Yes, it’s another rug update. Our old hardwood floors still hand out splinters (remember that time I got one while painting?), so rugs are a practical and decorative priority for us. Rugs also help define a room, so we try to introduce them early. After dragging our 5 x 8′ yellow rug out of the guest room for Clara to play on while we searched for a better-sized option for our large sectional, we finally found a rug that made us pull out the credit card. We ordered an oversized, textured, and vibrantly colored wool rug for the living room from Overstock.
The rug is plush, bold, and cheerful—perfect for a family room. Made of pure New Zealand wool, it will be soft underfoot for crawling and lounging. The product description was entertaining—“hand-spun felted New Zealand wool”—and the rave reviews about color and plush texture convinced us. Each tuft is thick and substantial, which sounded like exactly what we wanted.
At $424.99 the rug wasn’t cheap by our standards, but comparable quality wool rugs in that 8 x 11′ size often cost between $600 and $1,200. For example, a similar shag from a higher-end retailer was priced much higher. Considering the size, the super-thick wool, and Overstock’s low shipping, the price felt reasonable. We even used proceeds from a recent Craigslist sale of our old slipcovered sofa to offset the cost, bringing our total to $427.95.
We decided it was better to invest a bit more in something we hoped to love and use for years, rather than buy a cheaper rug we’d feel lukewarm about. The color seemed bright enough to liven the room without being so light that it would constantly show stains. Also, we’d recently scored an 8 x 10′ jute rug for the bedroom for under $250, which made this purchase feel more justifiable.
Cleaning and maintenance factored into our choice. We’re not fans of high-maintenance rugs. A friend with three kids and a large dog has a similar shag wool rug that stands up well to everyday life. Crumbs and dust come out with a quick vacuum, and if a tufted area gets stained, you can carefully trim the longer tufts to lift the stain. She swears the repairs are virtually undetectable.
To choose the right size, we used green painter’s tape to outline an 8 x 11′ area on our 25 x 15′ living room floor to confirm proportions. For color, we wanted something to brighten the room—our dark sectional, pewter walls, and gray beams needed contrast to move the space from cold and monochrome to warmer and more fun. We avoided very light options that would show every spill, since we have one baby, one dog, and plans that might include another child someday.
We’ll always be a little sentimental about our favorite too-small-for-the-sectional rug—the gray-and-yellow Moorish tile rug from Pottery Barn. It was a perfect pairing, but finding another yellow rug with similar durability proved difficult. Most yellow options seemed too thin, too light, or too costly to use in a high-traffic family room.
That old yellow rug isn’t going away, though. I couldn’t bear to part with it, so it found a new home in the guest room where its size fits much better. Pairing a 5 x 8′ rug with a giant sectional in a long room just didn’t work. We’re excited to welcome the new shag rug when it arrives—Overstock is known for fast shipping—so we hope to share pictures soon.
With the living room rug decided, we can shift focus to curtains and lamps for the console table we plan to build behind the sectional. We’re aiming for a balance of light and dark grays, bold color, lots of texture, and some pattern. It should tie everything together nicely. Have you ordered from Overstock recently? We’re curious about others’ experiences.