Yup, that’s how I’d describe our new living room rug. We have a case of happy feet. It’s even more plush and amazing than expected. But before we get to all the juicy rug pics we need to tell you guys how much we love you. The overwhelming support, kindness, and hilarity that you bring into our lives – not only on this morning’s big announcement post, but on the regular – is humbling, inspiring, and completely and utterly amazing. So smooch. I just virtually kissed your face. Oh snap.
Now back to Big Green (since it is St. Patrick’s Day)…
Although it’s so thick that you’d think tumbleweeds of green fuzz would be rolling around the house, we vacuumed it when it arrived and again the next day (just to grab any of those loose fibers that might have pulled out from shipping) and so far so good. No issues with green fluff everywhere or pulled tufts from the vacuum suction. Whew.
At 8 x 11′, it’s definitely a more appropriate size for our giant 25 x 15′ living room (as opposed to our old 5 x 8′ rug that now lives in the guest room). And once we build a big long console table for the back of the sofa (and the sofa comes forward about a foot more onto the rug) it’ll look even more proportionate. In other words, not quite as much rug will show since the sofa will move forward on the rug for a more balanced look once we have that console table built.
And of course once we upgrade to a deeper/bigger media cabinet, hang curtains, and bring in more art, the room will hopefully start to feel more cohesive and make a lot more sense. Because right now it’s just a big gray box with a fuzzy green rectangle on the floor. Haha. But it’ll be fun to see how thing evolve as we layer in all sorts of other stuff over time. Hopefully it’ll fill in nicely. Just think of the rug as a big furry grass-like foundation that we’re laying- er, planting.
Speaking of the fun green color, we’re so psyched about the happy-go-lucky tone. It’s just perfect with the gray sectional, pewter walls, and dark beams. All of a sudden it feels chipper and a lot less cold in there. Like a space that we want to kick off our shoes and settle into. It’s definitely not your mother’s persian rug (or your father’s neutral one) but we’re having a lot more fun taking risks in this house. Even if it means doing things that might not have mass appeal – as long as something speaks strongly to us, we’re in. There’s actually freedom in letting go of the notion that your house should please everyone who walks in the door. It allows you be more true to yourself and your place starts to feel more special. Plus it means that your rooms won’t be in danger of looking like everyone else’s, which isn’t a bad thing either.
We loooved our first house for how soothing and serene it was, but in all honesty, we smile bigger here. Cheesy but true. It’s just such a fun and happy house – even though we’re just getting started and every room is about 80% incomplete. We definitely think Clara has inspired this whole Benjamin Button-ization of our style (read more about that here). Basically we’re loving the looser and less serious approach to making this house a home – and we’re quickly learning that playful pops of color, texture, and pattern can definitely happy up any room. Especially when mixed with neutrals like gray walls/furnishings/beams or white furnishings & a jute rug. Because if everything is a color and a pattern it might get cray-zay.
To tie into this big furry rug baby we’d love to add eight green parson’s chairs to our giant wooden dining room table for some nice whole house cohesion (there’s that “neutral + color = love” combination again). We’ll find those perfect chairs someday…
Oh and when it comes to keeping Kermit clean (we’re loving that reader recommended rug name – don’t Karl & Kermit sound perfect together?), as we mentioned in the post about ordering it, a friend of ours with three kiddos and a big hairy dog has a similar shag rug in her house and she swears it holds up to stains and kids like nobody’s business since crumbs/dust come out with a quick vacuum and you can actually subtly trim the long hairy tufts if anything catastrophic happens to “lift” the stain. So far it’s been amazing (but we obviously haven’t dropped anything major on it yet) so we’ll tell you the truth if we hate it in a month.
You might also notice some new pillows on Karl. We got two of those ruffled purple guys for $16 at HomeGoods. We also brought in our two green pillows from the bedroom just to see how something like that might work with the rug (we think they’re a little too yellow, but not terrible), and tossed three Sue The Napkins over other pillows that we had lying around to see what real Sue The Napkin pillow covers might look like when I get down to business and sew some. The pillow situation will definitely evolve over time though (I love those teal tones in Sue, so blue pillows might make an appearance someday, perhaps in lieu of green ones).
