Prior to this week my exotic bedroom was blanketed by an enormous old oriental rug.  Said rug was getting on my nerves, because it was covered largely by furniture – which made pet hair removal tricky.  Considering that the boyfriend is allergic, this was not an ideal situation.

When you rent your home, some things are just not within your ability to fix – such as ugly floors.  My living room floors are ugly, worn, and paint-splattered.   They could benefit from a nice, big rug.  I’ve been holding out, however, on buying the one that I love, because now that I’ve finally built a savings account I’m not eager to subtract from it.

Enter the bedroom carpet.  Sunday night I lugged that 12′ x 9′ carpet into the living room, gave it a much-needed thorough vacuuming, and stood back to see if it worked.  It’s not exactly my style, but for the price (free), it was just fine.  The primary color in the rug is red, so it somewhat ties into my paintings.  Also, it’s amazing how simply laying down the right sized carpet can really pull a room together – even if it’s not the rug of your dreams.

Just like that, my naked living room was transformed.  I must admit that up until now I’d not been pleased with the space.  No matter where I put the chair, it always felt awkward and random. Now, with the chair firmly seated on the rug, it feels cohesive.  Or, as Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams would say, walking into my home is now like getting a hug.

While the space is not yet complete, it sure has come a long way from this, the watermelon room (as the bf dubbed it):

I had trouble with the light from this angle.  It’s not quite as dingy as it appears:

I’m still fighting with the coffee table.  I just can’t seem to make the right kind of table arrangement.  And I wish there was no pile of holiday storage bins in the back corner, not to mention the Christmas tree which is waiting for this Saturday’s recycling pickup.  But this is life, and I won’t hide it just for the sake of some blog photos.