Ch-ch-changes...

Since it's been lightyears (or maybe more like a few weeks) since I've given a home decor update.... how's about a home decor update for you today? (I know - I'm shocked too!)

And not only am I giving an update about a change in our home - we're talking two living-room updates in one post! It's a Thanksgiving miracle.

You see, we love our living room, but there are two pieces in it that had been bothering us for months: the doesn't-quite-fit-with-our-style IKEA coffee table that ate up a ton of space in the little room, and the dingy rug that sat underneath.

Eric was on the hunt for a new coffee table at thrift stores for months. He kept sending me photos of options and I kept turning my nose up at them. Nothing seemed quite right. However, we both knew what we were looking for: Something smaller, possibly with a glass top that would blend into the space well.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, he sent me a photo of an accent table that oddly caught my attention. I wasn't sold on it right away, but for $30 I told Eric to bring it home to see how it would look. We moved it in place of the large coffee table and I still couldn't get used to all the open space this little table left around it. I still wasn't completely sold.

But that could have been because we still had the dingy, old, it-used-to-be-white rug still sitting underneath.... its dirt stains and faded pattern left harshly exposed under our new, lower-profile coffee table.

The rug had to go.

So imagine my elation when just about the time we got the coffee table, I came across a Google Offer for RugsUSA.com: $85 for $170 toward an area rug.... a huge discount! I bought the offer right away, and then looked through the rug offerings on Rugs USA. Thankfully, the site has a ton of really stylish options at already fairly affordable prices. We settled on a rug pattern we liked, the Tuscan Trellis in gold, and ended up purchasing the 6'x'9' rug for just $206! An absolute steal!

The rug arrived a couple of weeks ago, and I've got to say where I was hesitant on my appreciation for the new coffee table at first, I loved thus rig from the get-go. It's large, plush and adds a bold, fantastic pop of color to the room. 

What's more, I loved the rug so much I quickly changed my mind about the coffee table atop it - its smaller size allows the rug to stand out, taking center stage in the room. And it really does make the entire room look so much bigger.

So, anyway, after that long-winded story about a rug and a table, which I'm sure about 90% of you just scrolled on by, here are our new additions!

The new coffee table:

The table has some water marks that need touched up, and I'm thinking about painting the whole thing altogether, but overall it's a pretty interesting piece... especially for the price of $30. The little hinged door on the front opens up, allowing storage within. It almost feels like a little museum display, under glass.

Under our glass is the latest issue of Marthe Stewart Living and a little ring dish I received as an engagement present earlier this year. What I'm most excited about is making a little wintery Christmas scene in this space over the holidays! My mind has been buzzing with just what I could do to make this space perfectly Christmassy. 

And check out our new rug! It certainly makes a statement, and fits perfectly with the yellow accents that already pop throughout the room.

Of course, the rug had to be given the official Mr. Pancakes Seal of Approval... which we're pretty sure it got, since his new favorite spot (aside from his old, trusty favorite spot, where he's lying here) is lying stretched out on the rug under the new coffee table.

And just for comparison, check out how different (so much warmer!) the room feels before our new additions and after!

Last Fall:

Today:

What a difference, eh? (I also can't tell you how sad that weird multi-headed lamp in the corner was in the "before" photo.... Blech!)

I'm so happy about our living room's new, very-badly needed facelift. Not too shabby for less than $300, right?!