Vintage Style Kitchen Runner Rugs

Consider this the part two of my previous post on the same topic, as my search continues for that perfect runner rug for my cottage kitchen. I am looking for something that's 

• Stain resistant: hello, no-brainer for a high traffic area between kitchen counter and island. 
• Easy to clean: I need a rug I can spot clean and quickly vacuum up when mess happens. 
• Material: something that's stain resistant and easy to clean is unlikely made of natural materials such as wool or cotton. So polyester and polypropylene/cotton blend will do just fine for me. 
• Cost: unlike a large area rug for living room or dining room where I splurged to make a statement, kitchen runner rug is intended for everyday abuse. To me, it doesn't make sense to spend a ton on it. 
• Style: vintage-inspired of course. I am loving medallion and Bokhara patterns. 

Easy peasy right? These are the eight candidates I've narrowed down to. 

1. nuLOOM Traditional Geometric Herati Medallion Border Navy. This was the one I mocked up in my cottage kitchen. 

2. Feizy Katari in Taupe/Castle, so far the front runner. 

3. Momeni Afshar rug in copper/navy: so in love with rusty orange tones in a rug these days. It all started with this one. 

4. nuLOOM Vintage Freda Floral Garden runner in pink and navy. 

5. UniqueLoom Bokhara runner in grey: can you believe this is the runner version of the same Bokhara rug I love so much in my living room and my cottage dining room?

6. Mistana Blackwell Dark Blue rug: really love this one, the colours and the patterns, but I am a bit skeptical based on the reviews on Wayfair. A lot of buyers didn't find it as distressed as they hoped for. 

7. Surya Harput rug in pink and navy: this is the one that's now in my basement hallway. 

8. Nuloom Vintage Killian Gray Hallway Runner: this is another strong contender. It has a lot of blues and camels with a touch of pink on a soft grey background. 

So which one is your favourite? Which one would you recommend for my all-white cottage kitchen?

Vintage Style Rugs

I was in the market for a few pieces of area rugs and runners for home and cottage. While I do appreciate all colours when used in a right way, I gravitate towards neutrals and whites. Case in point, I loved this grey Bokhara rug in my cottage dining room so much that I ordered a much larger one for my home living room. Saturated and vibrant colours add visual interests to a space, when used with restraint and discipline. There is an ocean of choices out there when it comes to area rugs: different materials, pile height, woven techniques, origins, styles, and colours, and the list goes on. 

While I may have been taking my home and cottage for a more modern spin these days, I crave a vintage style rug for a more grounded and "always there" appeal. 

Picture below: vintage style rug Edessa Tribal Medallion Fringe Rug in rust from RugsUSA. I immediately knew this was the one when I first saw it. The rug looks even more stunning in person with different shades of rust, orange and navy hues. 

The best part is, similar to a viscose rug, depending on which way you run your hand over it (i.e. which direction the pile leans over), the rug appears more muted and pastel, see below. 

It's like getting two rugs in one...how awesome is that, right? This has to be my favourite rug purchase to-date. 

RugsUSA has a "See this rug in your room" tool for certain rugs to allow you to play with different perspectives and incorporate a rug into your own space before you buy. I was pretty sure I wanted a navy with pink accent runner rug for my cottage kitchen, so I used this rug to see how it turned out. 

Looks pretty seamless right?

I ended up ordering this runner from Wayfair. 

Does it not remind you of Caitlin Wilson's ever-popular Kismet rug? 

Picture below: Runner rug in situ in my home basement hallway. 

In my guest bathroom. The pinks and oranges are a lot louder than expected. I think I am back to drawing board for a more subtle one. Any suggestions? 

Living Room New Rug

I knew I wanted an "Oushak" style Turkish rug in a neutral colour, so it didn't take me long before deciding to go with the Unique Loom's Arcadia rug in light grey from Wayfair. 

The colour is a true grey, not too cold not too taupe, which works perfectly with the rest of the tones in my living room. 

The fringe adds a touch of sophistication. 

