SFGate

beren it doesn't work with the other rug.
So far , looks like you just threw it there. maybe add red somewhere to tie everything together.

kittybart Yeah, I think the other rug is the biggest problem. I can't take the light colored rug back, but I can still take the red one back.

lastplace Love the rug, but it makes your tiles scream pink. I think you can do a lot better. Like what you have done so far in the livingroom

kittybart Good point about the tile, lastplace - it DOES have a very pink undertone (which is what I strongly dislike about this tile, among other things.). It's getting replaced in the next year but in the meantime, yeah, the rug does bring out that tone.

beren also, the rug in the other room looks a lot thicker making the red one look thin and cheap ( sorry to say)

kittybart That's so funny you say that beren - the rug in the living room is from Ballard. Not exactly "expensive". The red is an antique rug I got from a dealer = $$$$. Hahah!!!

lastplace why not try a charcoal gray/ brown rug with accents colors pulled from your livingroom curtains. The charcoal will also look nice with the hall color and the carpeted stairs, as well it will not fight with the pink undertones of your tiles

beren goes to show it's not how much you spend, it's all about how things should be tastefully put together. Love the rug from Ballard then, goes great in the room.

kittybart That sounds good lastplace. As I'm trying to navigate this modern rustic thing I want to do...what sort of pattern should I look for? Or should I go more for texture?

lastplace Yes, texture is the way to go, but don't be shy with color. I think it is best that you stay away from a very defined pattern as this will set the tone for the living room when you start to accessorize your living
room. Your living room is the main focus, with your entrance being the compliment. Any bold patterns that you are drawn to should go into the livingroom first

bevballew That is a cool rug in the family room. Love the foyer rug but agree with comments.

Keitha A lovely rug for sure but it really isn't doing much to enhance your foyer. The console table is great so my suggestion is to remove the rug and accessorize the beautiful table.

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC This tribal rug doesn't look like a print. It looks hand knotted. IT'S BEAUTIFUL. I lived in the Middle East for 15 years and learned that you can never have enough beautiful rugs. Start collecting! What you do in this case, is, you buy some rug pillows for accents for the living room, several colors and patterns. Then you get some very large art that has some of those colors in it. Get some other tribal art, doesn't have to be from the same continent, some African carvings for instance. Group them and make sure they are not just lost in the space. There are fun stools or instance.
BTW, those tribal rugs are quite contemporary, they even work in extremely modern surroundings.
If you look closely at this photo you will see upholstered saddle bags with several rug pillows next to them. Not shown here, but there is another Persian rug on the floor. The wall art is a 3D carving from Indonesia. Hope that helps.

LB Interiors I think the colors of the rug are too strong. It commands the attention and I think the living room is the focal area. Love what you've done there. You can accent with the bolder colors but I would suggest a lot of texture and and a few more brighter colors used in smaller doses for accents in either space.

sam0705 I love love this rug and I hope you can make it work here or somewhere else in your house. I think it's more reflective of the look you are going for than what's currently in your living room. If you like those colors I would just start bringing more into your living room along with some more rustic textures, coffee table more in the vein of your foyer console, etc.

I think the pattern on the living room rug is not so totally off from the foyer rug that they can't complement each other once you start brining some warm tones in your living room.

sam0705 Ps foyer is first thing people see of your home I see no problem with making it a star as long as the living room eventually matches it in style and star quality :)

gayledopp For me, it is making your life more difficult. Decorating at our home often has to evolve, ( budget.) With a modern rustic direction, this throws a southwest, or a tribal eclectic twist into the mix.
Because u are replacing tiles eventually, I might look for something that squashes the rose tinge in tile for now.
I have had great success with modern 24" carpet tiles for foyers. You could mix and match textures and patterns and no one would have to take there shoes off!
Practical, and very interesting! Find colors that already make a connection with the living room, and perhaps an introduction of an accent color. Then add one large ICON of eye power ( large print) that pulls the punch color in that you've added in pillows or pottery, etc.
I love making my life fun and easier. Always being keenly aware of how you authentically feel.

This picture is of commercial grade 24" carpet tiles. I have used them in a foyer, and in a grate room, and now in a kitchen. Not necessarily the direction for you, but just an example of my space.
Also, every quality carpet business has leftover tiles from commercial jobs. That's how I bought these. They will almost give them away sometimes!
Hope you enjoy the process!

sandj7510 I love this rug, and think you will go in this direction with upcoming purchases. It looks somewhat tribal to me, but also very modern/rustic, which is what you're going for. It brings in warmth and color, and is a great start!

kittybart A couple more I'm trying. I LOVE the tribal red but it wasn't working.

