stripey rugs

April 30th, 2009

We’ve had jute rugs for a couple of years now (you can see one here) and they were getting ratty as hell. Not to mention totally beige and boring.  They hide every stain though and with two dirty dogs and two toddlers that is pretty huge.  But the boringness was outweighing their usefulness when the spring came, so I sprung for some new ones. Rugs are really expensive (if you didn’t know) and I would like to tell all the shelter magazines and design blogs to stop telling everyone that 1000 bucks for a rug (or a couch or anything really) is cheap, because it is not. 10 bucks is cheap. And that’s what I paid for one of these yellow stripey runners at Ikea.  I duct taped them together–classy I know–and now I have a rug that I is far from beige and cost less then take out.  I got two more for the living room and it like we live in a whole new house (granted one where I have to vacuum a lot more, but still they look pretty good).

Posted in my home.

22 Responses to stripey rugs

  1. Jo says:

    I was just thinking about stitching together a heap of Ikea rugs last night! Duct tape sounds much easier :) They brighten up your rooms, don’t they!

  2. Myrnie says:

    Love it!! I’ve seen people use drop cloths as a backing, but I think I like the duct tape route better- much quicker (and that just adds to the “class” :o)

  3. Beetlegirl says:

    What can’t ikea do?

  4. Lils says:

    preach on ! Looks great, quick color fix

  5. smallpotatoes says:

    Great idea. Your lr fern is PLUSH, BTW….

  6. Casey says:

    good idea! you think Wal-Mart has any nice rugs like this? we don’t have an Ikea :(

  7. stacey says:

    Great idea! I love the look and am tempted to do the same thing. Duct tape! perfect. Did you tape them down as well? I just know that those light-weight rugs are tough to vacuum. Ikea is the best. One of the happiest days of my life was when I discovered Ikea was opening about 5 minutes from my house. Oh heaven!

  8. I love Ikea.

    I’ve just taken up the rug in our dining room, though. I’ve decided that it’s easier to scrub the wood floor and get it refinished when I kick the kids out (in about 15 years time) than it is to keep trying to get food out of the rug. Now I’m thinking that a bright rug would look rather nice and maybe the kids should just eat in the kitchen…

  9. gardenymph says:

    Brilliant! I love the colors, and way to go on saving money! Oh how I wish we lived near an Ikea!

  10. That is so much better than thinking you could (or would) crochet big-ass rugs from a million strips of Dig & Save fabric. You are so wise and thrifty. Two thumbs up for the duct tape.

  11. Kristina says:

    I love that! Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with duct tape. In my mind, it’s a key ingredient in a thrifty household. Kudos to you for coming up with this great idea.

    Kristina
    Sweetfern Handmade

  12. Cammy says:

    You are so right. The mags are crazy when it to comes to what they deem as affordable. Love your new rugs. They are so bright and fun.

  13. amy says:

    I love it! The yellow striped ones are great!

  14. Ursula says:

    I love these Ikea rugs; I have smaller versions in the same yellow stripes for my kitchen. My favorite part is that they can be thrown in the washer and dryer very easily, and in your case, you can just re-tape them! I just started weaving this past year (fourth generation weaver!) and I’m so excited to start weaving rugs! I’m determined to make weaving hip and sexy, and bypass the extreme cost of rugs by doing it myself and using thrifted sheets etc. Oh, and sometimes overstock.com has a few decent rugs and you can’t beat the $1-2 shipping!

  15. melissa says:

    we are all about the ikea rugs in our house also- i just throw them in the washing machine every now and then and voila!
    but i had never thought of duct-taping them together. you’re a genius.

  16. dana says:

    You are BRIIIILIANT! THANK YOU for sharing! I’m so doing that. We need a new rug and it’s impossible to find anything cute, for cheap. You’ve just saved my life, well, sort of. Thanks!

  17. Rach says:

    What a great idea. I love the yellow and white stripes.

    And I agree; $1000 is not cheap for anything other than perhaps a car or a house…

  18. Tina says:

    Looks great!

    Rugs and clothing- I was in Macy’s last week and I spotted an adorable jacket- for a mere $670! (I would be afraid to wear it.) The same with a $1000 rug- I wouldn’t dare walk on it!

  19. Karin says:

    We have an Ikea runner in our bathroom that is going strong. I love it because I just throw it in the washing machine and hang to dry (oh, and it cost $9). The duct tape makes this easy, just re-tape! It’s on our Ikea list! Thanks for the fab idea!

  20. sharilyn says:

    Funny, that. I was just at ikea and was wishing that the exact same rug (but orange striped) was twice the size. I’m not as brilliant as you to duct tape them together – although i did consider stitching! Instead, i bought a plain white one instead. But I like yours, more. xo sharilyn

  21. Martha says:

    I had just resolved to do this… with the multicolored rugs… and it looks like the SIGRID Rug is out of stock just about everywhere. I hate it when this happens! Probably means it’s being discontinued…

  22. carla says:

    Your Post elsie marley » Blog Archive » stripey rugs is really Nice.I love reading Posts on orange rug…Thanks.