I think it’s time for my yearly-ish living room update that seems to have become a tradition around here, don’t you? Last year, at right about this time, I finished up a pretty big refresh in this room and I was really excited to show you the changes that I’d made. A whole lot has changed in here again this year, thanks to us now having a toddler in the house, so let’s get you filled in on what’s been going on!
If you just clicked over to check out last year’s living room post, then the first thing you’ll probably notice is that we got a whole bunch of new furniture!
With a fourth person in the house, we were definitely in need of some more seating so we had the sectional and the chair made in really durable fabrics that can stand up to a little boy jumping all over them and smearing various food products into them all day long.
We really do spend the majority of our time in here playing and hanging out and eating and playing some more so this room really needs to be tough and also comfortable.
The one major thing that we didn’t change in here since last year is the rug. I’ve actually had a lot of people ask me about this rug even though it’s really just a super cheap, basic rug from a big box store. It came from those bins with the rolls of rugs that are meant to be put in a garage or somewhere really utilitarian. We wanted to get something that we could really make a mess of, basically, and then not feel bad about when it’s time to throw it out in a year or two. We thought that as long as we got something grey-ish, it would probably look decent enough until we’re ready to get something fancy that won’t have food squished into it daily.
I really do still like this rug a lot even though it was only $80 for this big size. I like the color and the basic texture and I like that it seems to pass for something nicer than what it really is.
The only problem is that this rug is really thin and since we spend so much time in here, and since we are squarely in the toddler phase now, I’m spending more and more time playing on the ground. Like, most of my time, it seems. 🙂
Things can get pretty uncomfortable pretty quick with a rug this thin on top of the hard floors underneath, but I’ve really been refusing to upgrade this rug until the time is right.
Rug Pad USA to the rescue!
Rug Pad USA contacted me recently, just in the knick of time and asked if I wanted to partner with them on a blog post (and a giveaway for my readers!) and I had the perfect opportunity for just such a post! My knees are forever grateful! 🙂
They have different rug pads for different rug types, different flooring types, and different softness needs, but the one I decided to use in here is called “Eco-Plush”. It’s 3/8″ thick, which is pretty thick in the world of rug pads, and it’s good for humid climates, which we definitely have! It’s also made from 100% recycled materials, which I thought was pretty neat.
Some rug pads have either one or both sides that are grippy material, but this one is soft felted material on both sides. It’s good for my room since the sofa holds the rug in place anyway.
They have an option where you can have your rug pad cut to be 1″ shorter than your rug on all sides and I really recommend that you take advantage of that if you get the chance. It really allows your rug to sit nicely over top of the pad even if you have a thick pad with a thin rug like I do.
I really didn’t know a thing about rug pads before the last couple of weeks so I was pretty impressed by all the selection and all of the specific applications of all the different rug pads.
I’m also really impressed by what a difference a rug pad can make now! The great thing about picking up a rug pad is that it will make your cheapo rug feel like a million bucks now, but then even when you throw this rug out, you can still use the pad on your new upgraded rug in the future and make it better too! Or, if you end up destroying your cheapo rug before you’re out of the messy toddler years, well you can reuse it on a new cheapo rug too. 🙂
So, like I said, I have a rug pad to give away to one of you today, and I’ll get to that in a just a minute. First though, let me show you some of the other toddler-induced changes that we’ve made in here, just while we’re talking about it.
First of all, we had to move that sawhorse table out of the room because the rough wood and general tippy-ness just weren’t a good match for Jack’s need to try to climb/pull-down everything.
We just replaced it with a floating shelf for now. Things are definitely a lot emptier in here, but it’s functional!
And then there was this cute little behind-the-sofa area:
Which now looks like this:
To be fair, although Jack did destroy the sofa table, it was Chris who broke my second beloved mercury glass lamp!
We take that big basket and wedge it into this doorway here and it makes a nice little baby cage for us all to relax in.
I promise I’m going to finish restoring those hardwood floors one day. I promise! Until then, maybe another rug with a comfy rug pad is in order?
Until then, let’s get a rug pad for one of you!
To enter the giveaway, just fill out the rafflecopter form below and if you win, you get to pick any rug pad that you want from Rug Pad USA as your prize!
If you’d like to just go ahead and purchase yourself a rug pad or two now, here’s a code so you can get 15% off: PR15OFF
Good luck to all those who enter!
Thanks so much to Rug Pad USA for sponsoring this yearly update on my living room situation and the giveaway! I was compensated for my work on this post but all thoughts and opinions are mine as always!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.