Here’s an interesting fact about my home: While I love little rugs and carpets, I have exactly zero in my own house. It’s wood flooring all the way, with wood-look laminate in the kitchen because that is what we could afford at the time. Carpets are cute but with smooth wood or woodesque floors, I can sweep and swiff without having to drag a bulky vacuum up from the basement. We did have a number of throw rugs once upon a time, but with five cats and a mobile toddler, I was vac’ing every day. Not cool.

And exactly how long will that stay looking nice?

You can imagine, then, how squicked out carpets in kitchens and carpets in dining rooms make me. Built-ins are one thing, because there’s not much you can do about that until you’re ready to refloor, but to take a kitchen or dining room with a perfectly good wood floor and then put a throw rug precisely where food is doomed to fall… that just makes me scratch my head. You tell me: Is there some benefit to carpets in dining rooms and carpets in kitchens that I am missing? Saving food for later perhaps? Because I simply cannot wrap my brain around the practical reason for putting a what is essentially a crumb catcher under food prep and food consumption zones.

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?

Why have I not tried painting a floor before now? Have any of you lovelies done it? How did it work out? Because we have, in our house, what is essentially an unfinished room. No walls, just beams. Sub-floor. Bare insulation. Windows that are older than my mom. And as much as it pains me to admit, we don’t have the means to finish it any time soon. Currently, it’s storage space, which is nothing to complain about. Unless, that is, your husband wants an office and you want a craft room and a little more family-oriented space. Point being, I can’t do anything about the room structurally, but I’ve been toying with the idea of sanding and painting the sub-floor and when I see these things… well, how could I not want to do it?

No trick, just stencils - heavy duty ones.

Think they did it freehand?

Yellow! *dies*

Am I totally crazy? Or could painting the sub-floor actually work? Why can’t I go out and buy a copy of this book and go to town?

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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

(more…)

Because this is what happens when a person doesn’t know when to say when to chalkboard paint. Yes, chalkboard paint is the bee’s knees, but let’s all show a little restraint, shall we?

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?

Talk about majesty of design! Rug Maker was officially granted a license by Royal Mail to manufacture the Queen’s Head Stamp Rug, a larger than life version of the Queen Elizabeth II stamp that’s suitable for hanging on a wall or *gasp* laying on the floor.

Hand knotted and woven in Nepal from 100% New Zealand wool, these rugs come in a various sizes and colors. The best part, in my humble opinion? The scalloped edges, so like an old fashioned postage stamp just torn from its sheet.

What to do, what to do with a Greek key rug… It’s a popular pattern nowadays, though I’d wager it’s never fallen out of fashion in any major way. This pattern, also known as a Greek fret or meander, is not one pattern, but rather many, because it’s just a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif.

To answer my original questions, here are a few things you can do with a black and white Greek key rug:

Er, I realized after the fact that the second and fourth pic are different areas of the same room. Still good for ideas, though!

(Images via: 1, 2/4, 3)