But back to the purple ruffle pillows for a second. The ruffle detail is really fun, but isn’t it amazing that John didn’t veto them? He’s usually so not on The Ruffle Train. I think he likes the idea of spicing things up with bright colors like navy and plum and deep teal so he just did one of those “sure, why not?” things. Love that man. Or maybe he’s just finally catching on that a happy wife = a happy life. Haha.
Now we just have to plan our big console table build because we can’t wait to see Karl scooched out (that’s a technical term) about a foot away from the wall. A little less rug should look perfect, plus it means there will finally be a place to put drinks (namely my hot tea every night) and two table lamps for reading (which means no more floor lamp in the doorway). Yipppppeeeeeeeeee! Yes I just wrote that. And yes it has ten “e”s on the end. Can you tell I’m excited? Oh yeah and Karl’s embarrassingly pale legs have got to go. So creepy.
She whips her cellphone back and forth. She whips her cellphone back and forth.
Psst- John’s parents just gave us their old leggy antique dresser which is perfect for our bedroom (it’s been in the family for years and John’s dad actually bought it from a cousin for $100 decades ago). It needs some love but it’s going to look awesome. And it’s f-r-e-e. More pics soon (you can see a “they-scooped-us” pic of it here thanks to the Washington Post).
Lynette says
Love the ruffle pillows! I am in a house with all boys, so ruffles don’t fly around here. Pillows – yes, ruffles – no!
The room looks fantastic!
erika m says
So I have kind of a dumb question but…you were talking about taking more risks with this place-your last house was kind of beachy, light, airy, serene…etc. Living in RVA is close enough to the beach/ocean but could you still do your “theme” in a place like where Im at OH? I know you wouldnt describe your old place as beach themed or anything..but do you get what Im asking? Like can you do cottage style in NYC? Log Cabin in Atlanta..etc??? whats your take?
YoungHouseLove says
We think you can definitely go for a beachy or a cabin feel, even if you’re nowhere near the ocean or the mountains. Homes are supposed to make you happy and even act as an escape, so we’re all for doing what floats your boat. The only challenge you might run into is if the architecture or style of the house contrasts too much with your goal style (i.e. might be tough to achieve a true lodge feel in a modern NYC condo). That’s our take at least!
-John
Crystal @Beautifulhaven says
Wow, you can see your style changing from the first house.
Mrs. Taylor says
I have a two year old son who wanted to watch this video of Clara over and over and over again. So, if it doesn’ work out between her and Will then maybe we can get them together. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, sounds good. He might be a little old…
xo,
s
Amanda says
Age is only a number. :)
Kiran says
I love all the bold colors you guys have picked for this new home :) and please tell me you would get new floors? Then it would “perfection”! Love the rug, and ya’ll. Happy St Pat’s!
Lara V. says
LOVE, LOVE the rug!! And the pillows and I’m SO on the ruffle train too!!
Can’t have too many ruffles!!!
Caity says
LOVE it! I really love the pillows, too. They pull in the colors from the temporary frames, which I would totally make permanent now! I think Sue the napkin makes a lovely pillow accent, as well :) Good job!
Allyson says
Hey guys! This isn’t really about the post (though I love the rug!) But I was wondering if you where participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence tomorrow in remembrance of everyone in Japan? I know if you guys do it, then a lot of people will follow along (you know, because you rock like that!)
http://forjapanwithlove.com/
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the info on Bloggers Day of Silence tomorrow, Allyson. We hadn’t heard about it ’til now so thanks for passing it along. The news coming out of Japan truly is tragic and it’s great to see bloggers coming together to show support!
-John
katie t says
Loved the video of Clara! Her facial expressions are fantastic! thanks for sharing her!
Ames says
I don’t know if you guys have seen this video, but dooce posted it yesterday and I was cracking up at this baby! It made me think of some of the cute Clara videos you guys have posted! I hope it works…
YoungHouseLove says
HAHAHA! That had us laughing out loud (which then had Clara laughing out loud in return). Too funny…
-John
Virginia says
Love the new rug! Love the color!
