THE GREAT RUG HUNT

Now that our apartment is mostly "done," the only chances I have to buy things are when other things break or are destroyed in some other fashion. With my fiancé around, that happens more often than we would like [one of the first to feel the effects of his clumsiness: the vase on our dresser that so beautifully echoed the curves of the lamp. RIP. If anyone knows where to get one, please let me know! I got it on the clearance rack of the NY Botanical Garden's gift shop last year]. 

The rug in our entry is also nearing the end of its life. It lasted as long as a mostly-white $18 canvas rug from Urban Outfitters could be expected to, and my last-resort attempt to clean it in the washing machine left it slightly cleaner but very faded. 

Rather than going to UO and getting a replacement that will last for another 6 months, I'd like to take the opportunity to give the entry a little more sophistication and replace a cheap stand-in piece with a more permanent, grown-up one. It's also a chance to splurge a little on one of my dream rugs that I would never be afford in a "real" size – many of these are reasonably priced in a 2x3 size. With a maximum budget of $100, I have plenty of beautiful options. Too many, actually! So, newfound readers, I'm going to put you to work. Here are the candidates – help me choose! 

First stop, Madeline Weinrib. 2x3 patterned flatwoven rugs are supposedly about $100, which is the absolute upper limit of my price range. Here are some favorites, in a selection of colors:

[rows, top to bottom]
"Westley" in Indigo
"Song" in Goldenrod
"Brooke" in Black
"Mandala" in Turquoise
"Over Easy" in Cement
"Orleans" in Turquoise and Black

These Surya Weinrib-esque rugs have been seen all over the internet in the past couple of years, and they come in a multitude of colors:

left, "Fallon," $52 at Timeless Elements, selected colors $45 at The Furniture Domain
right, "Frontier," $52.50 at Floors and Surfaces

I think a graphic pattern would be a great choice with the floral fabric of the table skirt. A more wide-reaching search brings up plenty of these in saturated colors as well as bold black and white.

[rows, top to bottom]
"Tile" Jaipuri rug, $85 from Calypso Home
"Jodhpur" Jaipuri rug, $85 from Calypso Home
Liora Manne "Chains" rug in Black, $42 at Amazon
"Iznik" dhurrie rug, $49 from West Elm
"Rajasthan-stripe" dhurrie rug, $29 from West Elm
 Liora Manne "Chains" rug in Natural, $42 at Amazon
"Ikat Diamonds" rug, $48 at Garnet Hill
"Fez" rug, $69 at Home Decorators
"Arabesque" rug, $28 from Williams Sonoma Home
"Grecian Tiles" rug, $59 at Horchow
"Anna" plastic mat, $60 from Impliciti
"Kite" kilim rug, $49 from West Elm
"Cane" indoor/outdoor rug, $49 at Ballard
Surya "Frontier," $63 at Rugs USA
Momeni "Elements," $79 at Rugs USA

Or should I go a more traditional, masculine route to balance the feminine trendiness of the room? 

[clockwise from upper right]
antique persian rug, $100 on Ebay
Surya "Nomadic" kilim rug, $75 at Buy Area Rugsmini cow hide rug, $48 at Rugs USA
"Tauna" kilim indoor/outdoor rug, $49 from Pottery Barn
antique persian rug, $85 on Ebay
antique persian rug, $50 on Ebay

Making decisions has never been one of my strong points, and it's even harder when there are so few decisions left to make! Perhaps I'm just destined to endlessly tweak details and never be truly "done" decorating...