Decorating Dilemma

It’s Tuesday so you know what that means… freedom and quiet. And I’d planned on spending the entire day with my book and HT #4 but sadly, it looks like rain. So I guess that means I’ll do some shopping today and will work on my next project that trust me, you all are going to LOVE, and I also need to pick up some small “thank you” gifts for the mini monograms summer camp teachers. I picked up a really cute brown ribbed tank with pretty flowers appliquéd on it near the top and the bottom (I promise it’s cuter than it sounds!) so I am thinking of throwing that on and layering it with another pink tank underneath, and also pair it with my khaki bermuda’s and flip flops for the day. I might have to switch into my Lilly purse for the day too then. Just in case you were wondering.

So Ashley sent me yet another decorating dilemma for her adorable new house and honestly I had no plans of blogging about this because I am sure you all are quite tired of her hogging all my blogging topics, but while I was researching one of my projects I am working on for this week (SO excited about it, btw!), I came across a very simple and do-able project that is the answer to her decorating and budget dilemma. The problem she has, which many of us do, is that she has loads of hardwood floors and needs area rugs. Well area rugs are expensive and isn’t something that most of us can just dash out and buy a dozen of, no matter how badly we need them to warm up a room. I mean, hello! She’s got an entire house she has to decorate, not just the floors to worry about! Now, I have purchased all my area rugs from Home Decorators Collection and been very pleased. Ashley mentioned she bought one and the color was off, but again, I have never been disappointed and I think their prices and selection are great. She also told me that they were offering free shipping on their area rugs right now and I could not find that for the life of me so let me know if you’re able to find where they are offering that on their site (otherwise I’m just going to assume the heat has gotten to her head). A few more sites I found are Floors and Surfaces and Rugs Direct. If you happen to live in the Southeast, then by all means hop in your car and it is well worth the drive to make it to High Point, NC and Dalton, GA to find some amazing deals. And if you are really just looking for a solid area rug, then go to a large carpet wholesaler and ask to look at their remnants. You can buy a remnant for super cheap and then they will tell you where you can take it to have the edges bound (finished off) and it will cost you very little compared to the cost of a nice area rug (this is an old College dorm trick).But my real solution for Ashley that I wanted to hit on today, was that she (and yes, you too) can even make your own canvas floor cloth/rug. I don’t know why I’m so stuck on canvas this week, but I promise it will most certainly not be a theme in tomorrow’s good idea I share with you. Anyhow, I’ve seen this done many times on HGTV and while I’ve never attempted it myself, it looks very easy. The best directions I stumbled across are on Martha’s website so please go there and check them out for yourself because quite honestly I'm feeling too lazy to lay them out step by step here today. She also provides you with decorative templates which are always a big help for those us of who are slightly drawing impaired. Just think, even if you don’t want to do an entire huge rug, you can do a nice accent on or even a runner that’s say khaki or taupe background, do a black border with a single initial monogram. That would actually look nice in an entry foyer on a runner, or a powder room as well. And let me just take the opportunity to throw in here, that if you are in fact, tired of Ashley hogging all my creative genius (I am using this term loosely of course), then jump on in and send me an email and I’ll roll out my own red carpet for you too!