I’m writing this in my new home office – okay, home office nook – which is an awesome thing to be able to put down even if the doors aren’t painted and my art is currently learning up against the wall on the floor. At least everything else is painted, and my furniture is all in. Only thing missing? A rug for under my feet since it gets awfully chilly in this house in the wintertime. Right now, it’s a toss up between this:

Gray on gray with gray plus giant flowers

And this:

Possibly in orange, possibly in green

Both from West Elm, and both on sale for cheap when compared to some of the usual West Elm prices. Why am I telling you all this? Now I need your assistance, of course. Help me decide on an office rug: Which do YOU like better?

Did you know: A flokati rug is a high pile handmade shag wool rug? Because I didn’t. At least not by sight. I always assumed that those ultra soft shaggy rugs were sewn together from the hides of some shagariffic animal and thus considered them off limits. Turns out, though, that flokati rugs are vegetarian-friendly, being woven together from wool gathered the usual way. After weaving, the rug is dipped in a cold river to get that gorgeous shag.

Naturally, now that I know I can have one I want one. There are different price points, and how much you pay for a flokati rug will determine how thick and plush and springy yours is. A $170 flokati will not be as shaggy or soft, while a more expensive model will have a much longer nap and will feel softer. But honestly, they all look pretty good from standing height. Here are just some of the ways you can use a flokati rug in the home:

via Domino

via Domino

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How adorable is this colorful rug designed by HAY? Named after a Danish candy – colorful, sugarcoated licorice balls – the Pinocchio rug is crafted in Nepal using hand felted balls of wool that are strung together like beads on a necklace.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I see a rug like this, I am definitely going to smile. And maybe dance around a bit on it just to see how the felted wool feels under my feet. Unfortunately, the Pinocchio rug costs just about as much as you’d think, coming as it does from HAY. But it is available in a 35″ size and a 55″ size, and it will make me smile, so if you have a space $500 or $1,200 lying around, why not spring for one?

Need a bitty rug for your house or apartment? You could definitely do worse than these 3′x5′ area rugs from Urban Outfitters – especially since they are lurking in the clearance section for a mere $19 each.

How about a woven cotton rug in a gingham stripe design with a playful fringe at either end?

Or, my favorite, a pretty sweet flower print low-profile cotton rug in a dreamy chartreuse?

Finally, for the mod squad out there, how about an eye-catching, free-form agate-inspired rug with tonal stitched edging? Also in cotton, in case you hadn’t guessed.

The only downside to these rugs is that the pattern is printed on, not woven in. But at $19 that’s not much to complain about, and a wee rug like this can easily live on in usefulness as an entryway rug or pet bed when you tire of the pattern.

The stylish Sterlingspider wrote to point this totally sweet rug out to me. Monsters in the bed? Monsters under the bed? Tentacles, claws, and paws? What’s not to like?

Unfortunately, my dreams of owning it were crushed before I even saw it as she mentioned the price in her e-mail. How much are we talking here? A cool $1,400 will buy this 8′ x 10′ Boogie Man Rug, which is a tribute to all things that creep and lurk under the beds of wee ones. Jellio recommends placing it underneath your child’s bed, an idea that I imagine may lead to sleepless evenings and overnight luminosity. Of course, if you don’t have a kidlet who’s of the impressionable age where the Boogieman seems oh-so-real, you could display this scarily awesome rug right in your living room.

Tired of walking on your bare floors? Me, too, but rugs tend to cost a bit more than I’m willing to pay for them now that I have a kid to think about. I’m fortunate enough now to live in a house with nice hardwood floors, but I’ve also been unlucky enough to live in apartments with splintering wood flooring and vinyl peeling at the edges so I know how vital something like good rugs can be to a person’s foot health and sanity.

I’m happy to announce that I can help at least one of you out, thanks to CSN Rugs. They’ve graciously offered to give away a classic 3′x5′ hand woven jute rug with a soft blue border to one lucky reader of this very blog.

All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment on this post telling me what kind of stuff you’d like to see on Manolo for the Home in the future, e.g. product reviews, photos of designers’ homes, home care tips, etc. On this coming Friday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll use a random number generator to choose the winner.

Good luck!

Particularly when you’re totally cute.

Natural coir, woven from coconut husks, makes this birds and flowers doormat from Acacia Home a perfect way to say welcome home. As sweet as it is, it stands up to all kinds of weather, so you won’t have to ask guests to take off their shoes before wiping their feet.

Nothing says mod like clean lines, beautiful curves, and plenty of black, white, and red. But life is more fun when you mix it up a bit, right?

Here, brushed metal cube tables, an Orbit ball chair, and a Hanako sayuri rug are paired with a lamp that bridges the gap between contemporary and classic decor.

Kilims, if you didn’t know, are flat tapestry-woven rugs produced in parts of the Middle East. Geometric patterns are the norm, with diamonds and octagons predominating, and lighter colored kilims are more common, though modern-day weavers are getting bolder in their color and pattern choices.

Unlike more expensive collector’s rugs — specifically sought-after pile rugs — kilim tend to be reasonably priced. This particular 3′x5′ rug is only $30 and shipping is free, though it is being sold via eBay so let the buyer beware.

Where I live, the birdies are just now starting to make a little noise and the first green shoots are tentatively poking up out of the soil. We’re at the end of March, the month that comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb, but things aren’t particularly lamby in my neck of the woods. It’s still pretty cold. Heck, it snowed the other day! In fact, today’s weather report reads “cloudy with a mixture of rain and snow showers developing during the afternoon. Some sleet may mix in.”

If it wasn’t for a little magic I learned, I’d be feeling pretty bleah right about now. The magic operates thusly: Make the inside of your home as springy as possible by replacing heavy curtains with gauzy ones, putting away those heavy throws, and prominently displaying brightly colored objects. The springier it feels inside, the faster springtime will actually arrive outdoors. Seriously, it works. I promise.

You’re probably looking at thisAngela Adams rug and thinking, “But it’s so dark!” It is indeed quite brown, but my eyes are drawn toward the circles of green at the end of each birch branch. They look, to me, like the first buds of spring…the ones that appear early because the tree is testing the air, deciding whether or not to come out of its deep wintertime sleep.

This 100% New Zealand wool rug comes in another incarnation that you might find somewhat more evocative of springtime because it’s a light, airy gray. I like Angela Adams’ stuff because she’s part of Rugmark, a global nonprofit organization working to end illegal child labor in the carpet industry and offer educational opportunities to children in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Gorgeous and humane? I’ll take that over blah and unethical any day.