New Living Room Rug + Wide Angle Photos

I took a break from working on the studio bathroom yesterday to put the living room rug in place and situate the furniture with a temporary ottoman that’s kind of the size of the coffee table I want.

Side note: Yes, I’m still working on the bathroom. EVERY.FREAKING.DAY. Y’all, if I don’t finish that bathroom today, I just might go crazy. I’m so unbelievably tired of working on that room, and I desperately want to move on to other things. But I won’t let myself move on until it’s finished. I’m down to finishing up painting the trim and walls, painting the door, installing the toilet, and installing the towel ring and toilet paper holder. Throw in a few accessories, and it’ll be done. I promise that you’ll see the finished room as soon as it’s done and I can get pictures.

Anyway, I needed a break yesterday, so I decided to play in the living room. This room is such a mishmash of things right now — a new sofa with sticky pads all over to keep my cats from scratching, two chairs that have been in non-climate-controlled storage for ten years now and look like they came from the garbage heap, a length of fabric draped over a curtain rod, and a bench borrowed from the breakfast room to stand in as a coffee table. But so many of you asked me if I was still going to use the rug, so I went ahead and put it down and got everything arranged so that we could get an idea of how it will look.

To be clear, this is the same rug design as before, but I bought the next size up. So this is the 9 x 11 size. And I took pictures with my wide angle lens so that you can get a better idea of how much room there is.

Living room with rug and temporary ottoman

Seeing that rug in the room makes me so incredibly anxious to finish the room. Those drab, torn up chairs really suck the life out of the room, but you’ll just have to imagine them covered in the floral fabric on back (you can see a glimpse of that fabric wrapped around the pillow on the sofa) and the raspberry velvet on the front. Here’s a picture I showed the other day, in case you missed it.

Living room chairs draped with new fabric - raspberry velvet and colorful floral

But as you can see in these new wide angle pictures, there’s plenty of room between the chairs and the sofa for a coffee table or ottoman. In fact, standing in the room, it feels awkward without anything between them. There’s almost five feet of space between the front of the sofa and the front of the chairs, and without something there, it just feels like dead, empty space with no purpose. Plus, I can’t stand not having a place to put my feet up and put a glass of tea.

The chairs don’t have seat cushions on them. I think I may have even thrown those away already. But even with cushions, you can see that the chairs are too low. I’ll be putting taller legs on them to raise them up so that the top of the seat cushion is the same height as the seat of the sofa.

And the scalloped mirror will be staying, although there’s a possibility that I’ll find a new color for it. Maybe purple? But I’ll wait until the room comes together more to decide that.

Now I just need to decide if I want a coffee table or ottoman. Right now I’m leaning towards a coffee table. And this time, I don’t think I want anything glass. I live with a perpetual tornado named Cooper, and it’s nothing short of a miracle that he didn’t break the last glass coffee table. He’s a big dog, and he chews on big bones. He likes to throw his bones up in the air, and the couple of times those big bones landed directly on the glass coffee table, I just knew it would be broken.

That coffee table has survived so far, but I don’t want another glass table. Something with a wood or upholstered top would stand more of a chance of surviving Cooper. The idea even crossed my mind that I could do something with the white concrete that I have left over from my kitchen countertops. A metal gold base with a white concrete top would be pretty, and super durable. Cooper could toss as many bones on that as he wanted to, and it would be just fine! 😀

Y’all, all I want to do is work on my living room! But it’s back to the studio bathroom for me today. Hopefully this will be the last day. For my own mental well-being, this NEEDS to be the last day.

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49 Comments

  1. It will be lovely! And, a concrete coffee table would be a great addition (I totally get needing to be doggie proof, I came home earlier this year with my beautiful “what was I thinking” Bella).

    Young House Love did a concrete coffee table, that seems to be more of a coated top rather than poured top. Might be something to consider. https://www.younghouselove.com/concrete-coffee-table-top/

    Whatever you decide, I know the room will be beautiful.

  2. Why not a coffee table AND ottoman. Like what if the top was reversible to be either-or. Or what if a tray (or two) slid out from underneath the top of the ottoman to be placed on the top so you could set a drink down? You could even route shallow cup wells (and decorate, paint, or resin it). Or what if the top was divided in half (two “pillows”) with a thin strip of wood between the two to hold a couple of drinks?

    1. I was just thinking this same thing. I just bought a little ottoman with two cushions on top; each flips over to be a tray, so you can have your feet up on one cushion and have a safe place for your wine on the other one flipped over to the tray side.

    2. I think it is looking great and I don’t blame you for wanting to work on it. I love the rug size, the curtain fabric and that size for a coffee table or footrest. I am sure the chairs will be divine, but they don’t look like an easy job with all the tufting on the back. Hope you were able to get that bathroom off your list today, so you can enjoy a new project.

    3. A reversible top is an awesome idea! I prefer leather upholstery on ottomans. You can create something awesome and unique!

  3. It’s funny how the smaller rug and smaller couch made the room look smaller, and now with the bigger rug and bigger couch the room looks bigger! Love it!

  4. What about the ottoman you made earlier for that room? Could you reupholster it in a new color then use a tray on it to hold your tea? Would like to see the fabric draped on those chairs with the rug to really see how the colors blend.

