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hey there! I'm monica 

I pride myself on making amazing style and design accessible for everyone, regardless of location, budget, or ability! My design philosophy is rooted in authenticity + attainability - If I can do it, you can too! My work has been featured in countless publications, but I take the most pride in homeowners that have been personally inspired by my DIY ideas and have tried something in their own homes!

learn more about ME + MY BIZ

I’ve never bought a rug. Ok, that’s not completely true: I’ve bought a bath mat. Does that count? And sadly, I’m probably a long way from purchasing one, but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming. Thank goodness that a lack of funds doesn’t keep you from dreaming. Can I get an amen? In my dream kitchen, I would have a gorgeous rug in the “breakfast area”.  Let me remind you of the direction I’m heading in with my kitchen:
I’m on the lookout for a reasonably-priced rug that will bring in some light blue/aqua into the room with accessories and the rug. My first stop was RugsUSA. If you’re not careful, you can get get swallowed up in an abyss of beautiful rugs and lose a few hours of your life, but thankfully, I came out alive with a few rugs I would love to have grace the floor of my kitchen.
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Of course, this Morrocan Trellis Rug is out of stock. But so pretty, right?
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This Keno Bold Floral Rug in Slate is my favorite of the whole bunch, and is 50% off right now! Only $120 for a 5×8 makes this beauty a great deal. It would look so fabulous in my kitchen because it sort of mimics the design of my stencil (the two would be across the room from each other, so the two patterns wouldn’t conflict.) Love it.

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It’s pretty obvious that I love stripes. Combine that with a nautical navy color, and this Boardwalk Stripe Rug  is right up my alley. It would take my kitchen in a bit of a different direction as far as color goes, but I just might want to do that! (Considering I change my mind every 30 seconds…:)
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You probably have seen this rug before because it’s a pretty popular Ikea rug called the Gislev Rug. Why is it so popular, you ask? It costs only $20 for a 6×4 rug! What?!! Besides being so affordable, our bloggy friend, Mandi, tweaked this rug with a little bit of paint and it looked amazing, so I’m pretty sure I could add some blue and it would be just right.
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This Bogart Flat-Weave Wool Rug from Garnet Hill features a modern interpretation of the Moorish Tile pattern and comes in several glorious colors. And it’s on sale too!  Plus, this was one of Oprah’s favs so you know it’s pretty cool. Duh.

What about a DIY Rug?
Jamie, from The Creative Imperative, sewed several Ikea table runners together to make one large rug for only $35! That’s seriously tempting, people!

 other angle of room

Painting plain rugs is pretty popular in blogland right now, but this Painted Rug by Hayley Anderson
  really caught my eye:

Again this rug is from Ikea, and you know I wouldn’t use chevron (I’ve shared my feelings for chevron here), but the possibilities are endless if you’re willing to tackle the project yourself. But isn’t that the truth for everything? 😉

Am I the only person who has never purchased a rug?


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PS- Hey, this is Monica… I’m hacking into Jess’ post.  I need to throw out a plea for help. I need 2 BIG rugs.  I have been looking for rugs larger than 10×12.  My living and dining rooms have been waiting for rugs for eighteen months! So if you have any good, reasonably priced sources, let me know!!

The comments +

  1. Justine says:

    We received a rug on our wedding registry, but I bought my first real rug at IKEA a few months ago. (I think it’s actually the same one as in that photo above, but mine is unpainted…though now I’m super tempted!) I don’t blame you for not having bought one — they’re crazy expensive! But our IKEA rug really does warm up the dining room, so I guess it’s just a win-lose situation.

  2. bonnie fink says:

    You should consider doing a floorcloth — painted canvas to look like a rug (or any design) with a polyurethane coating. I’d think it would be right up your ally. I’ve been wanting to try doing one and have thought maybe a canvas dropcloth might work for the base.

    http://www.hgtv.com/decorating/make-your-own-floor-cloth/index.html

    good luck!

  3. Marlenda says:

    I looked for a year (longer, actually because we’re coming up on YEAR TWO of building our house – don’t ask…). I finally found the closest thing to perfect for me (without spending over 1K or close to that)at Tuesday Morning for $299.00 for an 8.5 x 11 hand woven. Scored even better at Home Goods when I found one the same size for $249.00 for our dining room. Monica, I don’t know if you have a Dump near you, but they are the only place I’ve seen rugs larger than 10 x 12 in store and at a reasonable price. I believe some Macys stores also might carry them, but for more $. Good luck to both of you.

  4. Judy says:

    We purchased a lovely rug when we moved into our current home. After a couple of months, we hated it. When we got all settled in with furniture in its final place and our accessories arranged to fit in the new home, what we had once loved, looked terrible. So, we decided we would put $$ aside for a wild into a “new rug” acct. We have looked and looked and well…it’s now been 7 years and we still have the terrible rug. We’ve agreed we’re both gun shy after spending the money on something we’ve grown to despise, we just can’t pull the trigger.

  5. Christina says:

    I have that gray IKEA rug and it’s PERFECT!! That’s the only rug I have ever bought…well, besides my bathmat too 🙂 If only they were all so affordable…!

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