Decorating With Area Rugs in My Living Room

There is a new color underfoot at my house, not only in my living room, but also. in my kitchen.

Blue rug in living room looking into a dining area in a kitchen.

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One good thing that came about while being sick last week was that I spent most of the week snuggled under a warm throw on one of the comfy recliners in my living room. In this state, I daily had my sights on the living room into the dining area.

Not to be totally unproductive, I visually played around with a few ideas each day on how I could update the room decor for spring and the warmer weather months ahead.

Before and after area rug painting process. Photo shows how the rug looks after being painted.
Living Room in 2019

Of all the rooms in my house, the living room is the room that I have changed the decor multiple times over the years in both major and minor ways. I like everything I have done to the room.

The only reason I have made so many changes is that I have too many ideas I want to try. The living room is the place where I do just that – try out and experiment with ideas.

All through the dozens of changes to the room, the seagrass area rug has always stayed. It is such a durable “go with anything rug” that we brought with us from our previous home.

The only change I had made to this rug is when I did a color tweak after I started using more blue in the room. The rug border used to be green, so I painted the area rug border beige.

blue and white living room

If you remember back in the fall I added a patterned area rug over the existing seagrass area rug in my living room to cozy up the space for the cold months of the year.

After the holidays, I added blue accents and a new X side table. I liked this look very much.

Dining area in kitchen

Back in 2019 after we had the hardwood floors refinished was the only time I removed the area rug. Since it was summer and the floors looked perfect, I liked the simplicity and enjoyed the floor for a while without the area rug.

Label on Tommy Bahama area rug.

Fast forward to this past week. I wanted to lighten things up again since spring is here and summer soon behind. When I was finally feeling better, the first thing I did was to roll up and store the dark area rug until next fall.

After some online shopping I found this very affordable Tommy Bahama Marlin Transitional Indoor/Outdoor Rug to layer over the seagrass for a Modern Coastal look.

Normally when I am looking for a color change in a room, I do it with paint – but a gallon of paint these days is so darn expensive! I am finding area rugs can be a less expensive option depending on what the rug is made of and the size.

two area rugs layered one on top of the other on a hardwood floor.

My new blue rug (7′-10″ x 10′- 2″)is slightly smaller than the seagrass (9′ x 12′)so layering was easy.

blue and white rug in a living room looking into a dining room.

I unrolled it and centered it right over the seagrass. As you can see the rug hasn’t flattened completely yet, but this photo was taken right after I unrolled it. It has flattened since.

The new rug is just what I was envisioning – a little coastal, a little modern.

blue and white modern coastal decorated living room.

I have been leaning to using blues in the room and really like the mix patterns of the large pillows I covered the no-sew way with the blue texture print fabric. They give the sofa a modern coastal vibe.

New Kitchen Mat

Lucky Brand wellness mat in blue weave in front of a kitchen sink.

While I was changing the area rug in the living room, I also wanted to replace the green GelPro mat I had in front of the kitchen sink with a blue one.

I have been using anti-fatigue mats instead of a small decorative throw rug to stand on when I am in front of my kitchen sink for years. They are the best and worth every penny! I have had a few different brands.

I like my GelPro ones the best. I have a green one for the fall/winter and bright blue check for the summer. Since I rotate them seasonally, they last for years.

close up of blue Lucky Brand anti-fatigue wellness mat in kitchen.

Now I have this Lucky Brand Anti-Fatigue Wellness Mat that I found at HomeGoods, (also sold on Amazon). It is thinner than the GelPro brand, but for $15.00 it was worth a try.

Anti-fatigue mats make standing less tiring, promote better posture, circulation and muscle conditioning, plus they are skid resistant and so very easy to clean.

Seeing new color around the house for spring is making me feel cheery and ready for the warmer weather.

Over the last few years I have embraced the slow living method to life and that includes decorating. I love to decorate and make things look pretty and updated, but I do it now at a much slower pace. I still have a few more spring tweaks for both the kitchen and living room that I will share with you in my next few posts.

Decor Resources

layering area rugs in a room idea

More Decorating Ideas You May Like

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13 Comments

  1. Suzanne Kinkade says:

    Love that Tommy Bahamas rug. Not a blue fan so clicked and found black. Ordered two – one for den and smaller for under breakfast room table. Would add photo but don’t know how!!!

  2. Your blue rug looks amazing! Its so funny you posted this as I have been researching a blue rug to put over our sisal rug in our sunroom. You have confirmed that layering rugs is a good look!

  3. Donna Marie says:

    I really like your new rug, as it brightens you room so much. Keep us informed as to how well your rugs hold up and I might be in line to buy one!

  4. Love the layering rug on sea grass yet wondering how you will vacuum? I have problems with my lighter rugs on tile.
    Bought the kitchen mat through your link, thank you!

  5. So beautiful! Since your home is on the lake, bringing some blue indoors really ties your home to your natural surroundings. Love the coastal feel!

  6. Pretty update. Hope you and Ed feel better.

  7. Oh, Diane, I love your new den rug! How did you manage to perfectly match your blue throw pillow?? It looks great! Would you tell me where you bought the fabric for your blue throw pillow? I love the look of your room. I love the kitchen mat too. Thanks for sharing and I hope you are feeling better.

  8. Amazing how changing out the rugs to blues makes your living room and kitchen coastal and summery looking. Just perfect!

  9. Michele M. says:

    It looks great, Diane. Funny I just bought a new rug for the front door foyer yesterday. Must be something in the air.

  10. I love the blues in your living room! They are gorgeous and look so summery!

  11. valarie sanford says:

    Love it Diane!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Valerie – After learning how affordable some stylish area rugs are I am enjoying switching them out for the seasons.