Stools and rugs: revolving door, part 2

Let's get serious for like a sec. I want to be a good steward of finances and this green earth, so there's a slight crisis of belief that sails through my thoughts sometimes as I look to tweak things to perfection in our home. Patience and confidence are the top character qualities I hope to draw from in making decor decisions. A room is not going to come together over night, and often when I push it to, the design falls flat because it lacks the collected/cultured look that makes it feel genuine. So I rearrange and remove and add until there's an actual feeling cultivated. Like, "Hey, I want to spend time in this room. I want to look around and learn from the books and the art and the sunshine. I want the people I love to be able to enjoy this too." And then I sell the old rug and feel even better. ;) Anyway, the thing is there's definitely something to be said about surrounding yourself with beautiful things and people. Keep your head on straight- don't obsess, but recognize and appreciate it. And I'm also saying don't settle. God is the maker of creativity and we're made in his image, so art and beauty should move us. Mediocrity has rarely made a difference. In anything.

So you guys. I've had 4 rugs in my 5 Mile Rd. living room in the 7 years we've lived here. Is that normal? Every time I see a rug at a flea market, I check the price. ANY rug. Size, color, pile. None of this matters. I love rugs. And have we talked about lamps lately?...mama likes a good lamp. But reign it in, this is about rugs. Here is the last post showing the LR (rug from West Elm, sold it. Loved, but just too big for my micro living room. And golly professional photos are clutch..ee), and the first rug (from Ikea, still have it and love it). Then there's this ivory Moroccan wanna-be. I still have it, but it got so mangy so fast...what am I gonna do with a mangy rug? Just having a hard time saying goodbye.

{Target}

{West Elm}

{Ikea}

And now. My friends at Ecarpetgallery (they don't know we're friends) sold me this one. I wanted the age and the texture and the imperfection of a vintage handmade rug. This is it. It's a new antique, if that makes sense. Like made one million years ago, but never used. Maybe it's not quite that old..unless God made it..?

{Ecarpetgallery}

I mean, I love sun, but what the heck? Trying to take pictures here! Mr. Sun, you're throwing off my iPhotography groove.

I've also gotten a vintage kitchen rug this year, and for the girls' bedroom, and the upstairs bathroom...I'm on a roll. A rug roll. Rollin' out the red carpet... 

Okay, here's the kitchen rug, older than these very hills and bought at a flea market in Massachusetts..or New Hampshire. Those pint-sized eastern states have me confused. 

{East coast flea}

The girlfriends are getting book shelves in their bedroom soon. I'll take pictures and you'll see the rug I got for them from a different seller at the same flea market.

Stools and rugs: a revolving door, part 1

I've been working on the boys' bedroom, which is nearly ready for a photo sesh with my iPhone. It's getting pretty fun, y'all. 

Chairs. More specifically stools. These 3 beauties below came via Craigslist.  A couple years ago, my friend Tabetha and I were feeling clever without our combined number of 9 (NINE!) children, when we went on the adventure that is fetching a Craigslist find. So even though the stools were less 'petite Windsor' than I expected and more generic 'bigger is better,' my adrenaline said buy them, so I did. They were light maple, totally factory grade blah. I was inspired by this olive color and needed to introduce it to my house. Once painted, they were pretty.. but they were always a little too big for the space, and since they spun I was on constant spin patrol in an effort to preserve them and the counter tops. Alas, they went out as they came in- Craigslist.

[The giant chalkboard sitting behind them is waiting to play a role in an upcoming wedding that I'm styling}

If Andrew can't build something I want, my search starts in the 'used' market (thrift stores, flea markets, Craigslist), but after stalking the stools category on Craigslist for many months and not finding what I wanted, I decided to check target.com. I knew I wanted metal, and I found these nice little guys at a very reasonable price. They came in pairs, and since I needed 3, I'm selling one. Check the Brainerd, MN Craigslist! ;)

{The old stools were so big I had to climb on them to get beyond their backs and wash the counter tops..I'm not even being dramatic.}

{Yeah, my favorite part about these stools is they're short enough to tuck under the peninsula and not obstruct the view through the house from the kitchen to the LR. #smallhouseproblems}

The first stools we had (before the olive loves) were of the classic $10 backless maple, fall apart if you look at them variety. Three sets of stools in the 7 years we've lived here, and I think we finally got a keeper.

Next up- rugs.

Also, iPhone photography is in my wheel house..what does that even mean?