  5. How would the two blue chairs from the music room look in the living room to give you the perspective of the height you want? In the end, will the height of the chairs be the same or taller than the sofa?

  6. What about the two ottomans you have under your hall table? How would those look as a coffee table? You could push them together or just keep them about 2 inches apart? Also, they could double as an ottoman when sitting on the sofa or chairs.

  7. I love the new look you are trying to achieve. It’s going to be comfortable and elegant when need be.
    The first pic looks off kilter to me. I think it’s the fire place. To me it is a heavy piece. The other pieces and colors look more balanced with one another. I didn’t want to mention this, but I know you welcome input…..when asked.
    However, the option to ignore me is ok too.
    I do love the new color additions and the rug is a perfect grounding for the room.
    Peeve looks to be cat napping happily.

    1. I see what you mean, do you think its the color? Maybe the more saturated raspberry and floral chairs will balance it ;).

      1. It’s obvious you love color. Personally, I can’t see the dark purple and bright floral blending with the rug color and the pink fabric. Too many colors calling out to me, but that’s me.
        I admire how you can do so much on your own, and I enjoy following along.

    2. The fireplace is the same color as the entryway wall. They balance each other out, which is visible in the room, but impossible to show in a photo.

  8. You know, I’m not a pink person, I’m for sure not a purple person, but…I absolutely love where your living room is going. The pink and green and purple are beautiful together. The gray sofa, oddly enough makes it all work by keeping it from being “fantasyland’. You have a gift, and I’m oh so envious.

  9. I love this arrangement. I’m in the same boat as you have been with a “difficult” living room. I think I’ll try to float the furniture. Thanks for the visual.

    1. I’m using these double sided sticky sheets –> https://amzn.to/2ple4L0

      I’m not sure how long I’ll need to leave them on to train them not to scratch. Hopefully not long, because they’re very sticky on both sides. I was vacuuming yesterday and got my hair stuck to one!

      I also have two of these cat scratch loungers on the way –> https://amzn.to/2oKOkYn

      I’m going to place them in the living room (hopefully) and entice them with some catnip so that they’ll scratch those and not my furniture. I’ve tried other scratching posts and scratch pads before, but they didn’t really like them. I have high hopes for these.

      1. I have found that a couple of strategically placed and draped throws have discouraged scratching on a chair and one end of my couch.

        They have the added advantage of being available when I want to relax and read or bingewatch something coupled with carrying my accent colours to the furniture.

  10. I really love the green mirror with the floral fabric. Will you wait until the chairs are finished before changing the mirror color—please.

  11. It may not be possible depending on how you are lengthening the legs of the chairs, but it will lighten their appearance and help “enlarge” the room if you have exposed legs instead of skirts. Either way, I can’t wait to see them when they are done.

  12. Fresh, feminine (but not too feminine), and functional. I’m really liking the colors; the teal fireplace grounds the room, the gray sofa keeps it from being toooo girly, but the pink and floral makes my heart sing! I love the new furniture arrangement for Matt to be able to pull up to the conversation area. Are you planning to skirt the two side chairs? I agree with whoever said having the legs showing would open up the room. What happened to those two beige tufted back chairs you had in the living room many moons ago?

  13. I endured many variations of coffee tables and finally settled on an oval one. It happens to have a granite top (from Wayfair.) I love it! That little Bit of extra room around the corners makes all the difference for our big dogs and little grandkids! And it’s industructable!

  14. I like the muted purple with your rug and grey sofa. Maybe you might want to do something that color? I am sure it will be pretty, no matter what you do.

  15. “I live with a perpetual tornado named Cooper”……. I love it! I am so glad he has worked for you both….. I love it when people see dogs and others pets as part of the family….no matter their personalities! Love what you are doing in this room! Wish I had you talent!

  16. May I ask what the sticky pads are that you are using on your sofa to keep the cats from clawing it and where did you get them? Thank you!

  17. I would happily donate the gold coffee table base currently in my living room but you would have to arrange transport. It’s under the heaviest chunk of oval glass on the planet. 😁

  18. Ok- so that rug is To Die For. I have loved it ever since you bought it. AND I love the floral print you want for the chairs. But (me not being the designer) just can’t see those two chairs covered in that fabric and them NOT clashing with the rug. Clashing is not what I want to say, since the colors go, but maybe “take away” from the rug?? I don’t know. You are the so awesome I’m sure you have factored them in. Love everything you do!

    1. I am in love with how the living room is taking shape. Love your color choices. Everything is so colorful. But I wonder if the window blinds wouldnt make the room look larger and brighter in white or lighter color. The rug is to die for.

  19. Great idea doing a coffee table with a metal gold base. I work with Feng shui and more representation from the fire element would be a great addition to the room which now has mosty representation from the metal element(white walls, grey sofa, all the pastel colors in the rug, curtains etc). Fire element will give a good balance to all the metal.
    Love your blog!

  20. I just have to say I love the new windows and trim you added – and those beautiful floors. You’ve really made this house sing – almost singlehandedly! I’ve followed for a long time – through all the living room changes. Weren’t you the one who painted a floral couch? I was reminded of that when you went through all the living room reincarnations. Can’t wait to see those pretty chairs finished.