If you sew, or know someone who does, this would be a VERY simple project: buy french pleat tape at the same fabric store where you purchase the sheer curtain fabric. This fabric is inexpensive, comes in superwide widths, different colours (white, ecru, off white etc) and can often be found pre-hemmed & weighted! All you need to do is measure & trim to the correct length plus top hem allowance, hem sides, fold top & press, sew the pleat tape on (this step also hems the top) pull its gather cords, insert hooks into the tape and hang. It would take an hour, tops. I've made sheers for my sisters, in-law & have fabric for a nieghbour waiting for the weekend. I find the sheer fabric I buy is heavier & better quality than ready mades.

I just wanted to follow-up on the Zebra rug hunt. I finally gave up because I couldn't find one that was nice but affordable. So...I happened into Pier 1 recently and saw this black and white graphic wool rug and fell in love. It's 6 x 9 and was only $349 (from $399). I bought two because I have a "bowling alley" for a LR. It's long and narrow. I have two seating arrangements and anchored both with the rugs. The photos don't show the wall color perfectly. It's turquoise and not baby blue. As of now the accents are orange...I lucked upon the cane chairs with the vintage orange fabric a while back at an estate sale. However, I will make slip covers for them in a neutral fabric so I can change out the accent colors througout the year. Thanks for all your help on this subject. The people on this forum are the best! I enjoy hanging out here and soaking up everyone's great ideas.

I'm sure by now the OP has already bought a rug, but I thought I'd add my own experiences. >>I want to buy a rug that's going to wear well and look great for the next 20-30 years at least.>> ANY good rug, whether machine-made or hand-made, will last you that long and more, with minimal care. Most people don't take care of their rugs properly, leading to premature wear. 1) Rug pads matter. Despite what flooring mfgs warn you, the new good quality latex rug pads are just fine with any flooring. I have HW floors, LVT, and sheet vinyl flooring. None have ever been damaged by rug pads (cheap ones, a different story!). I recently pulled up a Karastan Bokhara and rug pad that had lain untouched for 25 yrs and the flooring was fine, no problems. A good rug pad helps extend the life of your rug. That machine-made wool Karastan, btw, is still in flawless shape. I bought it in 1973 and it has always been used in high-traffic areas. 2) Vacuum regularly. Every once in a while, especially in a high-dirt area, lift the rug up and vacuum the backside of it. Dirt is the enemy of floors and rugs, as it grinds like sandpaper under the weight of people's feet. 3) Once in a while, take the rug out to be cleaned. Anything over 3x4 is not a DIY job. Especially if it's a wool rug, unless you enjoy a smell like wet dogs for days on end while it dries, LOL. 4) Fading is an issue with many hand-made rugs. They tend to be made with natural dyes. If you are putting a rug in a high-UV environment, you should consider whether a machine-made, high quality rug might be better suited. There are rug damages than can be fixed, but fading is permanent. We have a wide mix of rugs (actually, more rugs than we have rooms in our house, sadly). Most are hand-made Chinese. We like the patterns and colors more, in general. Most are wool, two are silk. We also have several smaller-sized repros (like the Karastan) of classic Orientals, purchased for specific color/room matching. Some of those repros are wool, but most are synthetics. All very tight, plush weave. All still in original condition, no stains, after 10-20 yrs. Note that I do not expect any viscose (rayon) rugs to last as long. Rayon has a wonderful "hand" similar to silk, but it has very poor abrasion resistance, unlike wool or poly synthetics. That's why it's generally the least costly, when comparing similar sizes/patterns across rug types. Treat your rugs well, and 20 yrs should be no problem at all. A good wool rug, machine- or hand-made, can outlive its owners. That's why so many rugs end up at estate sales.

My online shopping was all good: Kohl's, Best Buy, LL Bean, Land's End, Amazon and Ebay. I have my items sent to work as our neighborhood has sadly had things stolen from porches. There were some things I ordered late and they have not arrived yet - but I knew the dates were post-Christmas when I ordered. Only one is a semi-gift (a jacket for my husband who lost a lot of weight and needs one in a smaller size). The upside of those is that I'm shipping them to Son#1's place of work, as I won't be back to my own job for a couple of weeks. So we're going to meet him for dinner once he has both my orders. Katlan's rude checkout clerk reminded me of my rude clerk story from several years ago. I was buying Christmas ornaments to decorate a metal tree I'd gotten from a specialty store. The sum total was probably more than I'd spent for the tree itself. I was buying a couple of other things too. As the clerk was ringing the things up we realized that there was something wrong with one of the boxes I was buying. The clerk ended up being really rude about it. We finished the purchase with the plan that I would go way back to the seasonal section to get another box - even the cashier manager had come over to help because she heard the rude cashier. However, after starting to walk back to switch the boxes, instead I turned around and went over to customer service and told them I wanted to return everything. Everything?! Yes. I said that the clerk had been really rude and and that made me mentally step back and realize that I was overspending. Customer service wanted to know who the clerk had been, but I said that I understood that it's the stressful Christmas shopping season and I didn't want to point her out, but just wanted my money back. (I ended up getting the tree ornaments from Joanne Fabrics and used some JF Bucks I had to pay!) I guess a thank you to the rude clerk for helping me to spend less?