Living room update

And yes, I am still improving my living room. Which is a bit weird, because now that I moved the desk to the bedroom, I hardly spent any time in here anymore. But it's still the room that inspires me the most.

It all started like this.

During one of my numerous stints to Ikea this summer, I was very pleased to discover they had drastically reduced the price of the Koldby cowhide rug - down from 199 eur to 129 eur. Such a substantial discount could of course not be resisted and a gorgeous grey cowhide came home with me.

It was huge and dark and shiny, in one word: fabulous. I was totally under its spell... in the shop... because once in my living room, the rug turned out to be waaaayyy disappointing. I never really got accustomed to it, too dark, too big, too grey.

Weeks later, the whole thing was returned (thank god for Ikea's 90 days return policy!) and the freed up cash was directly invested towards a new Ikea purchase...

Yes, that really is an Ikea rug. They are obviously & totally milking the current trend for oriental rugs. But - as I think I have mentioned before - one of the rare things I prefer to buy new, is actually rugs. I hate to think of what filth and bodily fluids might be hiding in a vintage one. And having a vintage rug professionally cleaned... you might as well buy a new one!

Ikea has them listed under the improbable name of Persisk Kelim Gashgai. Incredibly enough they are handmade in Iran, making them real Persian rugs. And a friendly and helpful Ikea employee even informed that each rug is unique. Not bad at all for Ikea.

Now this time around I know I found a long time companion. The rug is colourful but wonderfully muted at the same time. Definitely not too garrish, which might be a problem with all the lively pottery I have standing around. In fact, the red exactly matches the chairs and is a really nice reminder to all my vintage ceramics.

Bonus photo: the same space at night. Think of it as compensation for the missing 'before' shot with huge dark cowhide...