On the Hunt: Living room rug

Our living room’s finally got some great bones – from the Crate and Barrel Petrie sofa to the handmade wooden end tables to the Barcelona coffee table.  But if there’s one thing it’s seriously lacking, it’s color and personality.  Now we’re on the hunt for a colorful and modern patterned rug to kick it up a notch.  Once we find the seemingly elusive “perfect” rug, we’ll finally have an inspiration piece from which to build the room’s colors on.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• A modern pattern – either geometric or whimsical, and probably not floral
• At least 5’x7′ – because it’s got be large enough to define the sitting area
• Tons of colors  – making the rug super versatile, because it will allow us to change the look of the room by switching out smaller accessories when we’re bored with the space
• Neutrally-based – so that it doesn’t clash when laid atop our beige wall-to-wall carpeting
• Affordable – because it will really “make” the room, we’re willing to invest up to $500 for the rug. . . but would rather keep it under $300!

Oddly enough, we’re finding it harder than expected to locate a rug that fits the bill.  Is it just me or are most rugs in very muted colors or grays and blacks right now?  We’ve only found a few that piqued our interest – all at Anthropologie.

Anthropologie Mila Rug

Anthropologie Pliant Laurel Rug

Anthropologie Hibiscus Vista Rug

While I absolutely love the insanely bright colors of the Hibiscus Vista Rug, I think it’s too bright and neon for long-term versatility.  So it’s a toss-up between the Mila and the Pliant Laurel patterns.  Even though the Pliant Laurel is a bit muted in comparison to our other choices, I think I could play off the yellow more to keep things bright.

But since we haven’t made up our minds, are there any good rug sources you think we should check out?  So far we’ve looked at CB2, Crate and Barrel, West Elm, Macys, Target, World Market, Pottery Barn, Pier 1, PBTeen, Overstock, Home Decorators, and CSN.  Whew!  Makes me tired just thinking about it!