The Rug I Bought Online, and a Kitten Story (Surprise)

I feel silly writing a post about a rug. So how about I say instead that this post is about A) buying a rug online, B) saving money on a rug that you buy online, and C) kittens. (What else is new in a day in the life of Erin, right?)

I mentioned in this post that we were shopping for an area rug for our bedroom, and we ended up buying the 8x10 Sierra Paddle rug in ivory from Rugs USA.

While I really liked some of the other rugs with more of a pattern, this one ultimately won because:

1. This one was in our budget. At the time of purchase, it was 30% off with free shipping, putting it right into our range. Two days after I bought it, though, it went on sale for 50% off with free shipping. I decided, in my indignation, to be a squeaky wheel and contact them for a price adjustment. Happily, a kind manager decided to honor it. (As a side note, Rick did the same squeaky wheel-ish thing when we bought our sink at Overstock.com and then shortly after saw that the price had gone down. They also honored our request for a price adjustment.) Basically, we’ve learned that it never hurts to ask for a price adjustment, because the worst they can say is “No you gave us your money once and we are keeping every last cent, bahaha too bad for you, suckers” only in a nicer way, maybe.

2. I’ve learned the following about myself since owning a house: I love LOOKING at rooms full of color and pattern and boldness, but I don’t like LIVING in rooms full of color and pattern and boldness. (Which is why our living room has evolved back to black and white with cool blues and grays.) I just get tired of the bright and bold things so easily, so I wanted something neutral. A solid-colored rug was out, though, because I did want some texture. This choice of rug seems to lean more toward “timeless” instead of toward the killer “I-love-its-trendiness-for-a-year-center-of-attention” side of area rugs. This way, I can rotate other colors and patterns in and out of the room via small, inexpensive accents. Again, just my preference.

3. It’s a flattering backdrop for deceptively innocent kitten portraits.

Trust me, I’m cute.

The verdict on my online rug purchase? This time, it was a win. The rug arrived 3 business days after I ordered it, which was a pleasant surprise. I’m happy with the quality and foot-friendliness of the rug, and the color and texture are both exactly as pictured online. 

As you can see in the above photo, we’re having some trouble getting the one edge to lay flat, but that’s partly because a resident small feline keeps stashing beheaded mousies under there and then digging them out like a madwoman, usually sometime around 4 AM. Rick’s old pharmacy textbooks are attempting to correct this curling edge problem.

That book could kill someone. By having them read it OR by having it hurled at them. A versatile weapon, I’d say.

Speaking of resident small felines, though, Zoe has also been up to some other tricks lately in addition to her mouse-stashing-at-dawn antics. Take this hole, for example:

What is it and why is it covered in cat hair, you ask? Well. It seems she has taken it upon herself to personally turn the bottom of our box spring into Swiss cheese.

One minute, it’s a relaxing place to lounge, sort of like a hammock for the small and furry…

…and the next minute it’s a critical element in quasi-successful sneak attacks on sisters.

See? This is why I love having my kitties around. They never fail to make me smile. Except at 4 AM, of course. At that hour, I can only muster a sort of foggy grimace at best. But my mom says that’s just getting me ready to be a REAL mommy to a REAL baby that has neither tail nor claws nor a propensity for carrying around packing peanuts in their mouth, but will still probably wake me up at 4 AM at least once…or twice…

Have you ever bought a rug online? What was your verdict on the “experience”? Has your pet destroyed anything lately in the name of fun and games?