Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Helpful How-To: Shopping for a Rug

As we all know, I pride myself on my shopping abilities.

And as we all know, I pride myself on my decorating abilities as well.

Among many other things....

And since I think I am finally getting a grasp on a time slot for building my breakfast nook, I happen to be shopping for a rug....

Because I have cold, cold tile.

And let's face it, no kid wants to sit at the table with their feet on cold, cold tile while eating cereal, right?

So I have been shopping.

For the record, usually don't like to spend more than $100 for a rug, no matter the size. 

Allowances MAY BE MADE for natural materials, however.

So I have been shopping.

And according to my calculations, I am guessing I will need at least a 3' x 5' area rug to cover the space.

Which, truthfully isn't large enough for me to want to spend more than $50 on.

Armed with my budget and my head knowledge of rugs and such, I started my quest.

My first stop is almost always JCP.com.

Because they have a clearance section.

And I can almost always score a good deal.

And I found this one...

 But I didn't LOVE it. 





And it was $79 before shipping.
 
Undaunted, I continued my quest...and found this one....



Which was more in line with what I was looking for...

The colors fit....

But still an olefin fiber....

And still $89 before shipping. 
Remember the key to sucessful shopping of any kind is to comparison shop, though...

So on I went. 

Because that was pretty much all that JCP had to offer, and I happen to know that their shipping rates are not the best. 

And very rarely do they offer free shipping to store.

(These are all tips for those of you who are note-takers....)

On to my next discount-bargain utopia, I headed to Ikea.com....

Just for some price checking.

One thing you should know about Ikea, they almost have better supply in the store than online.

But their sizes are still limited.

And their prices are merely comparable when it comes to natural fiber rugs.

Again, more tips...Just because it's from Ikea doesn't mean it's an amazing deal.

But I did fall in love with this little number.

 The colors would work.

But the size wouldn't.

5' x 7' would be just too big.

And the price tag is about $100 over what I want to spend at $159.

Doesn't mean I don't want it, though.

But being a good ole neutral-loving girl, I batted my eyes at this baby for about half a second.


Until I realized again - it didn't come in my size.


Definitely a pity since it was $29.99

One more stop at Ikea.com took me to this rug.



Can I stop you for a moment to discuss how in love I am with natural/grass rugs?

I know that Techy would never understand, but I just love them.

The texture, the comfort, the natural beauty.

Oo La La....

But yet again, size and price hold me back.

Making Ikea a complete disappointment for this bargain-rug-girl.

Now imagine my surprize when by chance, I happened to open up a Pottery Barn catalog to find that their natural jute rugs are actually not that expensive?

AND they carry them in my size.

My hope was renewed!!!

Another tip: never discount high quality stores because you are afraid of the price tag....


This natural jute rug would be perfect, and for Pottery Barn quality, the $99 price tag would be worth it, even if more than I wanted to spend.

But then I saw this pretty little thing....


And I just knew I had found what I was looking for.

As long as she came in red.

Which of course she doesn't.

Such a pity...$49 pity, at that.

So, I finally traipsed over to my tried and true, HomeDecorators.com.

Where, lo and behold, this greeted me...


I took it as a sign.

And began my search.

Within minutes, I found this gorgeous braided jute rug.


And don't you know, it comes in my size?!?!?!

At this point, I was barely able to contain my enthusiasm....

And for just $59 with FREE SHIPPING....

There was only one thing holding me back....

It was this picture over in the corner of the page...


So, being brave (and at the end of my rope...pun intended...insert laughter here...)

I clicked.

And fell in love.

$49.

Chenille AND Jute.

ZIGZAGS....

And before you know it, the order was placed and my delight could no longer be contained.

Final tip of today's HHT: trust your tried and true.  It should never be your last resort.

Because who knows but that YOUR stars may also align and offer YOU free shipping too?!

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