Help with rugs/curtains and furniture layout

6 years ago

Hello!

I would love some suggestions for two large rooms in our house. I would like to add area rugs and curtains in both rooms. My taste is on the traditional side. I have found options online, but am nervous about mixing colors and patterns.

The dining room is in the center of our house. We have access to our backyard and kitchen through this room so it sees a lot of foot traffic. Our table is 8ft. I would assume a 9x12 rug is recommended? Low pile and indoor/outdoor compatible? We have a heavy duty mat on the patio for dirty paws and shoes. Should we do a 9x12 rug and an additional runner from patio door to kitchen entry? What kind of window treatment would be best for our single window and backdoor/window combo? Should the rod extend way beyond the door so the curtain slides all the way?

Our bedroom is quite large and we have recently purchased a bed set, but I'm not sure if the layout works. A 9x12 rug would fit under the bed and both night stands would fit inside. If we placed a rug under the bed, would it look bare for the other half of the room to have nothing? What about a runner from the bedroom entry along the bathroom and closet door? I am open to moving the dressers around. The tall dresser could go on the wall to the right of the double window, I have a standing mirror in that corner now. The wide dresser is opposite the double window, and I plan on hanging the matching mirror above it. The giant dog bed in the corner can be moved too ;)

I am struggling with the idea of patterns or bold colors in the curtains or area rug. If the rug has a pattern, would it clash with our duvet styles that we change frequently or if we had curtains with a color other than ivory? I have found some toile and soft floral patterns that are beautiful. Would it be safe to choose an ivory or linen type curtain so it is an easier match?

Your suggestions are welcome!

Featured Answer

groveraxle

6 years ago

The rug in your bedroom only needs to go about 2/3 of the way under the bed, enough for you to step out onto it in the morning.

40 Park, Morristown NJ.RoselandProperty. Master Bedroom · More Info

Natural linen curtains go with everything.

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Comments (26)

User
Original Author
6 years ago
always1stepbehind
6 years ago
I LOVE that huge table...hopefully someone will be by to help you out.
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User
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you! It was a steal from an antique store.
User
Original Author
6 years ago
Considering this rug from Wayfair (customer review pics) for the bedroom.
jck910
6 years ago
In the DR a natural fiber rug would work. 9x12 Some curtain ideas: they be hung floor to ceiling on the single window. Need a picture of the door/window combination to help with that.

Love the rug you chose for bedroom
Geneviève
6 years ago
Looking at your style of furniture I could see a braided rug in the dining room, the floral curtains are the right touch for it .
Keeping Room · More Info
User
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you for the curtain and rug suggestions! Where did you find the curtains? I like the look of a braided rug in the dining room. Are they easy to clean? Can they handle paws from the back yard? I went rug shopping and felt a natural rug, I don't think I would like walking bare feet on it. I will try to post another picture of the dining room doors. If I used floral curtains in the dining room, would the rest of the house need the same curtain?
User
Original Author
6 years ago
it's a single door with a full window
User
Original Author
6 years ago
I have 8ft ceilings with some walls having baseboard heating. What size curtains would you suggest? Would I have to get 96in and hem?
User
Original Author
6 years ago
Found these at Pottery Barn, what do you think?
https://www.potterybarn.com/m/products/grace-print-floral-drape/?pkey=e%7Cgrace%7C6%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH
jck910
6 years ago
My suggestions are from countrycurtains.com Hang the rod for the single window up at the ceiling and 96" should be correct length. Now I see the door is French style and the baseboard, so I would suggest a roman shade in same fabric as window curtain on each side of the door.
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User
Original Author
6 years ago
That's great! I have a Country Curtains store nearby. I will have to check it out. Any suggestions for the bedroom? Rug placement? More than one rug? Should I add chairs or a chaise?
jansgirl
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
When you hang your drapes on the single window, I'd suggest extending the rod past the window at least a foot on each side to give the illusion of a larger window,

When you get your rug, do your homework on the size and make sure it is plenty large so chairs aren't hanging up on it when pulling them out.
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groveraxle
6 years ago
You don't need curtains on the dining room door.
User
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you for the bedroom examples! A 9x12 rug should fit our king bed. Should I lay the rug under the night stands? I picked up the curtain option from Pottery Barn today. I will take a pic tomorrow in daylight to see what you think.
groveraxle
6 years ago
I wouldn't lay the rug under the nightstands unless it turns out to be too long for the room.
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My3dogs ME zone 5A
6 years ago
Hi, ewilks1! How did the Pottery Barn window treatments look to you?

I love to mix patterns in my rooms, and you can, too. These pics aren't recent, but the ones shown here are ones I made using $2.00 per yard heavy fabric from eBay years ago!
This is my living room rug - a Karastan Persian Treasures below,
And, I'm always making pillows from sample fabrics that I find inexpensively at a local shop.
I did a minor kitchen facelift in early 2015, and made faux Roman shades with the Waverly Olana fabric on the left, Ballard Designs Catherine runner (Craigslist), shown with my Fantasy Brown Quartzite, and the SW Softer Green cabinet paint, and the SW Softer Tan wall paint.
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User
Original Author
6 years ago

