Layering Love

When I get bored, one of my favourite things to do is browse house tours on Design Sponge.  I was doing so Saturday as therapy after a brain-killing trip to the mall, and I fell in love with Kate Hayes and Jack Ehrbar's home.  The maps, the stacks of books, the giant Mikael Kennedy print (here I am revealing just how derivative my taste is--ah, well), that fantastic little nautical lamp.  Most of all, I fell for their rugs.

I feel like it's tricky to make layered rugs look good without feeling lumpy, but this room goes right past "good" and settles into "comfy."  That's success.  I tend to shy away from buying rugs, I guess because the cost often seems prohibitive for something that just lies there, but I've realized recently how much I really love them.  A great rug can be exactly what you need to add just the perfect amount of interest and intensity to a room.  Here are some of my favourite styles of rug (digitally layered because: why not?):

Clockwise from the top left, that's Madeleine Weinrib's Ikat Blue, the Tan-Tan Rug from Anthro, MB's Red Zig Zag, Ikea Stockholm Rand (MB's Buche is a similar, pricier option), MB's Pink & Orange Lulu, and the Rens Sheepskin from Ikea.

I love the look of stripes up against zig-zags up against kilim and ikat designs.  For the record, I would never actually layer rugs like that.  I think the reason the layering up top really works is that the anchor rug is a lighter color and calmer design.  My little mock-up is WAY too busy.  It's also REALLY expensive, which is why I do most of my rug browsing on eBay, Craigslist, and in my mother's basement.

But that's why God gave us the internet: for madcap daydreaming about perfect rooms.

Bonus:  I love Jamie Meares (of the fabulous Furbish Studio)'s Rugs 101 post.  It's a really, really great place to start.

Ottoman Hunting

So I have this chair.  It belonged to my grandmother, and in West Virginia it became Vista's favoured perch.  However, it now lives in the same room as her bed, so she doesn't use it much (also, I tend to pile clothes on it).  However, I would like to use it.  Specifically, I would like to read in it.  It can be tricky to find places in this house to settle in with a book, and I'm a needs-silence sort of reader.  I usually end up in bed, but lately that's been giving my back fits.  So, I would like to use my red velvet chair.  This, naturally, has led to a mad search for an ottoman.  How's a girl supposed to read with her feet on the ground?

Here are some options I've dug up.  I'm leaning towards the CB2 knit pouf, but man, that yellow Moroccan fellow is pretty great, too.  What do you think?

Sources:

Mustard Moroccan Leather Pouf - Furbish
knitted pool pouf  | CB2
Lind Ottomans - Room & Board
Handmade Kilim Puff Ottoman  | Overstock.com
Uzbeki Suzani Ottoman - Found Object