One Room Challenge Week 4: solving a big design dilemma

My painting and wallpaper supplies are stuck on a shipping container and most likely won't ship until the end of this week. So all of my grand plans for a huge paint reveal this week for the One Room Challenge are foiled. And that's okay! This is real life!

Since I'm unable to talk about the power of paint this week, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about the power of rugs! One of the big design dilemmas we wanted to address during this makeover was how to make one long room feel like two separate areas - a family lounge area and a craft/game area. With the rise in popularity of open concept living, I think a lot of people struggle with how to design their spaces. One of the easiest things you can do to separate and ground the areas you want to establish is with rugs.

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Now here's the biggest design mistake to avoid, and I made it too, so pay attention! Don't use the exact same rug for every space! When we first styled our finished basement, I chose one 6X9 rug and purchased two. While it's a pretty rug, it didn't do any favors for the layout of the space and the basement did not feel well styled.

Select different, but coordinating rugs to differentiate between spaces in order to anchor your "rooms" and make the space feel complete! For our newly styled space I actually chose 2 different designs AND sizes. The family area will have a 8X10 rug and the craft area will have a 5X7, which is a much more appropriate size than the former rug.

When selecting rugs that coordinate, think about patterns and colors just like you would for an effortlessly chic outfit. If you chose a large floral print for your top, a thin pinstripe pant would work well. If you chose a bold colored dress, neutral accessories would compliment the look.

With the room (eventually) being painted a dark moody blue, I wanted to pull in a more feminine vintage rug in a blush color. As its counterpart, I chose a cream, black, and gray rug for the craft area with a much larger geometric pattern to balance the family lounge rug.

| vintage medallion | black and white geometric |

Here's the part where I'd love to give you a mini reveal and show off these beauties in their new home, but I REALLY want to wait until the room is painted! Make sure you're following along on Instagram for more behind the scenes of our Basement Makeover!

xoxo, L

Here's what we've checked off our list, if you've missed anything!

Week 1: design board

Week 2: trim and prep

Week 3: furniture flips

#oneroomchallenge #orcat #apartmenttherapy #therurallegend #rugtips