So I brought home 2 panels from Pottery Barn. Emery Linen in Oatmeal and Blue Dawn. I have hung the curtains in my dining room, living room, and bedroom all weekend. I moved them around during different hours of the day too. I changed my mind in each room. Not making the decision any easier, lol. I am leaning towards Blue Dawn. Oatmeal looks fine in all the rooms except our off white living room. It looks kind of blah. The Blue Dawn looks great in the living room and bedroom, and I was surprised how pretty it looked in our sagey colored dining room. I went to PB online to see if they had a matching Roman shade for the french door. I think that would be easier to manage around a busy backdoor. Well of course they have every color option except Blue Dawn! I am not sure what to do now, because I was ready to pull the trigger on Blue Dawn. Online they showed another linen roman shade that would have been cream/beige with a few bands of grey/blue stripes. I don't think I would like the look of a curtain on one window, and a roman shade of a different color in a stripe pattern on another. Or maybe it would look fine because our dining room leads into our off white living room and the Blue Dawn curtain will be hung? Hard for me to visualize. Maybe I should play it safe with Oatmeal? Should I go lighter and try ivory? I brought home some rug samples too. All 3 were just okay. Hubby was just as indifferent. The Malika Persian style and Luna Tonal were nice, but I'm not sure how much I would like them when they take up my room. Here is a pic of our living room taken around the holidays.
Standing in the dining room facing living room:

The floor is a combo of 3 soft greys with flecks of blue. Blue slate on the fireplace. Hoping the rug and or Blue Dawn curtain would work in this room.

Is it always this difficult to decorate? I want my house to feel like a home. We doubled the square footage in this house compared to our previous condo. Having a hard time getting it to come together.

Thank you for the inspiration my3dogs! I love that fabric. I wish I had your talent with a sewing machine. And your eye when putting together color palettes!
My3dogs ME zone 5A
6 years ago
Have you decided on a rug yet for the dining room? Since that's the 'problem room' right now, I'd find the rug that I want, and then get drapes to go with it. It's separate from the family/living room, so you don't have to get the same drapes for both of those rooms.

If they work well in the family/living room and in your bedroom, use them there, but you can choose something else, even with a pattern that brings in the blue for the dining room, if the rug you choose has blue in it as the Wayfair one you posted above does. :-)
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nosoccermom
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I am a huge fan of IKEA curtains, for example, their linen curtains, AINA and a new leaf patterned one.

The Aina also comes in blue now.

Quite frankly, I think they are just as nice as my Pottery barn curtains, which were quite a bit more expensive. In fact, they are so inexpensive that I switch them out for IKEA velvet curtains in winter.
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User
Original Author
6 years ago
I never thought about checking out Ikea! I will have to now, especially with such a price difference. I have been too afraid to purchase online without touching and seeing the true colors in person. Has anyone had luck purchasing curtains online? Share please!

I think you're right my3dogs... pick out my rug first, then find a complimentary curtain. I wasn't sure if I could change up the curtain colors from room to room. The Blue Dawn option would work great in all rooms, but I am disappointed that it does not come in a roman shade, which would work best for the back door. This is where the change up could happen and I choose an ivory or oatmeal in order to get a matching roman shade. I still love that original rug option. But what room would it be best in? I am leaning towards the living room so I can see the full rug. It would look great in the bedroom, but I love the pattern so much I would hate to cover most of it with our bed! How hard is it to find complementary rugs for two spaces? Hubby is giving me a hard time with all the florals. I love a jacobean pattern! Would a jacobean clash with my original rug choice? Maybe I will find some throw pillows with fab patterns!

How large should our living room rug be? The living room is 15x25. I am attaching a picture of the previous owner's living room set up. They had a large rug that took up most of the room:

We painted the walls a lighter off white, and had built ins added to frame the fire place(see pics from previous post). Would a larger size rug like the one above be best? My favorite rug goes up to a 11x16.

This is a picture of the previous owner's bedroom set up.

The room has plenty of space for extra furniture. I do not want our room to look as crowded, but currently our bedroom looks and feels very empty. Furniture placement suggestions please :)

I really appreciate all the feedback! You guys are keeping me sane and on the right track! The hubby says he doesn't care and to pick whatever I want, but the moment I come home with florals he says blah. LOL.
hcbm
6 years ago
Since you really like the Blue Dawn from PB could you buy an extra panel or two and have a roman shade made? More expensive yes but it would give you the color you want.
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User
Original Author
6 years ago
Yes! That thought has crossed my mind. It might end up being easier. I have been surfing online and feel like I've seen too much and want to make a decision already. Blue dawn is standing out possibly because there is no other color in the room, all that could change with a rug. At the start of this, I thought a curtain over the door would be fine, but see it being a hassle now. I searched on craigslist and found a few people in my area who make custom drapes/shades. I still need to bring home an ivory option to test. This is a big purchase considering all of the rooms I would like to add curtains to. I want to make sure I am happy and will enjoy them for a long time, even if the price tag stings.

After seeing the different rooms in my house, what colors would you all choose for each room? Solids seem safer if we choose a rug with pattern...
jansgirl
6 years ago
Those drapes are going to be there for a while. I don't BeLieVE they will sell out in the next few weeks.......So take a breath and hunt for some rugs!
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User
Original Author
6 years ago
I wanted to give everyone an update since you have all been so helpful!

The rug from original posting will be going in the bedroom. We moved the tall dresser and placed it to the right of the window, replacing the standing mirror. I purchased the PB Emery Linen drapes in Ivory and Blue Dawn. Ivory will be in the dining room, and BD will go in bedroom and living room. I have to exchange out the original panels I bought for the 100 inch panels for a fuller look. Once I get them hemmed and up, I will post some pictures. Thank you again for all your help and inspiration!

Our next project will be the kitchen...already having anxiety, lol!