Inspiration!

I often wonder where designers get their inspiration when they design/re-design a space.  Have you wondered that too?  I watch shows like Divine Design and wonder “how did she come up with that?”  Well, I think I finally have done it!  I found some inspiration and I want to share it with you from the very beginning.

The start of this story is actually quite sad and I’m hoping to get through this first part without crying…again!  Right before Thanksgiving we lost a dear family member in our family.  My beautiful boy dog Charlie passed away.  It was very sudden and very upsetting to me and my hubby!  Here is Charlie in a better time…

On Monday before Thanksgiving we were going to bed and he started making a very funny noise.  It’s like he was choking or coughing or something.  He seemed to settle down and I didn’t think much more of it.  When we got up in the morning it was awful!  There was blood everywhere.  We still don’t know what happened.  We have theories but bottom line is he basically bled to death.  We rushed him to the vet on Tuesday morning but before we got there he died in the car.  We still miss him every day.  Sometime during the night he went to the living room and he bled out…on our living room rug.  There was no recovering the rug and to be totally honest, I didn’t even want to try.  We just rolled up the rug and threw it away.  We had it a very long time anyway and it was getting to the point where we needed to get rid of it anyway.  I didn’t want any reminder of losing our beautiful boy either so out it went.  I hope you don’t mind me sharing this part of the story but it’s kind of an important part of it.

So, let’s move on to the better part and happier part of the story.  We waited until after Christmas and I started looking for a replacement rug.  Man, there are a lot of rugs out there and when you start looking you just never realized just how many types, colors, designs, etc. that there are!  Also, my living room is really large so proportion is a very big thing.  A simple 5 X 7 rug would look lost and and very inappropriate in the room.  I really needed at least an 8 X 10.  Well, my daughter called me and asked me if I had heard of this website called rugsusa.com.  OMG!  They have so many rugs and I’ll admit I got lost on the site and just looked, looked, and looked for days.  Well, I finally found one I really loved but the price…well, let’s just say “uh, no!”.  It was $1800 for the 8X10 size.  No way could I afford that.  I really wanted it but I just couldn’t justify that, especially right after Christmas.  Here is the rug I really wanted:

I loved it but not at $1800.  So, I kept looking while keeping in mind my daughter’s living room rug that I also loved.  She got hers at Pier One and I really loved it as well and actually wouldn’t have minded it but it didn’t come in a large enough size.  Here is her rug:

As you can see, my taste varies greatly!  Well, I finally found one on the rugsusa.com website that 1.  I loved, and 2. was priced in my price range.  I ordered it and discovered it was also 20% off with free shipping and no tax.  Total price?  $249!!!!  I ordered it and got it within a week.  I put it in my living room and I’m in LOVE!  It added just the right pop of color and now I have my inspiration for the rest of the room.  I’m going to take the colors from the rug and pull them out and incorporate them into the rest of the room.  I’d like to use the blues especially.  Here is the rug in the room now:

So, this is now my inspiration for the rest of the room.  My plans (once this stupid shoulder heals and I can actually do some of the things I want to do!) include:

1.  Replace all draperies with some lighter colored fabrics

2.  Paint the walls a cool, soothing tan or blue…or maybe even both

3.  Scrape the popcorn off the ceiling and paint it as well.

4.  Replace some of the brown leather furniture with some lighter colors.

5.  Replace one of the end tables with my 2 tiered table I rescued from the Salvation Army (after I refinish it that is)

6.  Re-arrange and replace some of the artwork on the walls.

7.  Paint the top of the coffee table a nice off-white to make it stand out a little more with the iron frame and wicker baskets.

Well, what do you think of my inspiration?  It is such a big change from what we had before.  Our previous rug was very muted colors and this one is just so bright and cheerful.  It is my jumping off point and I’m super excited to take that jump!  I’ll share more as I go along.  Like I said, I’m still waiting for my shoulder to heal before I can even start but keep in touch, I promise I will be doing something soon!  (or kill myself trying…just kidding…sort of!) 

Have a great weekend!