guest post: 4 Things to Consider Before Your Next Big Rug Investment

*** enter to win a $100 Wayfair.com gift card HERE ***

Take a look at these important rug features before you take the plunge.

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1.     Measurements

There’s no way around it—busting out that tape measure before you purchase a rug is an absolute must. Carefully evaluate the space where you want to place the rug and consider how it will fit with other items in the room. Take a look at what furniture will be on the rug as well as how other furniture will look positioned next to it. If you have a clear vision of exactly where the rug will be placed before you purchase, it will ensure the best possible look and usability of the rug in your space. For the best look, choose a rug that’s large enough so that all the legs (or at least the front legs) of your major furniture pieces will sit on the rug.

2.     Materials

Location is paramount when considering the material and price of a rug. If it will be placed in a high-traffic area or room, then splurging on handmade, 100% wool will offer the best results. Rugs made from less expensive synthetic fibers won’t last as long, but can be useful in a quieter space as a trendy statement piece or accent. As far as investment rugs go, handmade woven or knotted rugs offer unparalleled craftsmanship that will last a lifetime and are worth the money.

3.     Shape

Keep the big picture in mind when choosing the right shape rug for your room. It helps to think about what types of shapes are already present in your décor, and how a rug will frame the whole space. Your best bet is a rectangular rug—it will never go out of style and will work well with most room arrangements.

4.     Color

When making a big investment in a rug, it can be scary to decide on colors and style. Oriental-style rugs often incorporate a variety of colors, which are ideal for matching all kinds of color palettes as your décor changes throughout the years. Don’t be afraid to go with a colorful rug, but evaluate what potential color schemes will work well with it before you buy. Select a rug color that truly aligns with your personal décor style, and then you can be sure it will fit whatever you choose to combine it with in the future.

For rugs you can shop by size, materials, shape, and color, we of course think Wayfair is a great option.

Bio: Catie Parrish relishes the opportunity to inspire others to create thoughtful, stylish spaces in their homes. A graduate of Drake University, Catie lives in Boston with her news-nerd husband, Chris, and their wrinkly rescue mutt, Gus. An ardent enthusiast of all things tasty, curious, or pretty, when Catie isn’t writing, you can likely find her whipping up a batch of guacamole, captivated by a good book, or on the hunt for the sofa of her dreams. Catie is the managing editor at Wayfair, the internet’s largest furniture store.

guest post: decor for tiny rooms

Hello I am Amber from The Vanity Room. I have a passion for interior designing and blogging is the perfect platform to quench my creative thirst.  I love to indulge in the internet and dig for ideas as I feed off the inspiration. I am very thankful to Shannon for letting me contribute to her blog. She is an extremely humble person with an amazing down to earth personality. Today I will be sharing with you some of my favorite DIY ideas to decorate tiny rooms in our house.

Decor For Tiny Rooms

Small rooms can be frustrating as they are difficult to decorate.  Many of us have small rooms that we have to live in and deal with on a day to day basis. This means that most of us, with more meagerly proportioned rooms, are left wondering how on earth we can make the best of our tiny rooms.

Good choice and use of furniture is key in any small room – more so, in my opinion, than in a larger room. Choose furniture that precisely fits into place, whether it is a table under the window, a bookcase across the narrowest wall or even a storage unit fitted along the longest wall. While these bigger than expected pieces of furniture may take up a reasonable amount of room, they more than make up for it by optimizing the storage space available in the room – which frees up the rest of the room, making it seem that little bit bigger! 

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Mirrors should be installed in every small room. Different types of mirrors can be used. Choose the biggest mirror you can find, or even use mirror tiles. Position the mirror across the narrowest point of the room, as the mirror's reflection will appear to double that small area, opening the room out to a more generous size. 

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Make good use of the full height of any room – whether it is in the kitchen, conservatory or living room! Bookcases that reach up to the ceiling are considerably more capacious than one that only reaches to head height! You can buy some incredible bookcases from Ikea.

 

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Bathrooms are often low-level rooms, which is a sad waste of all that space near the ceiling! Install narrow shelves that run around most of the bathroom to make space for bulk purchases of soap, shampoo and toothpaste and you will make the bathroom seem bigger in the process! I saw some amazing bathroom accessories at My-bathrooms. Under basin storage is a must in any small bathroom, as this makes good use of otherwise wasted space. Apply your DIY skills here; all you will need is some paint and an old table. Paint the old table in matching color to your bathroom and insert it under the sink. If your shower has a frosted glass or plastic door, think about changing this for a fabric shower curtain which can be pushed to one side to 'open' out the room a bit more.

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In the kitchen there is often a huge array of equipment, tins and other foodstuffs that need to be stored safely. Invest in fold-out, rotatable cabinets to maximize the use of every inch of available space. 

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Large televisions, while much thinner and less bulky than older models, still take up a fair amount of space. Limit their footprint by wall mounting large TVs, which then removes the need for a television stand. 

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Choose plain furniture for small rooms as bright, busy patterns can make the furniture look big and bulky; too obtrusive for the dimensions of a smaller room. Use light paint or wallpaper to further add an open feeling to small rooms, and think about raising the pelmet as high as possible. Small rooms acquire an air of grandeur from a long, graceful fall of fabric. Use optical illusions to transform small and poorly proportioned rooms; for example adding stripes to counteract the effect of a long thin room, and picking out unusual room features (such as a large chimney breast) in contrasting paint colours. 

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These few ideas and hints are very easy to implement and will hopefully inspire a fresh determination to decorate your small rooms, and give you some ideas on how to make a small but perfect interior – no matter where in your home it may be!