Home is where the food is? For those of us who enjoy looking through home design blogs or flipping through decorating books and magazines for hours on end while we try to dream up our own perfect additions and creations, we have all seen the oriental rug in a kitchen look. It is one I am still not completely sold on because while I LOVE the aesthetic, a kitchen (at least say, my kitchen) is known for getting a bit well, gross. What happens in the sink should stay in the sink but that is a best laid plan and at least in my busy sink moments of trying to do things while my baby calls for something else from his high chair, I find that the floor in front of the sink can take quite a beating (hello spills, splatters, and breaks) and some rugs do not seem like good candidates for taking this kind of abuse. Okay, I am being a bit dramatic. But I love rugs. And again while I LOVE the look of the antique oriental rug being next to the sink in the kitchen, I think it should be a very well-thought out move. If you are not constantly cooking and cleaning after cooking, I think the situation is much less risky. Only you know all of your kitchen habits and behaviors and only you can know if having a nice rug down will be something that will be worth the aesthetic boost in a very comforting place of the home. If you are thinking the look and the lifestyle of having an oriental rug down in the kitchen is definitely for you, I highly recommend this montage on stylecarrot.com as it completely lends itself to the ultimate inspiration with a wide array of types displayed. Below are my top two favorite kitchens mentioned in the post and my ONH picks for sourcing rugs just like the ones featured!

 1. Runners for elongated kitchen. 

 

2. Area rug size in the middle of the kitchen. I am in love with the Elle photograph below of Ginnifer Goodwin in her kitchen with a lovely antique rug underneath her feet. Her kitchen looks modern and subdued, but most importantly   a mixture of stylish and cozy. I usually gravitate towards a bright, white type of kitchen but I love how sleek this one is and I feel like the rug is rather unexpected but adds the homey feel. Immediately reminded me of a couple pieces we have that I love and I had to share them!

 

That's it for this week -- hope everyone is enjoying the weekend in their rug-more or rug-less kitchens! xoxo, Melissa

Decorating a bathroom can definitely be a challenge because less is really more in most cases so items need to be very carefully picked and placed. One concept I absolutely love for a bathroom is use of a vintage rug. If you have a small bathroom, a cotton rag rug would be great instead of a bath mat because you can wash it and if you have a larger bathroom or a guest bathroom that lends itself to feeling more like an actual room, I highly recommend giving a vintage or antique Persian rug a consideration. The photo below from a Domino magazine featured a modern meets vintage bathroom is the perfect example of an airy, clean and dynamic bathroom that feels like somewhere you'd want to hang out after a long day's work, and guess what, you guessed it -- it has an antique Persian rug. Unique and interesting, love it! 

 1. Vintage or Antique Oriental Rug. Okay, so I can't completely tell from the super small portion of it in the frame if it is indeed my favorite type of Persian rug -- Kerman -- but it certainly reminds me of the type and we happen to have two very close matches in our shop. And my love affair with Kerman rugs will certainly live on -- now to hoping that one day we have a spacious enough bathroom to put one in because if it were up to me we would have one in every room!

2. Beveled Glass Mirror. Whether new or old, mirrors are pretty much the norm in a bathroom but having a round mirror that is beveled glass adds a little something special to the look if you ask me -- an old world charm. A lot of mirrors made today are not beveled and so that extra dimension that pretty much all old mirrors have is just lost. This mirror we have in the shop is one I have always thought would look fantastic hanging up instead of being used as a stand and check out that bevel....ooh la la!

 

3. A lovely plant in a vase. It seems a bit unlikely to find a plant in the bathroom but I love the concept. Nature is soothing and it is such a lovely way to spruce up any kind of room. And of course when you are sitting in your bubble bath, you can look over to see something else thriving. It has positive energy! While we don't carry plants in our shop, we do carry some vases. I always find milk glass to be incredibly timeless and think the ultra white vase would look just beautiful in a bathroom.

That's it for this sourcing series but stay tuned for our next one which will focus on home offices! I hope everyone has a peaceful and wonderful weekend! xoxo, Melissa