Here is a gold/blue/green option.

kittybart Here is a darker navy/wine/green/brown color.

eztia Neither of the two new rugs you are considering are rustic or modern.
I like the "wine" colored one, myself. I wonder what it would look like if you put the rug from the living room in the foyer and put the wine one in the living room? I am curious to see if the sofa color and the wine carpet would be complimentary to each other. That is a lot of shuffling about if the wine rug really is not going to stay, however.
Have you made Houzz Ideabooks of "rustic" and "modern" photos? When you have about 20 photos in each category, you should be able to start seeing a recurring theme.

HERE Design and Architecture I think the issue that you have been having is that the rest of your house seems to be basically monochromatic (except for the glimpse of one red wall?) and so it is tricky to incorporate an item that is not basically olive/grey/beige in color. I love the red rug about which you were asking initially, and, while I think you could allow it to encourage you to be more adventurous with color, it may require you to make some changes, like de-greening the color of the stair wall. The two later rugs, IMO, are less interesting, and really don't hold their own in the space - nor are they rustic or modern. If you don't want to do other things to make this rug more at home in your space, perhaps you can find something that is more like the first rug in its scale and its boldness but with a more greenish color palette?

eztia I see a glimpse of a red wall. What is that room? Could the red rug work in there?

kittybart Etzia - That berry/wine wall color is a powder room.

HERE Design - That rug in the living room is a 9X12 rug and won't fit in my foyer. Or are you just saying to try it out.

I don't have any other accents and everything else is monochromatic because I haven't chosen other accents. I guess I'm just not going about this the right way.

The wall color in my foyer isn't green though - it's pewter. It probably reads green on the computer but it's far from it.

*Sigh...I stink at this!!!

Maybe I'm trying to make the living room rustic/modern...when it isn't rustic modern. It's something else...except I'm not sure what it is.

I want a rustic modern space, but the furniture I already have isn't either of those things. I can't afford to buy new living room furniture, so I have to make do. Can anyone help me flesh out what direction my living room IS taking? That way I can find accents and art that compliment it and not fight it.

pinksis I vote for the gold beige rug. Of the 3, it goes best with your stairway carpeting. Imho...all you really need for your living room are some nice accessories and wall art. Btw, none of these rugs say "rustic" to me, but I think with the gold/beige rug it makes a pleasing entry, nonetheless.

HERE Design and Architecture Yes - on my computer, the rear wall of the stair has a greenish/khaki cast to it. (The truth is that color consultation really has to be done on site, with the actual lighting to be used. It even matters which way the wall faces, or whether it is a wall or ceiling.) If you want your space to be rustic and modern, the first thing I think I would do would be to de-emphasize the white trim (especially the stair pickets, which I would change for something square rather than turned, if it is an option.) You can do this by painting it a darker color to match the wall more closely, or by painting the wall white. As you mentioned above, you need art, etc. The embroidered pillows on the sofa are a good start, and they are also a good clue with regard to incorporating other colors: I think it will be easier for you to work in the green-yellow-orange neighborhood in bringing in red than to try and go the other way around the color wheel to get to the bluer reds which were in your first rug. I think it is possible to do the latter, but, I think it might require painting the walls some type of white.

kittybart HERE Design - Do you think the living room could even go rustic/modern? Or does the furniture dictate that it probably would be a stretch?

pinksis plus, i meant to add that (from the pictures) both the red rug and the maroon one seem to clash with the tones in your hardwood.

LB Interiors To avoid too much expense I would leave furniture as is, find a colorful rug - no matter the style, that you love and draw the color accents and inspiration from that.

Add rustic natural woods, bamboo, basketry, branches, linen, burlap, sisal, rustic artifacts and artwork prints to your living room. If you purchase items without much color, you can paint wash the natural elements by using a color in the rug, in blues, reds, yellows, oranges, greens etc. (choose accents whatever is in the rug). Shabby chic .. the items and frames etc.

This will keep you in the rustic feeling without everything being too neutral. Achieve the rustic from your accessories and fabrics.

