We’ve come to the last look in this edition of Making it Yours. True to the spirit of the series, you see a few pieces showing up again from previous looks. The lamp and vases were both in the first design, and now they’re being used again for this home office/library. In fact, the blue chair previously shown would look great in here as well.

I feel like this is the most traditional pairing of the rug with furniture, but there’s still a sense of fun. That portrait certainly helps, eh? I know it’s weird, but I love it. In fact, it will soon be winging its way to my house because as I put together the rest of the design, I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else buying it! I thought about replacing it with a more traditional portrait, but Hipster Jesus stays in the picture.
 

We’ve seen the same traditional rug in three different designs now. This library/home office space, a living room with a bit of pink, and another living room with a cool color palette. It was an interesting creative exercise for me, since I wouldn’t normally choose such a formal rug, and I hope you enjoyed seeing how it could be updated to work with a more modern style. Which was your favorite from this edition?

Laura M, referencing the eighth edition of Making it Yours, recently made a request for the next round.

I love your blog and am a long-time reader but first-time commenter. If you are thinking about the next in the series, can I suggest as (selfishly-motivated) inspiration a Making it Yours with a big red oriental rug? I recently inherited such a hand-me-down rug from my parents. It’s a really nice lovely rug and it was really generous of them, especially since I’m a grad student and could never afford something that nice on my own. However, its a bit more traditional than my usual style – I’m definitely into more modern style with clean straight lines and funky pops of color. I really love the rug itself and hope it will last a long time but I’d love some ideas on how to use it without ending up with an entirely traditional space.

Excellent suggestion! The Making it Yours series (MiY) is all about using furniture (or a rug, in this case) and making it work for you and your style. I’m taking on Laura’s request and basing three different looks around this traditional red rug.

In this edition of MiY, I’ll begin by using the rug in a living room, which I’ll be posting tomorrow. I’ll then design another living room look, followed by a home office/library. It will be a fun exercise for me because the rug is much more traditional than my usual style, and I hope you’ll enjoy my take on it.

Let’s do this!