New rug, new living room

"LappljungRuta! LappljungRuta! LappljungRuta!"

This is either:
A. What Swedish soccer fans chant at big games
B. The decided name if we were to ever have a 4th kid
C. The rug we just picked up at Ikea!

If you answered C you win! Half points if you answered A since I don't really know what Swedish soccer fans chant. I guess it could be Lappljung Ruta...?

Anyways... This black and white Ikea rug really grounds our living room now. The soft, neutral Persian rug we had before was very pretty, but with all white/off white furniture, the space was too light. Nothing was tying the space together. Aside from the aesthetic side of things, I have really defined my style much more specifically over the last year. When defining my particular furniture refinishing and home decorating style I have used the words 'edgy' and 'eclectic' over and over again. Now I think the living room is finally lookin' like what I've been talkin' about!

The cute two-door cabinet has had several transformations - first I painted it white and didn't care for it. Then I painted it a custom grey which worked out really well for over a year. But as the room started to come together I noticed that the gray I made had too much purple in it.

(Before)

So I painted it a verrry light Duck Egg blue, (1 part Duck Egg + 8 parts Old White, both by Annie Sloan Chalk Paint). Lovin the super light Duck Egg distressed down to the soft grey. Once again, it's a perfect piece for this room, (and has been a helpful storage place for the kids' puzzles and craft supplies)!

The sweet bud vase was a last minute $1 purchase from Target in their dollar section.
They got me!

One of Cate's gifts to her bridesmaids in the wedding were these little clear glass ornaments which she filled with moss. I think this sweet promise of Spring and new life is worth keeping out all year long!

Plush duck egg blue velvet pillows, (20x20), were a lucky find at Ikea for $5! And that wasn't even a clearance price, (they had several other colors when we were there just a week ago)!

My answer to fresh art above our old church pew. More on this creation later this week!

Just to recap, here is the living room before the switch up:

 And now!

Coming up this week!
-Casual, strung up art and an easy monogram tutorial
-How to customize those factory made Ikea slipcovers, (a small touch that may be my favorite element of our 'new' living room)
-Q&A - if you have ANY questions about anything in our living room, please feel free to comment below or email me at chelsea@stylemutthome.com! I'll post the questions, (anonymously), and my best shot at answering them at the end of the week.

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

This post was originally published on Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Which rug? {Opinions welcome!}

Hello, hello, friends! This may be the first time I have asked something of you; I need your advice! On a whim my husband and I decided to sell our living room area rug in favor of something a bit edgier. The soft pastel, floral, Persian wool rug we've had since we moved in was a great find early on when we needed something to cover the wood floor for our crawling babies. Style was not as great a concern as price and size. 

It was actually quite a beautiful rug and served us well for the past 3 years. But as our style has really developed in that time toward a more rustic, edgy, urban look, the rug started looking out of place. It sold fast and this is our space now:

We have an idea of what we'd like to replace our old rug, but I'd love to hear your opinions!

The Lappljung Ruta rug, (below), from Ikea is our first choice at the moment. 

Others we've been considering:

Thoughts?

*And yes, I do realize that this is a very small, insignificant decision in the great big picture of life. But sometimes, making small, fun decisions like this help to ease the load of the tougher ones.*

Thanks for stopping by!

Chelsea

This post was originally published under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.