And you should take Claras` photo there this week! :)
Holly says
Love the rug. Love the dresser. LOOOOVE the new wall collage of photos/art as seen in the post, can’t wait to read more about that and see each of them up close.
I might try that on a wall in our house. I am usually a black frame/white matting kind of gal. Your white frames have inspired me ;)
Will you be refinishing or painting the dresser?
YoungHouseLove says
The dresser needs love but we love the warm wood so we won’t be painting it at all! Originally we thought we might paint just the top but we love it. It just has some broken drawers that don’t slide and some shine issues (needs some oil soap). Should be fun!
xo,
s
Chloe says
Love it! Love the rug, love the cushions, love Clara :D
Risa says
Awesome rug! Although I must say the best part of this post is your little Clara! You can tell that she is such a personality…makes me want to have another baby! Nice to see your living room is coming together. We’re working on ours too. I really want some happy bright colors like yours, but we have dark red mahogany floors. (woah, it rhymes!)Would it work with bright colors?
YoungHouseLove says
Greens look so good with mahogany! Anything from celery or sage to happy lime. Blues also can be really pretty so maybe try turquoise and lime for some fun pillows and art and see how it feels? Good luck!
xo,
s
Maha says
I am so loving watching your house come together! Plenty of inspiration for when I “start over” with my own house next summer.
Alecia says
Similar to the poster above, I also have a 10 month old who loves watching Clara’s videos. He gets a HUGE smile on his face and starts squealing.
He’s closer in age… ;)
Nicole says
I love the color and “oh my goodness, how adorable is Clara!!! She makes me smile!! :)
Sasha says
I’m probably way more excited than I should be for you to get curtains in that beautiful room of yours. What can I say, I’m a sucker for some bright curtains. Are you thinking a solid color or a pattern will go best now that you’ve decided on your rug?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re so not sure! Sometimes I think something navy and white would be cool and sometimes we think eggplant sheers would be cool. Still so undecided!
xo,
s
elsie says
i want to dive in and SWIM in that rug! ahh! me wants. if only we could keep our cats from clawing a luxurious beauty such as kermit, to shreds. otherwise, we have that (or a reasonable facsimile) in a heartbeat! love it.
Reenie says
WOW!!! It’s all coming together nicely. I love it.
Congrats to you guys!! So happy for you.
Beth H. says
I’m in love with the whole set up!!! I love the $5 art along with the new pop of color pillows! Not even lying when I saw I think I finally found my inspiration for our room
Kaitlin says
Love the way the rug works with your $5 wall art. Totally diggin the ruffle pillows too. Was wondering if you guys have any plans to start a garden in the new house or any landscaping plans with the weather moving to spring?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re soon turning our attention to the outdoors, Kaitlin. No specific plans yet, but I’m pretty sure there will be a garden and some landscaping in our future.
-John
Jennelle says
Clara is so cute she makes my ovaries hurt!!! And the rug is pretty fab, too. I’ve been looking high and low for a rug for my living room, and this one (in a different color) is def on the short list after your post about snagging it at Overstock dot com. Thanks so much for the post!
Angie says
Cool write up in the Washington Post. Congrats! I can’t wait to see your gallery wall. I love what you’ve done so far.
Kristi says
Love the rug! I have the same one in (boring) off-white. We adore it and get tons of compliments. One trick we used is to buy an extra-thick carpet pad (from a carpet store, by the square foot) to add an extra cushy layer, people wonder all the time how it feels so good underfoot. Also, beware your vacuum if you have one with a hidden bag – I vacuumed ours up a couple of times and then the vacuum started making funny noises. I checked the bag and the thing was full – along with the length of the hose) with white wool-y fuzz. It definitely shed much more than I realized. I thought I had vacuumed up an entire sheep! Congrats on the WP feature!
Cara says
I LOVE the rug and the pillows. Looks great. I am going to overstock to see if the rug comes in turquoise.
Lindsey d. says
It’s definitely not your mother’s persian rug
Ha! I just bought a semi-antique Persian rug (although it’s not overtly Persian looking) for my living room and I LOVE it. It’s already partially worn and I’m hoping to continue and get that fabulous worn look. The best part, it’s such a classic look that works with any style that I don’t have to worry about changing my mind about it.
