I am about to embark upon the project of re-designing my living room/breakfast nook/kitchen combo. I am kind of overwhelmed at this point, as I need a new couch, new chairs, wall color, artwork, light fixtures, rugs, etc. I have seen many suggestions that say the first piece one should begin with is the rug.

So, I think I'll try starting with the rug and work up from there. I currently have large "builder's beige" ceramic tiles. I'd love to replace these with a wood floor, but I just don't have the money for that now. I currently have a decent rug I picked up at Home Depot that is in a sort of ruby color with a botanical pattern with greens, creams and even a little purple. I like the rug ok, but I think it is too busy for the size of the room and I want something more neutral.

My favorite style is tropical/British colonial mixed with a contemporary edge, sort of "classic chic"--so I really like those natural fiber rugs you see used in those types of rooms. Another bonus is you can get those rugs in rather large sizes pretty inexpensively. I recently saw one I really loved in Thom Filicia's new design book (the book is loaded with fabulous pictures) that had a sort of diamond weave pattern. I also like some of those wool or machine made rugs with subtle geometric patterns. Any thoughts or ideas? The one thing I don't like about those natural fiber rugs are that they aren't too comfortable, but I don't have kids so that's not a dealbreaker.

Any suggestions for good rug sites or pics of "neutral", but interesting rugs in rooms?