I had mentioned that we would be looking for new living room furniture, when I last shared the room with you.  In the last month or so, it got moved to the top of our list.  I’m not quite sure why…I think it may have been the commercials for the sales at the furniture stores, and I caught Bob at a weak moment and he said we could go look.  Of course, we didn’t find anything on the showroom floor that we liked.  So, we explored getting a quote on a custom sectional at the one local furniture store, Wolf’s.  We took home some fabric samples, chose one we liked and then went back to find pillow fabric. I wasn’t thrilled.  I don’t think we were ever like “this is the one.”  So, we walked away.  Then, I had a day off of work.  I made no plans in advance, I just did what I wanted to.  And, that day I ended up at the other big local furniture store, Interiors.  I ignored all the salespeople and wandered around the whole store.  They had tons of sectional options, none that were perfect either.  But, a nice saleslady found me near the end of my rounds.  She showed me a Flexsteel sofa that was very comfortable and was available in whatever custom shape you could dream up, at least it seemed that way.  So, I picked out some fabric and had her work up a price.  Then, I took it home to Bob.  The price was a bit cheaper than at Wolf’s and it provided the option to add one more seat on the one side, so that it is basically 2 sofas put together (I think one more cushion than the picture below).

Bob still wasn’t sure.  So, we stopped in the following weekend for him to take a look, and he liked the sectional.  He wasn’t sure about my fabric choices though.  My saleslady was not there, so we left.  We waited another week and went to try to pick out fabrics again.  This time, the saleslady was there to help.  Fortunately, she suggested taking the fabric I had picked out into the natural light and it made a big difference.  Bob liked it.  He already liked the pillow fabric I chose.  We tried and tried to find a second pillow fabric, but had no such luck.  So, we just went with a base couch color and one pillow fabric for all 4 pillows.  The couch itself is 100″ x 123″, so its big!

So, why am I sharing all this now, when we don’t have a new couch yet, and we have to wait 6-8 weeks total until it arrives!  Well, I got the fabric samples in the mail today.

I love the tones and texture of the couch color.  It will be a nice change from our primarily all gold couch now.  And, the pillows will be a change as well.  We are adding blue into the mix.  I think it will lighten up the room.  Our living room gets great light, but sometimes it feels dark because of the traditional dark colors of the burgundy, greens, and gold tones.

So, with the arrival of the fabric samples, I got excited to look at rug options.  I already warned Bob  that the new couch would lead to a new rug 🙂  I was searching online for some rugs, and came up with a few options.

Target – $199 for 6’6″ x 10′

Target – $359 for 7′ x 10‘

Target – $299 for 8′ x 11‘

Lowe’s – $364 for  7’10” x 10‘

Lowe’s – $278 for 8′ x 11‘

Lowe’s – $328 for 7’10” x 10’10”

Lowe’s – $328 for 7’10” x 10’10”

I looked a few other places online, Rugs USA, Overstock, and Ikea, but I didn’t find anything I liked there…well, at least nothing I liked that was in my budget.  I must be cheap, but I can’t see spending $1,000 on a rug.  I’m still struggling with how much the sectional cost!!

What do you think of these rug options?  I’m definitely more traditional with my rug choices.  I love how geometric rugs look in spaces I see, but when it comes to choosing for our house, I am not drawn to that look at all.  I seem to like nature – flowers, leaves, and berries were my natural instinct.

Do you plan your decorating decisions in advance?  Or, do you just let the room evolve?  Any suggestions for where to look for rugs?