Schmapps and stuff: Do you smell something?

Oh my goodness, the hubby and kids have heard me say this at least 1000 times! But I have to say that I am justified in this...or is that what they all say? I have three animals in the house, so it is not in my imagination when a strong smell comes wafting from the hallway to the basement. I go on especially high alert when people come over. If I see their nose twitch or they run their hand past their faces, I automatically assume they are smelling an unpleasant odor and become consumed by the idea. "How can I have let someone come over when my house smells!" I think. It is a bit crazy. I am sure most people would not say that my house smelled... or would you?

When we got our puppy a year ago, she had accidents on our carpet and rug early on. I would find most of them and clean until my hands were raw. Yet there was a smell whenever we would walk into our house which drove me nuts. I would clean the rug, be certain that Milkshake had not had an accident, and yet it would smell. I began realizing that the cat now saw the oriental rug in our living room as an appropriate place to relieve himself. I brought the expensive rug that we had gotten from my mother in law to a rug cleaner who basically said that it was beyond saving with a very sad look on his face. I think he might have been more upset than I was.

For two months now, I have been looking for a rug. The dog is fully trained and the cats seem content now that there are two litter boxes they can use. It was time. I must have logged over 100 hours searching for a rug. Mind you, I found plenty of beautiful rugs that I would have been thrilled to have, it was the pricetag that was a major concern. I read about scoring a gorgeous West Elm wool 8 X 10 for $180 at their outlet and plugged in the VA location into Mapquest. "Only four hours, that's not so bad, is it?" I would ask myself. Until, I saw that Rugsusa was having a 70% off sale. I searched and searched the inventory until I found two rugs. The first is a Moroccan wool shag rug.

Moroccan Wool Shag Rug

It is a 5 X 7 which fits well in my small living room and cost $160! I fell in love with this style when I saw it in a makeover that Emily Henderson did.

It is incredibly soft and I have no complaints. The kids began rolling around on it before I fully unrolled it from the packaging.Here are my before and after pics.

BEFORE

AFTER

The second rug was a wonderful surprise. It's a chunky jute rug. I was worried about shedding and that the hubby and kids would complain about the texture on their feet, but $99 for 6 X 9 rug seemed too great of a deal not to try. When it came, I immediately moved the dining room furniture and laid it out. It looked amazing! It made the whole room feel warm and inviting. The rug was bumpy but soft. Still, I braced myself for the complaints. Lo and behold, the kids loved it! My son wanted it put somewhere else so that he could practice his karate on it! Then my husband came home and both he and I were surprised at how much he loved it. Score!