I'm Back... Oh, and we Moved!

Thank you for all the sweet comments and emails over the past few weeks!  So touching, and it really means so much!  So much has been going on (and so much is STILL going on), but I've really missed my little blog and wanted to check in with you all!

In the last month since I checked in, the big update from my world is that we've moved!  It was a very tiring Saturday for me last weekend - especially after getting back from NY in the wee hours of the morning - but we survived! Even in the rain!

This is what the dining room in our new apartment looked like on Saturday morning before the movers started unloading...

And.... here's what it looks like now...

This is my life.

Not to scare you, but this room is looking 100% better in the above picture than it did at the end of moving day!  We've probably unpacked half of the boxes that were in there before, so this is a HUGE improvement! Just use your imagination to picture what this looked like Saturday night.  You literally could not walk through it... this is progress my friends!

More exciting news... I finally unearthed the box where I packed my underwear... so that's a plus.  I've been living out of the suitcase I'd packed for NY and was at the end of clean clothes, so it was vital that I found that box last night.  Mission accomplished.

I'll post more "before" pictures of the apartment for you all before we do anything in regards to updates, but I wanted to talk about the entryway for a few minutes.

This apartment, unlike our last apartment, actually has a little entryway.

This is the view walking in the front door.

Immediately after walking in there are two archways leading to the formal dining room (on the left) and living room (on the right), so this little entryway is the bridge between these two very open spaces.

This picture (above) is taken standing in the middle of the living room, looking back through the hall to the dining room.

And this picture (above) is taken standing in the middle of the dining room facing back through the hall to the living room.

Bright, light, and airy - which we love - but because all the rooms are connected, this means that as we decorate, all the colors and patterns in each space need to speak to one another since you'll easily be able to see them all.

The hardwood floor is also great, but there is a lot of it in a very open space which means that its EXTREMELY echo-y right now. The answer to this problem is rugs. The entry space is not necessarily wide enough for a 4x6 rug, and I'm not the hugest fan of the circular rug, so I think a runner in the entry is our best bet.

Right now, the walls are a creamy yellow color, and it's not bad at all, but I really want to accentuate how bright and pretty this space is.  There are holes to be patched, and the place hasn't been painted in at least 4 years, so it's the perfect opportunity to freshen things up.

I'm thinking a fresh white paint in the entry will bounce around as much light as possible from the bay windows flanking each of the surrounding rooms, and it will serve as a neutral background between the living and dining rooms (for which I'm thinking a pale grey).

So now that I've got the color palette of the walls somewhat settled, I set out looking for a runner, and ended up finding one really quickly that I like.  Oh and did I mention that it's extremely discounted?? It's ~$50... With free shipping.

Does it get better??

Isn't she pretty?

Navy in my mind is the softer, more preppy version of black.  I love it.

If you remember, we also had a somewhat similar grey trellis rug in our living room and in the last two years, it has served us well.  Not only has it held up, but we haven't tired of it one bit.  In the new apartment it has moved from the living room to our bedroom.  There's a new natural fiber rug in the living room which totally changes the look and feel of everything.

While the navy runner has a similar feel to the grey area rug we already own, it's different enough (in both the pattern and colorway) to be distinct.  I'd originally been thinking of a rug with a more linear pattern... maybe black and white... but I think that the majority of this being navy, and that the accent color is creme (not white) will really help mask dirt from heavy foot traffic.

I unfortunately wasn't able to sell Kris on the look of a worn rug... can't win 'em all folks... and since he really likes the grey trellis we have, I think this is something we'll both be really happy with in the end.

Now that I've picked out what runner I want... it's time to think about coordinating rugs for the dining room (that will most likely end up as an office).

I found a few that I like, and threw together a quick inspiration board just to see how they'd mesh next to each other...

Option I: Creme Colored with Abstract Ikat

Pros:
I love that this feels a little masculine, and I love that the pattern is really distinctly different from that of the runner.  I also like that the colors are pretty much identical so in terms of coordinating, they match, and while the colors are identical, each rug has the inverse color-weight of the other (one has more cream, one has more navy)

Cons:
Is it too matchy matchy in terms of colors?  I don't know.  I also just sold the off white rug that had been in our bedroom because I was never fond of how "off white" it was.  I always wished the colors had been inverse, with the cream color in the trellis print, and the background the richer taup-y color... will I feel the same about this?

Option II: Ikat Damask in muted blues 

Pros:

I love that this looks sort of aztec while also feeling somewhat traditional at the same time.  I love the tassles on the end, and the variation in the blues.  It's just really pretty to me... and I also like that it's not only VERY different from the runner which is really geographic, but that it's different from any other rug we have in our house right now.

Cons:

It looks really flat.. which I like (visually) but I worry that it will move around too much on the hardwood floor because it's lighter and has less structure.

Decisions, decisions...

Honestly I see the pros and cons to each, and I think I'd be happy with either, but I need input. I know which one I'm leaning towards more, but what do you think??

While I'm not 100% certain about which rug it will be, but I do know one thing for sure...  It feels good to be back!  I've missed you guys!

xo