Choosing a Vintage Rug for Our Bedroom (from Revival Rugs)

I’m so excited to show you my new vintage rug.  I’d been craving a change when it comes to our bedroom decor, but had been waffling a bit.  I was pondering wallpaper samples for the wall behind my headboard in my Instagram stories a few weeks ago – and I’ve been teasing the idea of painting my dressers since last fall (sorry)!  I’ve also been thinking about moving our handmade welded nightstands to the living room and getting/making something with drawers for beside the bed.  But I haven’t been able to commit to anything – I needed direction, a little nudge.  The same thing happened when I was planning the main bathroom renovation: I knew I wanted aqua sinks and walnut cabinetry (although there was a beachy glass fronted cabinet style that kept calling my name too), but beyond that I kept getting pulled into different design directions until I found the quartzite counters.  That’s when everything clicked into place for me because the organic quality – and busyness – of the stone helped direct all of my choices and then I very quickly put together the design that I still love to this day.  I usually use artwork as my jumping off point – the way I did with the turquoise powder room redesign – but any design element, from fabric to a rug to the perfect piece of furniture, can serve the same purpose and shape the design direction of a room.  I needed that same nudge for my bedroom, so when Revival Rugs reached out and offered to gift me one of their beautiful, handmade vintage rugs I knew exactly where it would go: our bedroom! 

It’s perfect!  From a practical perspective, I don’t know how I suffered through so many cold mornings without this soft wool rug in my life!  Living on the shores of Lake Superior, even a warm summer day starts with a brisk morning and I love feeling this cozy rug underfoot when I first hop out of bed.  I think I will appreciate this rug even more deeply when our brutal winters roll around again.  Here are a few photos that capture the woven texture, and softly weathered color (it’s an over-dyed, vintage rug that was handwoven):

How I Chose a Rug Size:

For size, I chose a rug that is approximately 6’11” x 10’2″.  I could have chosen a slightly bigger rug; an 8′ x 10′ would fit totally under the nightstands, but in terms of width across the room I couldn’t go wider than this, because it would cover the heat vent under the window.  The bedroom is pretty small!  I like this size because I think it complements the size of the room well.

I used a wide angle lens for many of these photos – otherwise it’s a really cropped photo (small room, remember?) – and I wanted to capture the size of the rug compared to the size of the room, so excuse a tiny bit of distortion.  I polled my Instagram audience about rug sizes because at first I was considering a rug approximately 6′ x 9′ but I was worried it would be too small – and many readers agreed it would be.  I really like that this rug lines up with the outer legs of the nightstands, so for this room and furniture (this is a King size bed), the 10′ length is perfect. 

This size looks tailor made for the bedroom and complements the size of the space well – an oversized rug would, in my opinion, make it seem like it’s too small of a room to fit a “normal” rug (and cover up that oh-so-important heat vent) – but too small a rug would look skimpy. 

I spent a LOT of time measuring and mapping the rug sizes out, so hopefully this discussion of small rooms and rug sizes is helpful.  Shopping the Revival Rugs website made it easy because once I had a size in mind, I could filter my searches by approximate size and the size range is a slider, instead of a drop down menu, which offers a lot of customization.  Because these rugs are vintage, you’ll find some unusual sizes which is perfect for those hard-to-shop for spaces and once you find the perfect fit, it will look tailor made for your room. 

How I a Rug Color:

My life is simple.  Whenever I buy anything, I sort by color and search for creams (occasionally greys), greens, teals, and blues – and luckily the Revival Rugs website has this sort option too.  I actually found a few pale leaf green rugs on the Revival Rugs website that I LOVED, but they weren’t big enough (Revival Rugs for another room!)

I did consider some neutral rugs, but the decor in the bedroom is simple: the handmade welded headboard I designed and the walnut bed with welded legs Hubby and I built.  There’s the white bubble lamp I scored secondhand for $20, the mid-century modern style dressers I keep saying I’ll paint, the beachy sliding glass closet doors, my one accent wall color (which is easy to change, but I think works with the rug), and the artwork by Hubby’s grandpa, which is softly colored.  I knew this room could pull off a bolder color rug and it really complements the rest of the home to have this rich teal layered into the bedroom design.  I think a rug was the missing element from this space all along! 

Before, the walnut bed we made really blended into the walnut-toned wood floors, which is a lovely look – very low contrast – but I like how the bed stands out more now against the teal rug.  You can see and appreciate the design much more clearly now.  We made that bed and I’m so proud of it, so I’m thrilled that this rug helps show it off more now.  Plus this vintage rug really adds some warmth to a room that, although it has mid-century vibes, is mostly new!  The dressers, the bed, the closet doors – all shiny and new.  Compared to the rest of the lakehouse, which boasts my favorite vintage finds, this room needed something vintage.  (I guess the saying, “something new, something borrowed, and something blue,” works for home decor too, haha). 

Color/Quality/Shipping:

I had long been an admirer of Revival Rugs and was following the company on Instagram because of their mission to make handcrafted, quality vintage rugs easy to purchase and affordable!  The website and Instagram feed are pure eye candy and I love seeing inspiring spaces designed with color and texture in mind.  In terms of shopping with Revival Rugs, the selection is AMAZING and every detail, from the website design to the shipping process, is beautifully designed and expertly executed.  Plus Revival Rugs emphasizes paying fair wages and selling direct to consumer, which means fair prices or consumers too!  Now that I’ve received my rug, I can confirm that the quality and shipping process were top notch.  The color is very true to life compared to the website, although I would say it looked a bit more faded/beachy in photos (which is likely my own monitor/screen and also the fact that, right now, it’s been difficult to photograph the bedroom because this time of year it’s much darker in there).  I was delightfully surprised that it was a richer hue in real life.  It was shipped neatly folded into a box and it was unboxed with ease – no perma-folds or wrinkling.  We wrestled with the bed a bit (turns out we build incredibly solid furniture) and slid it under fairly easily.  I was relieved that the rug relaxed immediately – even though it was shipped folded.  It’s a heavy, woven wool rug which feels nice underfoot, but lays nice and smooth.  The weight keeps it lying flat and, because it’s anchored by the bed, we didn’t even bother with a rug pad.

I’m thrilled with my new-to-me vintage rug from Revival Rugs but, because it’s vintage and one-of-a-kind, I’m sorry but you can’t have the same one.  But I did go through the website, just for fun, and pulled some of my favorites in case you are in the market for a lakehouse-approved style 😉  If you’re shopping for a rug with character and quality, definitely take a look at Revival Rugs because just browsing the beautifully curated collections is so much fun – and the brand’s Instagram page is chock full of beautiful inspiration as well.  If you find a rug that’s perfect for your space, use the code LAKEHOUSE10 to receive 10% off your purchase.

Here are just some of my favorites:

ANNELISE: hand-knotted, over-dyed vintage Turkish rug, in a deep rich teal blue (similar to mine, but more blue)

ANTOLINO: hand-knotted, over-dyed vintage Turkish rug, in a deep turquoise (looks brighter than mine)

ANNETTE: hand-knotted, over-dyed vintage rug, in a grey/turquoise palette

BASHSHAR: hand-knotted, over-dyed, vintage rug in the perfect soft aqua

BERNADINE: hand-knotted, over-dyed, vintage Turkish rug, in the softest prettiest pale green

JULINE: hand-knotted vintage Oriental rug, with beautiful soft green pattern

NAZAIRE: hand-knotted vintage Oriental rug, with beautiful soft green pattern and pops of pink