I vote for a runner too. How about an arts and craft motif in the rug to go along with your artwork on the walls? I like your choices above as well.

You definitely don't want to upset the bull in the china shop. :)

Okay, I still love the one you love although there are so many other beautiful options!

I have been know to email the dealers when there isn't a make an offer button. I just tell them I love this rug, but it doesn't fit my budget. This is what I can do money wise. If you are willing to do that at any time, just let me know, and I will buy it immediately.

Sometimes they just want to make a sale and will budge, or at least come back with a fair price that you might be able to do. You might give it a try.

Okay, one more for you to look at.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391654425388?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I still like the other one better but this one is also striking. It has had a lot of bids but might still go for the $350ish range. Who knows?

However, this dealer starts all of his rugs out at $1. I have seen them sell for very little (big rugs for $200) or a lot. Many of his rugs are not my favorite styles, but he adds some everyday and occasionally there are some very pretty ones.

Oh I like the design and colors in this last link mom2sulu posted above. More of the motif I was thinking of, even tho it is still Persian.

That first one is my favorite, too! look at it this way: divide the $490 by even just 10 yearsand it comes out to $49 per year. That is a steal! Only about $4 per month. Cheap! Get it if you love it!

:) You're welcome. Ha.

I do like that one, mom2sulu. Love the style, and I see what you mean, schoolhouse. The number of bids on it scares me a little, and it looks to be perhaps a tiny bit thinner than the one I've fallen for but can't afford! I may email that seller yet ... Need to discuss with DH first though, as I'm not even 100% sure I can easily get him onboard with the idea of a foyer runner. I do have my convincing wiles, though. ;-D

LOL, cyn!

If you really love the expensive one, I would try to figure out a way to get it. When I've held off on getting things for whatever reason and then they disappear, I find myself forever haunted by the one I didn't get and nothing ever compares (I'm going through this with a bedroom cabinet right now that wax unexpectedly discontinued before I got a chance to buy). Can you get the rug for Christmas / birthday / valentines ?

Beagles, I agree. The times that I've tried to "make do" with something that's not what I really like, I've inevitably been disappointed. That said, I took a closer look at the "loved rug" and can tell it's exactly the kind of pile that my Molly cat loves to claw.

She destroyed a rug of similar height that I had at the front entry before switching to the indestructible Waterhog mat. I've caught her clawing our living room and dining room rugs on occasion, but nothing like she went after that now-dead front door mat, and I'd be very worried that she'd inflict the same destruction on this gorgeous runner. (And yeah, we've kept claws trimmed and bought scratchers out the wazoo, but she still has a tendency to dig her little "hands" into the rugs.)

I wonder if a machine-made rug would work instead. I'm remembering AKTillery's rug and how pretty it is. I wonder if it comes in runner size ...

Be sure to check ebth.com (everything but the house). I see some rugs that have a current bid of under $100 and some under $150 that have a day left before bidding closes. You may want to follow them and the website. They really have decent things. Here are a couple I saw that might interest you.

Thanks! I've never heard of ebth, but will definitely check it out.

Here's a mockup of a polypro Heriz design, 2'7" x 10'. This one is a mere $99 (!), and Molly would not claw it - I can be sure of that. Thoughts?

Ida, I like it. It's hard to go wrong at that price, esp. with Molly to contend with.

Oh I like that one! can you rug shop for me :)

Thanks! I went back and added the pic of the LR room, just because I have to see how they "play" together. I think it's fine. If DH doesn't have a conniption fit, I may go ahead and order this one. While I still adore that first rug, I do have to rein in my emotions and admit that practically speaking, it might not last long. You wouldn't think this tiny little one could inflict so much damage. You'd be wrong. ;-)

That's one sly looking cat! I see tons of mischief in those eyes.

I like the new one you posted.

The pets are so worth the sacrifice for our home decor, aren't they :)

Oh that cat! <3 I do like that last rug, too. There's something about the vintage rugs that just can't be replicated with new ones *however* we have to think about real life and yours includes the rug-destructor!

She's my naughty little lady who ran away during one of our worst ice storms a few years back. I was distraught for three full days, and then she just nonchalantly showed up on the front porch. (She had escaped when we had a new washer delivered at the old house.) She's tiny too. Just a little bitty thing that you would never suspect of being a maimer and killer of beautiful rugs.

There's also this polypro rug - same seller, same size, same price. Better or worse than the one above?

I like the last one you posted best. It picks up the other colors without being primarily red, which you already have in the living and dining rooms.

I sort of threw that last one out there on a whim, but ya know ... I think I like it best too! (Well, as far as the polypro rugs go anyway!)

I think you are on the right track. More muted colors, I mean not bright. More a vintage feel as someone mentioned. That being said the rug with the blue you just posted has too much blue, too matchy matchy with the art work on the wall. Can you tell I like rugs too? lol

Having had cats who clawed, I understand. Fortunately, my cats never went after the antique oriental rugs - just the furniture. My dog is another matter. I had two nice modern orientals with antique wash on them, in my kitchen. If dinner was late, he would eat the rug. He pretty much destroyed the sides of two rugs. But I love him dearly!

I like those polypro rugs as well! :)

Ida, I went through the same thing recently. I spent so much time on ebay looking at vintage rugs & would prefer them. But, financially and functionally the poly rugs from esale rugs work best for us. They wear like iron in our kitchen. One has a tiny burn mark in front of the stove from messy DH cooking. Doesn't bother me at all because it wasn't a huge investment.

I like both options, but prefer the 2nd one. Love the blue!

