Before & After, Kitchen & Dining

Mistake-Turned-Great: Kitchen Update

Can you spot the change in our kitchen?

What’s that?  Oh, we’ve accidentally added an 8×10  rug to the space!

Yes, you read that right.  Accidentally.

Did I just fall into a store and have money tumble out of my wallet? Not exactly.  Although I should have tried to convince Ryan that’s what happened.

This rug is a perfect example of the old Jane style of decorating.  Impulse purchases, not well thought-out.  Thought I’d kicked that habit.

*Rambling story alert*

A few weeks ago I wandered into the Crate and Barrel Outlet.  I’ve gotta stay away from that store.  It is to me what Ikea or Target is to others . . . I can’t get out without spending money.   So I wandered in, “just to look,” and spied the recycled rag rugs on sale.  Only $50 for an 8×10.  Now if you’ve EVER done rug shopping, you know that $50 for an 8×10 rug is A HUGE FREAKIN’ STEAL.   Once I saw that price tag, I was determined to get one for the living room.  Because I’d been eyeing a teal / green one anyway.   They didn’t have the green or teal one, so I chose this.

Long story short, after living with it for a few days, it drove us both crazy in the living room.  By then it was totally dog-ified, and thus un-returnable.  I was so annoyed at myself for the impulse buy that I decided to try and make it work somewhere else in the house before cutting my losses and selling it on CL.

We moved it into the kitchen, where the cold tiled floor begged for a covering.  It fit perfectly!  I was a bit relieved.  Because I have chosen C&B rugs several times, only to have them sell out of the size I need before I can purchase them.

Now how about a little before-n-after action for this gorgeous Friday?

This is how the kitchen looked shortly after moving in:

Now, with the simple addition of the rag rug, the thrifted window valance, and some coordinating dish towels, it’s much more cozy without being cluttered!

A decorator might tell me that the orange tones in the rug aren’t ideal because they accentuate the orange tones of the wood cabinetry, whereas a cool color would have complemented it while keeping it toned down.  But I like it.  And so does Ryan (a big plus).

So in conclusion, the impulse purchase has worked out ok after all.  I wasn’t going to force myself to live with it, because I’ve learned that sometimes you should cut your losses and move on, but in this case it worked out.

Have you had any mistakes turn out for the better  lately?

PS:  Want to know more about my kitchen?  See the introduction, then peek at how I hide my dish rack, and how I faked a custom valance.

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11 Comments

  • Reply Cait @ Hernando House at 2:33 pm

    Great rug! It works really well in your kitchen.

    Also, your window jewelrey display is featured on ohdeedoh today! Woohoo! http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/old-window-frame-turned-jewelry-display-141899

  • Reply ashley @ sunnysideshlee at 6:18 pm

    Looks great. I always make purchase mistakes … trying to correct that behavior!! 🙂

  • Reply Cheryl at 7:01 pm

    Your kitchen is beautiful! I’m jealous. As for mistakes turning out for the better, I impulsively bought a double over-the-door hook from BB&B (darn those 20% off coupons). I intended to use for outside the closet door, but the hubby hated it. Now it serves a better purpose INSIDE the closet door holding my oft-used purses!

  • Reply LifeinRehab at 11:08 am

    If you got a guy to utter the words, “That looks great, Babe” your whole day is a win. Personally, I love it.

  • Reply tracie at 2:07 pm

    what a bargain!! and looks great in it’s new home!

  • Reply Robin at 2:51 pm

    I love this rug in the kitchen! What a great idea! 🙂

  • Reply April in CT at 4:01 am

    What a GREAT price and it looks so good! I bought the cutest dishrags (they’re more a decorative fabric than usable) because I fell in LURVE with the print and they were all out of the dishtowel version, but I had to have them. They didn’t break the bank at $4 for all 4, but I have absolutely NO idea what to do with them, I just love the bright and beautiful teal/red color scheme on them. I’m still thinking on it….

  • Reply Jennifer Laughlin at 8:12 pm

    I love it!!! It is so vibrant and sunny! It will make cooking and eating in the kitchen so much more spring/summery! =)

    I love when a mistake works out for the best! happy accidents! =)

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas & Crayons

  • Reply nikki/clickclackgorilla at 8:51 am

    So is your kitchen always this clean or do you scour it before the photo shoots? 🙂

  • Reply Ryan at 2:56 pm

    Just so you know, you can use these rugs for booby traps too. Apparently you can sprinkle rice, beans, caltrops… all over the thing and the first person to walk barefoot over it won’t notice them until they feel the stabs of pain shoot through their feet.

  • Reply mikalah at 4:41 pm

    Oh my goodness! I totally missed this post the first time around, and I’m super glad you linked to it again! I LOVE that rug. And $50 for a rug that size is an incredible deal. It’s almost wrong how great a deal that is! I think you could reuse that rug in a variety of settings too, so great purchase!

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