Hunt For the Rug October*

Ever since the sisal rug debacle of Early October 2012, we've been living without a rug in the living room.  And while we patiently wait for UPS to decide whether or not they will waive our return-shipping cost, the sisal beast is rolled up in the dining room.  I'm tired of staring at it, but if UPS won't send it back for free (there seems to be some confusion between UPS and the retailer as to who messed up, and I have a nasty feeling both parties are going to deny responsibility, at which point we'll be left holding the proverbial bag-- which is to say a 10'x13' sisal rug), we'll keep it-- the return shipping would cost more than the rug did.  And we won't complain, because 1) I'm the goose who ordered a stain-prone rug from a website that doesn't offer free return shipping, and 2) we can always layer a smaller Persian rug over it.  Like this slightly pixellated image I found on houzz.com:

This makes the Persian look a little more casual anyhow, no?  And at the end of the day, when you live in a wet climate, you can't beat a hand-knotted wool rug for hiding all manner of muddy sins, so a Persian it must be.  I've been looking for antique ones via this website that offers amazing prices and free shipping both ways (i.e., you can return it gratis if you don't like it in your house, unlike the sisal monster that's currently coiled in wait in my dining room).  My mom and sister have both used the site before, and the rugs. are. spectacular.  After carefully combing the site (read: staring at it nightly until I got dizzy and had to stop) for a couple of budget-friendly and modern-looking options, I found two awesome antique Bakhtiars:

Loving all the oranges and yellows in this one, and it's almost as big as my room, though the sisal monstrosity would help it fill the room by adding about 6" all around.  I'm also crazy about its gray border and the really saturated navy in the interior corners, and it has a few pops of super-bright cornflower blue near the center medallion.  I think it's a little fresher than your average Persian-- maybe more suited to the Pacific Northwest?  Then there's this one:

 

It's slightly smaller than the other one (and slightly smaller than I'll need it to be if I can't layer it on top of the epic sisal school-carpeting), but it is soooo pretty.  I love that the diamonds aren't symmetrical, and I also love that the colors are so unusual-- there's the kind-of-teal color, some bright orange, a little navy, a touch of khaki.  And it doesn't feel too traditional to me-- the geometric pattern and lack of center medallion are less Old South and more Middle East.

Anyhow, these babies are on their way to me even as we speak, and I hope I heart them as much in person as I do on the laptop monitor.  Will keep you posted as always.

 *Honestly, this may prove to the the absolute zenith of my blog-post titling.  I have nowhere to go but down from this point.