Buffalo Check Bandwagon

Up until now, I thought I had resisted drinking the kool-aid on the "Buffalo Check is so Current!" bandwagon.  Nothing against buffalo check - every pattern has its place - I just hadn't been as blown away by it.  Until...  WTF?  The HGTV Dream House?  Really?  That's going to be what gets me on the buffalo check bandwagon?

First, let me clarify that I think the designs for the HGTV Dream Home giveaways are usually dreadful.  Like, would sell the furniture and start all over if I ever got lucky enough to win.  They all feel like what they are - brand new houses filled with brand new furniture, meant to be pleasing to 80% of the population.  I get it, I just don't like it.  I hate pretty much everything about the design of this room.  I mean, I'm super patriotic and all (I read American history books for fun) but even I wouldn't want to be getting my dirty on below Old Glory. 

But that carpet!

HGTV

Wall-to-wall buffalo check.  Who would have thought? 

Maybe something much smaller in size - like a bathroom mat?  I even like the idea of the striped curtains as a shower curtain.

Did anyone else see something they liked on the home tour?  I didn't watch the entire thing, so I can't really comment except to say the great room's rock walls look cool but would probably be really cold most of the year.

Rug Score

Yes, I'm still alive.  I've just been ridiculously busy between work, Christmas shopping and more work.  I picked up some assistant work with my friend who is an event photographer.  Love the extra cash around the holidays.  Can't say I loved the drunks at Vegas Night quite so much, but I did get to hang out with 3 Elvises at once so it was a memorable night.

Anyway, I'm very close to being finished with Christmas shopping.  I do realize that Christmas is less than a week away and I'm actually very behind schedule, but it's just one of those years. 

I was luckily able to find things online for most of our out-of-town friend and family and had it shipped directly to them, which helped a ton.  I am a huge fan of online shopping, especially stacking sales with online coupons.  So, despite the fact that I am not finished shopping for other people, I couldn't resist using a $20 off $100 coupon Overstock e-mailed me this morning.

What did I get?  This rug, of course!

I've been eyeing it for weeks now, and the price fluctuates all over the place so I wanted to make sure I got it on the low end.  Area rugs are currently 15% off, so stacking it with the coupon and the free shipping promotion made a big dent in the price (which I have seen for as much as $158).  I never really expected to be able to get it for under $100 (even if it's just a smidgen under at $98.99), so I am extremely happy.  Let's hope I stay happy when it gets here and I see it in person.

Chevron - Yes Please

I have been wanting to incorporate some chevron into my house for a while now.  Hopefully it's a trend that will stick around for at least a few years.  I love the bold pattern with the muted colors of this fabric.

It's Premier Prints ZigZag Village Blue/Natural.  Fabric.com has it for only $6.98/yard - which is really affordable, especially since they offer free shipping when you spend $35 or more and often have coupons floating about.

I think I'll be using it in my master bedroom.  I've been holding off doing anything in there.  It is such a disaster area.  I see beautiful color schemes or inspiration photos and get all excited, but I was having a hard time forcing myself to pick a direction.  Currently there's not a single piece of furniture in the room that I'm tied to in any way.  Sort of a blank slate.

A really ugly blank slate.

However, I do have some things on hand - and I should use them.

I have a gallon of a pretty cream color, "Heavy Cream."  It's close to the new Martha Stewart color of the same name.

I bought this 5x7 rug at Target forever ago.  I think I paid around $70.  I was so happy that I bought it when I did, because the next time I went they had the exact same rug, but they had tweaked the colors.  Instead of being lovely and muted, they were more saturated.  Does this happen to anyone else?  They also did it with a set of dishes that I bought - they still have the exact design, but the color is just slightly different.  It's really aggravating

Then, a couple of years later (but still several years ago), I bought this wallpaper.  Also from Target.  It was clearanced out to $7 a roll and I bought two because that was all they had.  I'm not usually a wallpaper gal so I didn't really realize that 2 rolls of wallpaper isn't very much.  I had no idea where I would use it - just that I liked it and that it was nice, textured wall-paper.  And I knew it was a bargain.  I've thought of putting it in almost every room in my house at some point, but never pulled the trigger.

So I think my color scheme is coming together.