Living room update

Monday 11 October 2010

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...

12 comments:

  1. Great rug. Oh, and I'm totally with you on vintage carpets; it would have to be a very special one to tempt me into buying it despite the grossout/professional cleaning bill factor.

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  2. Lovely rug, suits your place perfectly. I agree about vintage rugs, saw a lovely long runner rug that would look great in my hallway but it had a strange old lady smell and way too expensive to get it dry cleaned!

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  3. Just came across your blog and I LOVE it! My husband and I are doing up our 60s home in England and we are embracing all that is mid century modern.

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  4. Thanks guys for all your nice comments ! Yeah, I have been looking into vintage oriental rugs on ebay and on flea markets, but they were either terribly ugly or terribly expensive or both (not to mention the 'ick' factor)... So I was very pleased when I came across this afforable Ikea alternative :-)
    JC - welcome to my humble abode. And good luck with the mid-century modern remodel. I love thrifting in the UK, sooooo much choice !

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  5. Hello! I just stumbled across your blog via Flickr and love what you're doing in your apartment. I work for an interior design magazine and would love to find out more about you and your home - I can't find an email address for you here, but would you mind dropping me your contact details at huma@herlittleplace.com? That's my blog email address (my blog is www.herlittleplace.com so you can see the sort of stuff I write about), but then I can get in touch with you from my work address too and explain some more. Apologies for leaving this all in a long comment! x

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  6. Hi Huma, well thank you very much for your comment ! Yes, ideed I prefer not to post any personal contact details on my blog. After a few too many horrific 'Criminal Minds' episodes, I am a bit paranoid about preserving my anonymity on the internet :-) But I am now off to your blog...

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  7. Cool - look forward to hearing from you! H

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  8. Just discovered your blog and I adore it. So much I had to link it to mine :-)

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  9. The way Ikea can solve unexpectedly your problems, is amazing! :D
    I really like how the rug fits with your living room's colors! Seems like have been made for it! :)

    I just found out about your blog and immediately added to my feeds rss list! :D

    Doei!

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  10. Roboti & The Vintagist - welcome and many thanks for commenting ! I'll be sure to step by your blogs soon :-)

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  11. Love this room! It's like a red and blue version of my living room. Scandi looking sideboard - check! Retro clock - check! West German Pots - check! It's all very, very good!

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