I have a really special art project for you tomorrow, that anyone can do, even without artistic flair. I’m partnering with Cutting Edge Stencils for the project and my kids helped make it.  It’s not perfect, but we love it and can’t wait to show you…tomorrow ;).

Over the weekend I started using Excel to write up a source list and budget for my living room project and reality hit me full in the face.  I have enough money saved right now to pay my workmen, and not much more.  That means the coffered ceiling and my rug will have to wait. I’m listing some stuff on ebay and craigslist to see if I can earn enough for the wood for the built-ins.

I made a little video for you to show my process of setting a budget for a room:

The lack of cash doesn’t stop me from dreaming though!  I like to have the ideas decided on, so when the cash comes available and the DEALS roll in, I’m prepared to take advantage of them.  There’s nothing worse than a panic of “It’s on sale, but I don’t know which one I want!”  I don’t like to be pressured into a too quick decision on something I might have to live with for years.

I’m looking for a new area rug for the living room since the old one has found a new home in my office. My first area rug was 100% wool.  I chose wool, because it was natural and thick and plush.  Plus my husband’s grandmother bought wool carpet for her home 60 years ago and it still doesn’t have paths worn in it like synthetic carpeting would.  What I didn’t count on, was the SHEDDING.  It’s like we have 5 cats and the fibers make dust bunnies all over the house.  On top of that food coloring is permanent wool dye.  So when the toddler came wandering in the room with an orange popsicle dripping behind him, there wasn’t anything I could do about the stain it left behind.

I’m shopping for a syntheic rug this time.  I love the bold colors in the Albina Ritzy Retro Rug, but am not sure how long I will love it.  I tend to get tired of bold patterns really quickly, but this one is tempting. It’s on sale for Memoral Day for just $245 for a 9×13.  That’s a really great price for a huge rug.

My other favorite is the Aerial Decorative Plumes Rug.  It’s a little pricier at $320 for a 9×12. But the more subdued color pattern might be a longer lasting favorite for me.  There’s not much rug to show in this view of the living room, but here it is with the blue rug:

and with the colorful one:

I’ll see about making a different view of the room where more of the rug shows.  I don’t think there’s enough here to make a decision about.  BUT I love how the multi-colors work with the books on the shelves.  And I equally love how calm the blue rug is in the room.

I found a tutorial at ana-white.com for bulding my built-ins!  The original is 73 inches wide, and I need each of my units to be 48″ wide. I’ll only need to adjust the lengths of the horizonal boards and will use 2 doors instead of 4.  Also, I’ll construct the cabinets as stand alone furniture like the plans suggest, but I’ll wait to add any trim or crown molding until it’s in place in the room.  That way the baseboards and crown for the room can continue seamless around.

Here’s another version painted white with gray glaze.  I plan to do mine crisp white.

Do you have a preference for which rug I choose?  Is there another Rug that you think might work even better?