Here's some ideas:

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC Kittybart, I think you might be well advised to hire an Interior Designer for a consultation. I agree, it has to be done on site. Get someone who thinks a bit out of the box and has been around the world once or twice. Some people always want to do what's safe. Dare being different!

bevballew I love both rugs. I thought one is supposed to pick a rug and develop from there? She is changing the tile eventually so I am confused why she can't choose one of these. The worst when designers pick what you do not like just so it matches. Maybe I am wrong.

pamelatyrrell I love the tribal rug and love color. The scale of the design in the rug has "modern" overtones although the pattern, of course, is historic. I think you are responding to needing more color and warmth in your design. I think the least expensive way to connect your 2 spaces would be to start with a large painting or poster for above the couch. Pick something you love for the color or design or pattern. Something you enjoy each time you see it. Don't pick it because it matches anything you have. Pick it for your emotional response. Then use paint and your new rug color/pattern (you may still be drawn to a tribal pattern but in a different color combination) to tie the spaces together. Your eye will connect the rug in the foyer to the colors in the painting. I love adding pillows as a way to connect the spaces too. Your furniture and living rug are fine; they are neutral and simple and can be jazzed up with the colors you are drawn to. Good luck. What a fun journey!

LB Interiors P.S. I like all the rugs

HERE Design and Architecture Hi, Kittybart - sorry for the delay. I had to run out for a while and can't figure out how to make the site work reliably on my phone. To answer your question - I don't think there is any problem with what you are trying to do relative to the furnishings that you already have. The rug you have in the living area is maybe not the most obvious thing if you are going for rustic modern, but, I don't think it's completely out of the ballpark either. It reminds me of crocheting or crewelwork and also of a quilt, any of which could go in the rustic (folksy) direction. I think Helga is right that you need to get someone in there who can look at what you've got and give you some specific guidance. Tribal rugs are a good way to go, as are various types of textiles (Guatemalan, Indian, Indonesian), and embroidery. I would look at ceramics too - and woodcarving.

LB Interiors Just a side note: Maybe move the entry table farther to the right, center to the space? The right corner of table can be closer to the staircase molding. Not touching but a better visual centering.

kittybart Helga - yes I agree I probably need someone in here to help me with this space. I have had some professional guidance but amateur decorating is a hobby of mine so I always "think" I can handle it....when I really can't. ;)

Thank you Here Design! I totally want to add some ceramics and wood into the space as well. I'm planning on adding some barn wood shelves behind the couch to add some decorative touches.

I have been waiting to add color accents because I just can't seem to figure out what colors I want to accent with. I want to keep it modern to flow well with my eclectic play room/family room, but the colors in there are so bright and poppy, it's hard to strike a balance between that space and my muted, neutral furniture in the living room.

I visited the rug store again today and they're bringing me some replacements to try out for the living room. It seems maybe I have SO much neutral in this space (which the large rug plays a huge part in), that I do need to be able to pull some colors from somewhere and not just add a bunch of random colors to a pretty monochromatic space (as someone else said).

So hang with me, if you have time and check back. I might have some interesting developments in the living room as well as the foyer.

Thanks all for your feedback! I greatly appreciate many more eyes on this project!

HERE Design and Architecture Go to the paint store and use paint chips to design your color scheme.

bevballew I think the third rug is gorgeous and I love the blue gold one. I can't see why you cant work from the rugs in paint colors and tile...which you can change easily with paint and you said you will retile. Like one of the designers suggested you can add with decor and pillows. It seems funny to be trying to match rugs to paint when you can get a designer to pick a color good from the rug. I just think your rug choices are stunning. Color is not reliable via the computer. Can't wait to see new rug in living room.

GizV I noticed your one lone pillow on the couch. It makes it difficult to picture a completed project but i think is a clue to the direction you want to see. I think once you choose the color you love (my favorite was the first rich red one), then adding accessories like pillows, art, throws, ceramics, etc in the same tonal quality will bring it all together. You have a great neutral base to work with.

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC I will be here!

kittybart I'm back!!! New rugs!!! Thoughts?

Foyer

kittybart Living Room

ruthmand Since this is your entry and you intend to change the flooring relatively soon, why don't you consider getting a sisal rug with a canvas border for the time being. It would be a bit rustic, modern, practical and go with whatever is going on elsewhere. They come in all sizes and border colors and are reasonably priced. Then when you change that tile flooring and have your living room down to where you want it, get yourself a rug you love.

GizV I like your new rug choices. Great jumping off point for the style you want.

HERE Design and Architecture Nice rugs. Can now see that your upholstery is two colors; in the previous pics, I thought it was an effect of the lighting. In any case, I feel like it might not be a good idea to get both, since they are so similar, and I really like what the big one does for the living room, so, I think I would choose that one.

lastplace WOW great new choices. You are well on your way now. You can do it on your own

bevballew Stunning! gorgeous! perfect for the look you want. i think the one in the foyer is great but too much like the one in the lr. What about the navy wine green brown one you had earlier. That might go?

anthip LOVE both the new rugs but particularly the one in the living room. I agree with HERE Design that it's a bit too matchy matchy now though. Keep the living room and look for something complimentary in the foyer. You could try some sort of kilim in a fine pattern with complimentary/same colours. I'm not sure any of the below are 100% right but this is the idea:

[houzz=Kilim Qasqagi 1]

[houzz=Kilim Qasqagi 2]

[houzz=Kilim Qasqagi 3]

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC Your new rugs are pretty, but they seem to be machine made. Personally, I don't use machine made rugs.
Kilims are always pretty, but no comparison in quality.

kittybart Helga - what about them makes you think they're machine woven?

