Yay for spring–we had convertible weather at least twice this past week (60s and 70s) and our fruit trees are blooming! Of course, that got me in the mood for spring, and I finally pulled the trigger on two updates in our dining room.
First, the jute rug that we’ve had for about four years got replaced. I loved it, but I paid $120 for it four years ago and to be honest, that’s about the lifespan for seagrass, sisal, and jute. You can’t clean them, just vacuum them, so they don’t last and their price point reflects that.
Here’s how the old rug looked in my dining room:
Like I said, I would buy it again if I wasn’t going for a different look. It’s a great neutral rug for a variety of decorating styles and despite having kids and pets, it was durable, until it wasn’t.
Here’s the new (wool) rug:
| Rug |
The crazy thing about the new rug is that it was actually a few dollars less than the jute rug. I needed a 6′ x 6′ round and comparison shopped all over the internet and this is the best price. It was $117.99, to be exact, with free shipping. I’ll link all the sources for this space at the end of the post, including a few other sites that sell the same rug, because if you’re looking for a different size the best price might still be elsewhere; it seems to vary a little based on the size you’re after (mine is the silver and ivory color combination, by the way).
As so often happens, when you change one thing in a room, there’s a chain reaction of other things that you need to change. The new rug looked great with my antique oak pedestal table, but it clashed terribly with the black and white dalmatian spot fabric on my vintage cane-back chairs. So the next step was to recover those.
The good news is that the new fabric I found is a mushroom and beige pattern and it’s similar with small spots scattered throughout {fabric source here}.
You’ve probably noticed that I have two cane back chairs and two ladder back chairs. All of them are vintage but I’ve found that everyone fights over the cane back ones with their cushioned seats, so eventually I’ll probably replace the ladder back ones with something cushier. I just haven’t found the exact ones I want yet.
I’m including the below photo so you can see how my table needs to be repaired; the light is shining through the pedestal base after our last horrific move (this is what happens when your movers drop the pedestal on the floor instead of setting it down gently). I’m going to take it apart when my Uncle Jim is visiting in a few weeks and fix it with him, although he doesn’t know this yet. Since my husband is overseas, I either do all of the honey-do’s myself or save the heavier, two-man jobs for when my male family members visit. The pedestal is SO heavy so it definitely falls into the latter category.
Because we’ve had lots of gray skies lately and it wasn’t sunny when I took these photos, the below photo is the closest to the actual shade of the rug:
Here’s a quick video 360 of the dining room and more of the rug (BTW, in the video I say that the rug is six inches instead of six feet. Clearly that explains why things never work well when I cut molding):
It’s a beautiful silvery gray, with purple/blue undertones. If you like neutrals, my opinion is that this is a great choice.
As promised, all sources are below, either in the widget or linked. Let me know if I missed anything.
Fabric | Tobacco Basket (or here) | Rug (new) | Paint color: Valspar Oatlands Subtle Taupe
Thanks for stopping by, friends!
I don’t mean to pry, but we readers (or at least this one!) enjoy hearing personal updates. How long will your husband be gone? And will you be staying put in that charming town until your daughter finishes high school? Your life is a window into the personal sacrifices military families make.
You’re not prying! I sent you an email and promise to post an update for everyone soon.
Thanks, Christy!
Beeeutiful Christy!! Love the new rug and chair coverings…….I trust you did the chair coverings? =)
You are correct, Julie. My trusty staple gun and I got the job done!
It’s very pretty, but don’t they advise that dining room rugs should be large enough for the chairs to stay completely on the rug when pulled out? Or won’t that work here?
Yes, decorator rule is that chairs are iN rug when sitting on chairs so technically – rug is too small
Thanks for your comment, Maria. This is a 6′ diameter rug and the next size up is 8′, which is way too large for this small space. As is so often true with decorating “rules,” we have to flex them for our individual tastes and situation. You’ll notice the last rug was the same size and it worked great for our family!
Take care,
Christy
This is a 6′ diameter rug and the next size up is 8′, which is way too large for this small space. As is so often true with decorating “rules,” we have to flex them for our individual tastes and situation. You’ll notice the last rug was the same size and it worked great for our family!