It's a low-pile rug but feels so soft and lush. Best part is, it doesn't shed at all! Definitely a plus for an allergy-prone household. 

I also really like the distressed weaving technique - it's more subtle than overdye IMO. 

The last missing piece before I can complete this neverending #oneroomchallenge is the coffee table I ordered from ELTE. Fingers crossed it doesn't get delayed again. 

With this super soft throw by Têxteis Penedo from HomeSense, a Verner Panton Mirror Throw lookalike, my living room finally feels right for the cooler cozy fall months. 

Speaking of fall, how was your Thanksgiving? My aunt and her family came to visit so we had a blast. I was in my happy place baking this Lemon Buttermilk Bundt Cake using this recipe from Once Upon a Chef. 

The Nordic Ware Bundt Pan is so lightweight and worked so well. My pound cake had a perfect crust - did it not look like a giant doughnut? 

And then the bird. We only had seven people so we decided to go with a large chicken instead. 

This bird first went into a smoker with apple wood for 2 hours, then into the oven on roast for 75 minutes. The outcome was crispy-skin-falling-off-the-bone-finger-licking kind of goodness. 

The next day the bird-stuffed clan hiked up the Bruce Trail in Caledon Hills. Pink, orange and red foliage was peeking through and the view was simply breathtaking. 

And I am so happy to report the Cheltenham Badlands is finally fenced off! OPP was even onsite to direct traffic. 

Picking a New Rug

I am sure you know by now that in Michelle's design world, one thing always leads to another, or the so-called serial decorating. 

The new silk drapes in the living room now avail me a neutral palette to layer in different colour accents. It's no longer a blue room but it also feels a bit flat (or dare I say boring). I've had the ELTE Boulevard coffee table on order (ETA end of October), but brass is hardly a colour accent. 

I really don't want to repaint the walls, or make any other more permanent changes to the room. So that leaves me the area rug, something that has a large presence in the room and can make a first "colour" impression. I love a monochromatic room but it has to have different tones and textures to stay visually interesting. Here are my options:

Option 1: Layer a black and white cowhide piece over the existing rug, like this:

Picture source

I actually found a perfectly patterned hide.

Option 2: A Moroccan style rug, like this hand-tufted number on Wayfair. I was so in love with it until my husband kindly reminded me that it's not very different from what we have and also "white" in colour. To him, white colour only comes in one shade, and it's white!

Option 3: A more modern take on an Oushak rug, like the following two. Both are available through Wayfair, and very reasonably priced. I am crazy about the fringe. 

Picture below: Arcadia purple rug by Unique Loom on Wayfair.ca.

It also has a blue version.

Or a grey one with bolder patterns. 

Option 4: A real Oushak silk rug. Can you tell I have a thang for Turkish rug lately? The following pictures were taken during our trip to Turkey last year. A real Oushak silk rug can get expensive very quickly, but they are definitely an investment piece. For $10,000, this gorgeous number with a very subtle sheen and pattern could be mine. 

For $120,000, this 8x10 stunner could come home with me.

Which one is your favourite? And which one would you use for my living room?

New Rug in the Dining Room

The sale at Rugs USA keeps getting bigger and better each time. I bought this fabulous Nedelya rug at 75% off in July, and a couple of weeks ago took advantage of the Labour Day 80% deal for a large 8x10' rug for my dining room, the Homespun Nelina Trellis Grey Rug. I didn't think the rug in my dining room needed replacement, but I would buy a new one anyway for a deal this good. If it didn't work out for my dining room, I could always use it in the living room or basement. Now you see what they mean by creating demand right? Well I am glad I ordered it. The new Nelina rug is also made of 100% wool, slightly plushier and a lot prettier than the old one.

The Homespun Nelina Trellis Grey Rug from Rugs USA, 8x10' in grey.

The new Nelina trellis rug with my double pedestal dining table on it. The table is custom made for my dining room by Anne Quinn Furniture. 

With the new rug in, I am only a few finishing touches away from wrapping up my dining room re-design. I am still debating whether to paint the upper wall in white matching the bottom wainscoting. Would you paint it or would you leave it as is?