Peppapoodle, I really like those runners! Now you've got me thinking I may "need" one between my stove and island too. ;-)

One of my favorite things about this forum is the ability to come here, bounce an idea around, and get lots of great feedback before committing to any kind of decorating change, be it large, small, or somewhere in between. I was really all set to pull the trigger on ordering the last polypro rug I posted (predominantly blue), and I was excited to get home last night and do one final mock-up on the floor in the actual space where the runner would go, just to get one last good idea of how it would look once in place. Well ... it just hit me all wrong. Because the 10' length didn't run all the way through the space, it seemed to chop up the foyer and draw the eye to the floor instead of the artwork on the walls. I really want that entire space to have at least a little bit of a gallery feel, and the introduction of pattern and color on the floor detracted from that.

Thank you all for helping me really think this through. If we ever do add a rug to the foyer, I think I'll wait until I no longer have elderly clawing cats (although I don't want even want to think about how sad I'll be when that day comes!), and will opt for a longer Persian runner, such as the one that made my heart leap with joy.

I really like the two polypro Heriz design, 2'7" x 10 rugs you posted. I also have a question about buying used rugs. Do any of you ever worry about maybe there would be cat pee on a rug? I have seen some beautiful ones, and then worry about that. Is cleaning one about the cost of the rug itself?

I would trust that a rug from an eBay rug dealer with excellent feedback would be stain-and-stink-free. I've bought rugs from Craigslist sellers before and have no qualms about crawling around them and performing a sniff test! I did buy two rugs secondhand that, once I got them home and in place, knew exactly why the seller had opted to sell them. They were both Pottery Barn rugs and they both had a horrible chemical stink that would not go away. I ended up giving one of them to a friend who claimed she had nasal issues that prevented her from smelling even strong odors (lucky), and the other one I just put at the curb. They were horrible.

IdaClaire - I vote "yes" for the runner. Also thank you for reminding me to get mine out of the closet and put it down in our long hallway. I use it in the winter, but take it up in the summer. The dog likes it to because she doesn't slide as much when running from the front door, to the laundry room, to eat her food. :)

I have an odd question. Could you tell me if your floors make your house smell good all the time. Like a woodsy smell? My neighbor has pre-fab hand scraped floors in her 4 year old house and I love the way the house always smells like a new home under construction. What type are yours?

IdaClaire,

If you do decide to get a rug in the future, please include your GW friends! It was so much fun going through the process with you! :)

Thanks, mom2sulu! I will be sure to share any future runner that may show up in my foyer. ;-) I appreciate all of the helpful thoughts, links, etc.

nhb22 - I like the idea of laying down a runner during the colder months and taking it up again for summer. I used to do that in my previous home, where the gleam of the 75-year old hardwoods became so appealing when I did the spring cleaning, that I felt great about leaving them uncovered.

My floors are engineered hardwood so they don't have a smell. It would be lovely to have a floor that had a woodsy aroma, though!

Woodsy aroma. This reminds me of the time a friend came to visit and I apologized if my house smelled musty or something I can't remember now what I was worried about. Anyhow, she said, "I just smell wood". I thought that was so weird. Granted I do have alot of wood - floors, furniture. But it probably wasn't a pleasant foresty smell. :)

I'm the lone dissenter....I love just the wood floors....:)

Ida, FWIW, I like the second-to-last rug you posted for the rug itself. But I think in your overall decor, the last one you posted looks best. I love it!

And now I'm going to have to start looking for runners, too... Thanks a lot. ;-)

I also kinda like this one that picks up on your Southwest vibe...

I like that one a lot, Lisa! Now, don't make me want to start looking again! ;-)

Check out Etsy too...I needed one in front of my sink, and found this for under $200. Well worn but I love that look. I didn't want to spend lots on a rug that might need replacing every few years.

Jackson, that rug is beautiful, as well as that shot of the kitchen. How do you avoid tripping on a corner or the end when you have stuff in your hands and can't always look where you're walking?

Linelle I've never even thought about it! It's pretty low profile, although not flat weave. It's also not in my cooking zone, where I have a large prep sink, so I'm not typically crossing it with hot items. It hasn't been a problem so far, even my elderly parents haven't stumbled on it.

IdaClair - My neighbors are also engineered hardwood - Handscraped. They look exactly like yours!

That would be a yes Ida.

Menendez residence / courtyard home · More Info

The decision to not add a rug now makes sense. If you do revisit let us know!

I don't know what you decided about a runner. I've only read the first few replies. As usual, I'll most likely be the descending vote. I like my floors uncluttered...and I realize most people don't consider a rug as clutter. Maybe "busy" is a better word. It's just a cleaner look to me and I prefer it. You've got so much lovely art on the walls of your hall, it just seems to me that a busy runner would detract from the art. If you felt you needed something for warmth during our very short winters, I'd prefer a solid color

Is it the rug, or the tassels on the end of the rug that gets the cat started on the rug. You have some amazing choices to make. I wouldn't buy another rug with tassels so long as I have pets.

I'm loving this conversation but have to read all later. Can't wait to see what you end up with.

We don't have a runner on our hall floor, We also have artwork on the walls. Don't notice any additional noise.

Putting down a rug would make it less fun for kitties. The hall is a great place for them to chase after balls and toy mice. Our one kitty can catch and fetch and he runs down the hall turbo-charged. He couldn't do that if there was a rug.

I see how the rug makes the art pop and it looks great, but I actually prefer no run there. Fwiw, when my cats have made pulls on the rugs, I've cut the pieces and you couldn't tell. However, I'm still not going to get uber expensive rugs because hair balls are still very real! :)

Not your dream rug but would something like this work for now. Or this stripe rug? These rugs can withstand anything. You may find cheaper on another website but this one has free shipping.

Pottery Barn has a good one and you can get 15% off rug