A little over a decade ago, I redid my
living room with a yellow ocher damask wallpaper, red fireplace wall (Benjamin Moore's Ladybug Red) and pink fireplace mantel (Benjamin Moore's Florida Pink). I also painted the insides of my built-in shelves in turquoise, and had Roman shades custom made in a red paisley print with scalloped fringe trim and tassels. For the finishing touch, I found the perfect rug at Anthropologie, with a solid gold center and patchwork square border in pink, brown, gold and grey. This is what the room looked like...
I've since rearranged the furniture a number of times, but I've kept the rug because it works so well. The only thing is, at 4' x 6', it's a bit too small for the room, which never really bothered me until recently. So, I decided to add a couple of rugs to give the room more oomph.
After looking on various websites, I found a couple that worked out well. The first is a 2' x 3'
Safavieh "Soho" rug for the room entrance. It's 100% wool pile, made in India, in an oversized animal print.
One reason I chose it is because it complements the round bullion fringe footstool in front of my wing chair.
The late French designer,
Madeleine Castaing, would approve, don't you think?
The second rug I added is this traditional area rug, which I placed at the other end of the room by the windows. It's a 3'6" x 5'6"
Loloi "Loren Collection" rug, 100% polyester, power loomed, made in Turkey.
I chose this rug because it really ties all of the room colors together – red, pink, turquoise, with bits of brown, orange and cream – and, like the rest of the room, it's about the absence of white. In addition, even though it's new, it has the look of a vintage piece.
Getting back to Madeleine Castaing, she once said,
"Be audacious, but with taste."
I think it's very sound advice, and what I often strive for in my home, especially with regard to colors and patterns. It's me.