YoungHouseLove says
That is the best thing about Persian rugs – they are so flexible and classic that it’s hard to go wrong with ’em. Glad you found a rug to love!
-John
Mona Alicia says
Absolutely loving it in there, I am having such a good time living vicariously through your fun color choices! And that video of Clara is adorable, I miss mine being at that cute age!
Candi Rodgers says
you had me at hello with those sue the napkin pillow covers….
Jessi says
You know, I would have said that it was totally un-vacuum-able because it’s so thick, but I trust you guys. So now I totally want one for our playroom or our daughter’s room. And it will definitely be in my head when we’re interviewing new houses in a few weeks….will the big floofy green rug look good in this room? No? Then not the house for us!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, totally a reason not to buy a house if you ask me. Haha.
xo,
s
Laura in LA says
Yay to John for agreeing to the purple pillows! They go great with the wall art and Sue.
Abby says
Really so wonderful I love the apple green, one of my favourite colours! and its all balancing really well ( have you thought about painting out the ceiling beams they feel like you have a visor on and can’t see the sky. or eyebrows that are heavy. If they are painted out the ceiling will feel higher The beams are not really functional, . I think if you took them out completely the ceiling would be too bland and big maybe then youd have to put up moulding but that again may be a fad of today. I think painting them the same colour as the ceiling, you are paying homage to them by leaving them in but quieting the ” feature”.
Like the finials too!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually painted those beams with a gray whitewashed effect and love it (see more here)! Since we have all those white frames on the wall we love that the beams are a little more special and uncommon than white trim – and with such a big room with such large windows and sliders it still doesn’t feel very closed in to us. We can’t wait to hang curtains to really emphasize the height of the room and draw the eye up!
xo,
s
Ineke says
Love what you did, very inventive; please tell me where you got the glass coffee table in the living room – it’s exactly what I need and can’t seem to find anywhere unless I want to pay top dollar!
Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
That was from a thrift store actually! But it’s a dead ringer for one that Pottery Barn sells (which you might be able to find on craigslist for cheap?). Good luck!
xo,
s
Nancy says
Let me just say that I just started reading your blog and absolutely LOVE IT! I am so with you on the feeling of a rug on your feet. Crucial to a purchase. It is like a test drive for a car. Take off your shoes at the store and see if your toes are happy. I did that with carpet for our house at Lowes. I have no shame. :)
Cortney says
I die! As Rachael Zoe would say, that pic wall is Gorge! LURV it!!!!!
lauren l says
the color looks really great!
not to be debbie downer but we bought a different version of this rug on the O and I loved it but with vacuuming the fibers have gotten fuzzy and less defined. we have always turned off the beaters and used low sucking pressure. i ended up moving it to a less traveled area of the house so it would need less vac-ing
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! So sorry to heard that. I think there might be a difference between other versions and the one we ordered (some had reviews that mentioned things getting fuzzy but ours was slightly different and had all 5 star ratings) but you never know. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t get hairy on us! But if it does you know we’ll tell ya. Haha.
xo,
s
Marisa Sleeter says
Congratulations on the article, guys! So cool. I saw this picture (link below) in one of my emails and it reminded me of your bedroom- although I do love the colors in your room more… You guys have a knack for making things look as if they belong in a magazine, but at the same time making them rooms you actually want to live in. Love it. Love you guys. Keep it up. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/ny/OhdeedohBigGirlMadeleine.jpg
YoungHouseLove says
So sweet! Love it! Especially those fun red lamps.
xo,
s
Erica says
I’m thrilled with the book deal!!! You guys soooo deserve it! It will definitely be a favorite read of mine when it releases in Fall 2012!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the art wall and the chartreuse rug! :)
Stenciled Signs says
Looks Great…
Beeya says
OOO Fresh!!!
Clara, girl you are hilarious.
Love.
georgia says
I have been working 12 hour days and going to gym really late in the evening since monday, so all I can say is –
I need that rug to come home to and sprawl out on the floor and go… Zzzzzzzz
Looks so snug but cheery at the same time.
