Rugs

I thought I’d update you on my search for a new living room rug that I mentioned back in September! In a perfect world, I would have sourced a high quality, vintage number. But in a COVID world, going to antique and vintage stores to shop for rugs didn’t seem like the most responsible decision. Plus, my budget didn’t allow for an investment rug at the time. So, we went in a different direction and purchased a vintage-inspired rug from Loloi.

You probably recognize the brand name since they’re an Instagram darling as of late with influencers touting gifted rugs fairly regularly. So, I thought I’d give you some honest insight into the rug I purchased to guide your decision if you have your eye on one of the brand’s affordable rugs.

Loloi II Layla Oriental Blue / Spice Printed Area Rug

Let’s start with the pros:

Clearly, the main selling point of these rugs is that they have a vintage look for an incredibly affordable price point. I purchased the 7.5′ x 9.5′ size and it’s currently selling for $161. It’s an absolute steal for a rug at this size. I bought mine from Walmart due to the ease of making in-town returns. It’s also available on Amazon. Both have free shipping.
The design has variation in the vibrancy and saturation, giving it a more authentic worn-in look.
There’s a lot of colors in the rug and an interesting design, which you don’t always get with a cheaper rug. The colors are muted, too, so I think this rug would play nicely with actual vintage rugs in your home.
I really love the whipstitch edging.
It has a flat weave instead of a tufted construction. I prefer it since a traditional rug would be flatter than those with a dense fabrication.
It feels smooth underfoot.
It’s incredibly easy to vacuum and clean. Our cat, Oliver, threw up on it and it completely came off and didn’t leave a stain. The busier pattern also hides pet hair well.

And, the cons:

The design is screen printed rather than being woven like a traditional rug would be. It’s hard to tell how well it’ll hold up, but so far so good. As per the label, I don’t use the beater bar when I vacuum it.
It’s on the thinner side. Not so thin as it feels flimsy, but you might want to consider a rug pad underneath it. We didn’t opt for one because our coffee table is heavy enough to anchor it and we don’t have children who would be playing on the floor.
Since it doesn’t have a thick, tufted construction with deep piles, you might want to vacuum more regularly as you’ll see any crumbs on top. (Which is also a pro, as far as I’m concerned. I’d hate to know what got stuck in our previous rug!)

All in all, I’m really happy with this. It satisfies my desire for a traditional rug, but at a fraction of the price. And while I’ll still keep an eye out for a vintage one that’s an actual investment piece and heirloom-quality, this is the next best thing.

SOURCES

Paint Color: Extra White by Sherwin-Williams
West Elm curtains
Pottery Barn curtain rod
Target pillows (sold out; other plaid pillow options here)
Schoolhouse sconces
EQ3 leather chair
Younger Furniture sofa
Loloi rug (also here)
West Elm coffee table (will probably replace it next year)
Ekais credenza (no longer available)
U-Turn record player
Sony TV
TV stand
Sonos soundbar
IKEA planter
The Elements of a Home book (would make a great holiday gift)
Schoolhouse brass coasters
marble coasters (similar)
duck bottle opener (vintage; similar)
Tramp Ceramics bowl
Tory Burch flats

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Living Room Rug Options — *rugs one, two, and three*

Hey, I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend! We spent Saturday in the Milwaukee area going to a county park, having an outdoor lunch at a brewery, and swinging by IKEA. The latter of which didn’t feel nearly as safe as the other activities of the day. While IKEA is usually a madhouse, it felt more claustrophobic in the midst of a pandemic — not exactly what I was hoping for during my first retail outing since March, aside from Target and the grocery store. I definitely scratched that in-store itch that day, but a couple of hours of looking at home decor inspired me to continue making upgrades around the house before winter sets in.

As far as exterior projects are concerned, I finally painted our front porch railings matte black (see the before; progress photos to come). Inside, I started looking for a new living room rug. We’ve been using this wool rug that we purchased when we lived in the apartment. It’s nice and all, but it’s too small for the space and doesn’t really work with the direction our living room is moving in. We really want a vintage rug, but affordable ones are hard to come by and we’re not exactly frequenting antique stores to find one. So, we’re going the cheap route for the time being. I’ve read good things about the Loloi II line (they’re often cheaper here with the option for in-person returns) and narrowed it down to my three favorites above and put them into a collage with some of our other living room pieces. (The coffee table is also from the apartment and I’d like to replace it with something that better fits our mid-century-meets-traditional aesthetic. Possibly this one.)

Of the three we narrowed it down to, I really love the second one. However, in the up-close view, I don’t like the tufted look for a vintage-inspired rug as much as I like the thinner woven look of the other two. So, here’s what we’re looking at:

Dave is leaning more toward this one and I think I’m in agreement. I prefer blues and greens over warm hues and the background of this one has more of those cooler tones. That said, I don’t love the center medallion, but the coffee table will be over that. My biggest hesitation here is if the geometric patterns of our throw blankets and pillows will look out of place with the rug. Clearly I’m no stranger to pattern mixing, but those just seem so dissimilar that I’m pumping the brakes a bit.

Then there’s this rug that has a lot more red than I’m necessarily on board with. However, the pattern of this one doesn’t compete with the plaids and stripes as much as the other one does. Plus, I like that the border has a lot blues in the design.

Which one do you like? We’d be opting for the 7.5′ x 9.5′ size, so it’s only around the $160-170 mark and returnable at Walmart. I could always order one and see how it looks, but I’d really rather avoid the hassle and nail it on the first try!

Sources
Credenza (by Ekais; I don’t think they’re in business anymore.)
Artwork (c/o Minted)
Striped Pillow
Plaid Pillow (similar)
Leather Chair (ours has wood legs)
Couch (amazing quality; looks new after three years)
Coffee Table
Side Table
Throw Blanket

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Review: Loloi II Layla Rug

Help me choose a rug