They are from a rug dealer, hand woven/spun wool with a certificate. I am told they're Mamluks hand made from India. There is color variation in the dyed portions. I am told they're dyed with vegetable dyes. I am just wondering what you see that makes you think that. I don't want to get ripped off.

kittybart Or rather hand knotted. Doing some research to make sure these are authentic.

LB Interiors I really like the living room rug with your furniture. I like the way it works with the wood floor. I would opt for a different one for the foyer. The two rugs are too much alike. Now you can choose colors from the living room rug for your accessories. Good job!

sacapuntaslapioz Love the rugs now. what does not work is the wall color with your furniture. they are fighting each other.

kittybart I think it's the poor lighting from the lamp throwing off the color. I could be wrong but I'm fine with the wall color.

So I'm hearing the star rug is now in the living room. So should I select something from the foyer that recedes into the background? I'm thinking natural fiber like someone mentioned with little pattern/color variation. I don't want a kilim there because its so heavy traffic and even with a pad I'm afraid it will get tripped on and jostled around by my toddler.

bevballew I did not think it looked machine made. I have been to Turkey and watched rugs hand knotted and have a number of hand knotted rugs in my home. I have been told hand knotted rugs from India are a bit less expensive than from other areas...maybe cheaper labor. But I thought the rug looked of a very good quality. Can't wait to see rug for foyer. Yes double check with dealer. You do have to be careful.

eztia The new rug you chose for the living room is my favorite for that space of the rugs you have tried in there.

For the foyer, why not look at indoor-outdoor carpet with a non-slip backing? Consider it as temporary as the tiles. It can be hosed off for cleaning in the warm months.

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC Kittybart, the Kilims of course are hand knotted. The large rug in the Living with the ones in the foyer matching, I would bet they are machine made.They look too even to be hand knotted. Wool- of course. But, if they were handmade, that size would cost you several thousand dollars. What did you pay for them? Don't share if you don't want to.......

kittybart Helga - I did some research after your comment and I do believe they are authentic based on what I saw. The back patterns are strong, no additional backing added, the fringe is not sewn in or tacked in but rather integral to the rug itself. Several thousand dollars would've been a steal. I paid quite a lot for these and they were definitely not inexpensive. Thank you for your comment, though. I should be informed when making purchases like this.

That being said, I am taking the foyer rug back. It competes with the living room and makes that one less stellar. Plus, I love the living room rug and I'm a little indifferent to the foyer rug.

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC Hi Kittybart, I like the rug in the living room, the one with the star pattern in the middle. Since you have also the same one in small for the foyer, and they look so smooth and even, it was just my impression that they are machine made. But the colors are lovely. So if that's what you like, you should keep it! Listen to yourself more than to others. You have to live with the rugs, so you should love them.

bevballew Where you bought the rug should tell you if it is machine made or hand knotted and there is a sticker on the back of the rug that will give you info. I agree if you love it does it matter.

kittybart Yes, I agree too - I love the one in the living room so that's what matters. I do care whether it is hand woven and authentic because that is what I was told and what I paid for. If these are not what the dealer says they are, then I paid WAY too much. So in that sense, it does matter and I just wanted to be certain.

bevballew I
Oh gosh yes. I am glad you are checking. You do have to be so careful!! I did not realize you asked the dealer. I am glad he said yes so then you have that affirmation. Usually there is a sticker in one of the corners that gives you where it is from...India..turkey, etc. I have a rug similar to yours that I bought in Turkey and saw them making the rug in front of me. I believe hand knotted still can have great precision as the care that goes into it is interesting. It can take them one to two or three years to finish a rug. Does it have a sticker. Usually if you are buying from a reputable dealer price indicates the process. My neighbor across the street from me comes from India and she has told me they are less expensive than other prices...I believe due to labor cost.

bevballew I did not mean to insinuate to live with it disregarding the price. I would be fanatical checking to make sure I did not get ripped off. I don't know how much you paid so that is why I said that in the sense if you found out the price you paid is in line with machine made and it would cost much more money for hand knotted then keep it. The company I bought my rug from from turkey was in town and called to say he was in town so he must sell them or have displays at stores.

kittybart Yes, I believe I am dealing with a reputable dealer - but I have nothing to go on but his word (and now I can check since I educated myself). It does have a tag and also he is going to issue a certificate that verifies all the details he told me - hand spun wool, hand tied in India, etc. So I would always have that to back up if I were to find out otherwise that they were not authentic. He has consigned all these rugs to me (thousands of dollars worth), delivered them to my house and so forth so I think they are trustworthy or at the very least, willing to provide good service. He is cleaning two other rugs for me for free, cutting a pad for the new one and picking up the foyer rug - and I haven't paid him a cent yet. To me, that seems like a good indication.