Love the plum cushions too, I saw a good diy ruffle cushion on another blog that I can find and facebook you if you want?
Off to sleepyton …. (Sleep… Lol)
Xx
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah, if you’re not too tired we’d love that link over on FB!
xo,
s
Mary Ann says
Bravo! The area rug looks great and Clara is quite the model.Plus-good for you- the Washington Post feature is certainly a COUP de FOUDRE!!! Couldn’t have happened to two nicer people.Question please-I”ve noticed a lot of the choices(sectional, colors apple green,magentas and gray,,floral lighting in b.r.) have been the cat’s meow in the home decorating magazines(and I get them ALL)for the last 9 months.Was that part of your inspiration-other than Sue the Napkin??
YoungHouseLove says
Design mags and other blogs most definitely are sources of inspiration for us! We’re basically just sponges soaking up everything around us- not because something’s a trend though, just because we like it. Haha. We’re usually years behind trends and we don’t care if something is out or in, we just bring home stuff he love and smile at it. Haha.
xo,
s
Kristen says
Have you seen these curtains from Anthropologie? They have all the right moves, if you ask me…
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=083021&catId=HOME-CURTAINS&pushId=HOME-CURTAINS&popId=HOME&navAction=top&navCount=42&color=040&isProduct=true&fromCategoryPage=true&isSubcategory=true&subCategoryId=HOME-CURTAINS-EMBROIDERED&templateType=hybrid
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh so charming! But the price. Ouchie! We have eight panels to get (for the two sliders in the room, the window, and the slider in the adjoined hall). Hmm…
xo,
s
Renee says
Clara’s video actually made me laugh out loud! She’s so beautiful, and I got a real kick at how she decided to get a good taste of the phone’s antenna!
Oh yeah, the rug is beautiful too! :)
kgardner says
The living room looks really great. I love the green rug. I am going back and forth over whether I want to purchase the purple version of the same rug (I had better decide soon because there are only 4 left at Overstock.com).
In any case, I don’t want the rug to be too large for the room and take over. Do you think that an 8×11 rug would look ok flanked by a couch that measure 125 inches? The room itself is 21 feet long and has a with of 13 feet (imagine a rectangle)? I plan to lay the rug and couch along the longer (21 ft.)wall. What do you think? I wished that I could show you what my plans are.
YoungHouseLove says
It sounds like a job for floorplanner.com to us! It’s a free site that lets you draw a floor plan with the 8 x 11 rug and your sofa and the room to see how it’ll look! You can also tape it out on the floor with painters tape to see how it’ll look before buying! That always helps us “see” it in the space and feel more confident before buying. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Suzanne Collins says
Peeked at the Washington Post pics … loving the Gallery Wall!!! Can’t wait to read more about it. :o)
Gretchen says
I love the rug! it’s so fresh and green and makes me want to jump into the picture and wiggle my toes on it!
Meghan Solberg says
I LOVE Clara’s sticking her tongue out little spat going on…she’s just licking those lips back and forth. ADORABLE. Oh, and the rug…Perfect fit!!
Natalie says
The rug looks fabulous!
And I’m usually not a fan of purple at all {I just think it’s way too girly} but in this case, it’s great! Makes you feel like you’re in a contemporary loft in NYC…which is pretty much right up your alley, huh? :)
Jill says
Looks great. I loved what you said about making your house the way you want it and not to please everyone. My mother-in-law recently visited. She wasn’t too thrilled that I was painting all my dining room furniture white (four different kinds of wood needed unifying). She then walked into the living room and surveyed the scene, finally landing on a wall of bookshelves (Hemnes from Ikea) and decided that she “liked that wall.” :-/ Whatever. It works for us.
Also, the bathroom in the Post article – is that in your new house? I love it!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s actually our first house! Here’s the post all about the big reveal. I’m so proud of John for doing most of it all by himself since I was prego!
xo,
s
Jill says
Thanks so much. I was so impressed I pulled my hubby over to take a look (“see…this is what we need to do in the boys’ bathroom”). Then he saw the demo pic. Hmmm…I may be doing this one on my own.
Great ideas, as always.