely keep an eye on it and keep you guys posted as we go. We have a few other jute rugs that have been great so our fingers are crossed!
xo,
s
Cara says
My boyfriend thinks I may have a problem… everytime we go someplace such as Ikea, Pottery Barn, etc. I will pass items and state “Oh, my favorite blog just purchased this.” and I will proceed to touch it and examine it’s textures. Haha. I did that with your couch at Ikea a couple weeks ago and I did it today when I saw your new rug at Pottery Barn! You’re right Sherry, it is really soft. I was really surprised. Very nice choice!
YoungHouseLove says
I know right?! I couldn’t believe how soft it was. Six days in and we’re still smitten with it.
xo,
s
Cara says
Ikea has a dark brown sisal (not nearly as soft as jute but it works for me) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20185663 that i use in my living room. i have a dog and it repels everything and is super easy to clean and vaccuum. i even got peanut butter out of it!
that diamond pb rub is amazing. it was sold out online but the 8×10 is back for 199 plus shipping. its oh so tempting!
Misty says
Can you tell me what the $12 fluffy white pillow is like? I see it on their website and it looks awful!!! But it looks so cute on your bed. Is it really as long as static fly-a-way looking as it looks on the website? Is the cover removable for washing??
YoungHouseLove says
It’s awesome. Love that thing. It’s long and fluffy and fun (surprisingly convincing actually- it really looked like an animal when I spied it on the shelves). The cover isn’t removable, but for $12 you can’t beat it.
xo,
s
Kim Lubs says
I LOVE the diamond jute rug in your master! I’ve been looking at the same one for my dining room and found it at Pottery Barn. Is yours from Pottery Barn?
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we got it on sale about three weeks ago and have loved it!
xo,
s
Kai says
We’re actually looking at two rugs from PB (the one you have here and this one: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/chunky-wool-jute-rug/?pkey=call-rug-styles) for our living room. Just curious how it’s held up since you got it and whether there’s been any ‘shedding’ going on. Never had a jute rug indoors before but I think it’s such a fantastic way to add texture in neutral colors!
YoungHouseLove says
So far it has been awesome. No complaints at all!
xo,
s
Susan says
Love the rug! I was excited and thought it would be just the thing for our bedroom, but, so sad–PB site says it’s not longer available!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! They might bring it back. It seems to come and go every few months (they’ve sold it for years). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kamantha says
We just bought a new house and are getting ready to redo the bedroom. I was thinking of doing calming blues and greens on the walls. What color are your walls? Love the rug and the lil white ones from Ikea. Definitely on my list to go and check out this weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar on the walls (color matched to Olympic’s No-VOC paint).
xo,
s
Megan R says
I’m sorry if I missed it, but did you DYI the mirror by your bedroom door? If not, where did you find it? It’s beautiful.
YoungHouseLove says
That was a wedding gift from John from West Elm but we’ve seen a very similar one for $99 at Ikea!
xo,
s
Abby says
quick question (that i’m sure you’ve answered a zillion times) how to you wash/keep clean the nice little ikea sheepskins you use as throws and rugs around the house. i love the look!!
YoungHouseLove says
They’re faux, so I machine wash them cold and rumble dry low.
xo,
s
Ashley R. says
I’m not sure which Jute rug to buy from Target. I see there is a difference in material between the two (as well as price). But only concerned if the difference in material means better durability.
Threshold™ Chenille Jute Woven Rug:
Rug Construction: Hand Woven
Rug Material: Cotton (80%), Jute (20%)
Backing Material: Latex, Cotton
Care and Cleaning: Spot Clean, Vacuum Regularly, Professional Rug Cleaning Recommended
Vs
Threshold™ Herringbone Rug – Chocolate Silver:
Features: Natural Fiber
Rug Construction: Hand Woven
Rug Material: Jute (56%), Cotton (30%), Viscose (14%)
Backing Material: Latex (50%), Cotton (50%)
Care and Cleaning: Spot Clean Only
Pile Type: Woven
Thank you!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, we don’t own either of those so I’m afraid we’re not sure which ones will be better with any amount of certainty. I would guess cotton and jute might win in the end (natural materials tend to wear better and don’t have such a chemical-y smell as things with manmade stuff added (like viscose).
xo
s
Holly B says
Hey Guys…a random question about your ikea pendant light over your bed. I have been pining over it for some time…but worry that it will not be bright enough for an entry way with tall ceilings. Do you only have a 60 watt bulb in yours? Is it more for show than actual lighting?? Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks!
Holly
YoungHouseLove says
We no longer live in that house, but it was great for the time we were there. Since we had two bedside lamps, the three of those lights gave off more than enough light, and you can use a CFL in the Ikea light to put out more light without going over the wattage requirements. Hope it helps!
xo
s