All that to say, it really doesn't matter the level of customer service. It's the ability to verify (from the best of my amateur knowledge), that these seem to be the real deal.

Helga Simmons Interior Design LLC If the dealer says that they are handmade, I would trust him. It's so hard for me to see from the picture.

One Specialty Landscape Design, Pools & Hardscape Keep the new big rug! It looks beautiful!

sullenbj love the rug in the living room.......not in love with the hallway rug but IF YOU LOVE IT then just add some red accents on the hall table to tie it together........red pillows on the sofas in the living room will pull your eye into the room without overdoing it.........

sacapuntaslapioz beren, a rug is NOT cheap because it is thin. some of the most expensive rugs, and I am talking about 13 thousand dollars 4x6 rugs are very, very thin. the red rug looks expensive, the old living rug looked cheap and machine made even if it is an inch think. Now if you are talking about you personally liking thick rugs, nothing can be disputed about that. But to say a rug is cheap because it is thin, it is simply not true. do your research

bevballew I am so glad for you. I thought it looked like a better rug. I am no expert but it just looked like a quality rug to me. What I have found is that real thin ones can be made of silk, which is very, very expensive.it is the cocoon that spins the silk so you can imagine. I have a thicker hand knotted rug. Your dealer sounds reputable. Glad your room is coming together so beautiful!

hockey456 Sorry to say the red rug does not work, but I like the one in the LR. If you are going for rustic modern, consider a hide rug for the entry. The color will tie in nicely with the couches and a brown one may help tone down the pink tile.

kittybart Another question: would you add a patterned pillow to this solid/textured gold pillows I have? Or would you stay with solids and texture?

GizV I think you need a piece of art above your love seat. I would build the other layers after that. The wall art you decide on will dictate the other layers. If ithe art has lots of detail you may want to keep the pillows simpler because the rug has pattern.

Pillow covers can be found relatively inexpensive. I like changing out pillows and throws from time to time to change the overall look. Recently I went from muted nature colors to reds with just the pillows. My rug is uneven blended stripes in muted earth tones, including a red, so my pillows all have patterns.

Did you make a choice yet for the entry rug?

Staged for Perfection OK so here I come after a while not really sure about that happened. I loved the original rug in the entry way. I thought you could add more red/wine to your living room with some pillows and curtains. Do you have the same rug in the entryway and living room now or am I confused?

kittybart No GizV, no art yet. I am going to do either one long shelf or two shelves behind the couch and then layer art and black and white photos (at least that's the plan). I haven't selected a new foyer rug yet. I am thinking of a natural fiber rug and have this one ordered from Crate & Barrel, so time will tell. It has a more pronounced blue running through it than the photos show. It still might be too light, though.

Staged - Here is an updated photo of the living room. I selected a new living room rug and tried out a couple foyer rugs, but ended up taking them all back and just keeping the living room rug. The foyer rug that I last selected was too similar to the living room.

bevballew Are your walls a pale yellow?

kittybart Bevballew - In the yellow family, yes.

pgeis Your living room rug was worth all the work you and your rug dealer put into it! A beautiful object lesson in the magic of the right carpet. Perhaps I should say, the Magic Carpet!

bevballew It looks,brighter on the computer. It is a beautiful color. On the computer,it looked,like a bright, bright,yellow. I like the foyer rug you chose. I hope it looks good. I asked wondering on the accent color you will choose. I think you need another set of pillows. I would say something that has all of the colors of the rug. I am not a decorator so i will be curious to see what they say.

kittybart Yes, Bevballew, the color has never looked right on the computer I think due to the way the lamp throws off a strange light. I need to remember to take a photo in the light of day.

I am planing on adding a deep wine/burgundy red as pillows. OR...the color of blue that is in the rug. I just cannot seem to find the exact right colors. I may have to go the fabric store to pick something out. I wanted some texture though, so I was looking for pre-made in a cable knit, or something unique in terms of texture.

bevballew Your direction of pillows sounds great. Good luck! Love watching the transition!