Happy windy Friday evening to you.
I have decided to rebel against my usual gangsta' lifestyle, and have instead opted for a night in the comfort of my own bed with a Hawaii Five-0 rerun, cheap wine, and salsa with tortilla chips...
...medium, not mild, cuz I'm hard like that...
...Thuuuug liiiife.
I am currently freshly showered, hair back in a wet French braid, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but will in all reality end up in a regrettable crimpalicious mess by the time my alarm graces my ear drums with it's shrill tones come 5:00am.
Why didn't I just take the extra 10 minutes to dry my hair?...
...because I needed to blog about stair runners of course!
Dear God... I have no life.
Anyhoo, here's what's going on with the runners...
Now, as opposed to some other decisions that are actually important and need to be made quickly, for instance, carpet or hardwood in the master, tile for the fireplace surround, butcher block or stone countertops for the kitchen, or should I seriously just get up and blow dry my hair before I'm doomed to a morning of crimpy unruliness...
...yes, the hair thing is serious...
...have you even tried to style hair that dried overnight in a French braid!?..
...it's like trying to wrangle feral cats during a tornado...
...doesn't usually go smoothly...
...just sayin'...
Anyways, stair runners aren't exactly up there in the "urgent" category, but nonetheless, I don't want my little ladies slipping on the new wood stairs and plummeting to the bottom, so I will be installing this runner as soon as I can after we move in.
I had purchased a dining table and 6 chairs off of Craigslist over a year ago that I have finally begun refinishing. The wood I have painted antique white and I reupholstered the seats in a pretty floral pattern full of pretty blues, corals, greens and a mustardy yellow. I know it sounds like a nightmare from grandmas house, but trust me, it's loverly.
Here's a little sneak peek of the fabric peeking from under a couple of my runner samples.
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See? Pretty.
Anyways, after doing lots and lots of internet research on striped stair runners, I came across these inspiration photos that really drew me in and locked me into my decision for a striped runner.
I totally fell head over heels for this yellow striped runner and after much digging I finally found out who manufactures this lovely rug, then I found out I would have to sell my organs on the black market to pay for it...
...I can survive with one kidney...right?
Then I found this pretty skinny black and white striped runner. I knew from the start the black and white wouldn't really match with my soft color décor, and you almost HAVE to have a pair of little black heels perched on one of the stairs at all times, so that immediately made me realize I needed to pass on this pattern....
...I don't think my dirty, scuffed up New Balance DSW clearance shoes would have the same effect.
Then I stumbled upon this nicely scaled blue and white striped runner....
...It's so pretty, but alas, it too was an "organ trader" so I had to give up the dream of this pretty blue and white stunner.
...It's so pretty, but alas, it too was an "organ trader" so I had to give up the dream of this pretty blue and white stunner.
Then there was this tan and white star patterned runner that I thought was super fun and actually really peaked my interest. I thought it was cute and fun, but the neutral colors kept it from crossing over into obnoxious, and I knew it would be a conversation piece.
...Unfortunately, I then went ahead and painted my exterior porch door this lovely shade of red, right next to the white siding and blue porch ceiling...
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... because of this, I figured I better pass on the star pattered runner otherwise I may as well just change my name to Martha Washington and get a tattoo on my neck that says "I heart Murica", because the patriotism would officially be over the top.
Soooo, I found a few affordable examples online and tracked down an adorable little store in Omaha (Pearson and Company) that carries the brand (Dash and Albert) that I was after. I went in the other day and flipped through a whole bunch of oh so lovely samples, and after 15 minutes, I was torn between many pretty choices...
But after much, much deliberation, I decided on a lovely yellow stripe that reminded me of the pretty runner up top that would have cost me my kidney...
and then this lovely, cool slate/aqua blue stripe...
So there are my two finalists in the stair runner challenge.
I THINK I'm leaning towards the blue, but who knows, my mind could short circuit from all the other decisions I'm trying to make lately and I could change it to the yellow....
So? What do you think? Blue? Yellow? No Runner? Change the upholstery on the chairs?!
Do the star pattern and go get the Murica tattoo?!?!
...crap, my hair has dried already...
Guess it's gonna be a feral cat wranglin' kind of morning.
:) Ashley
oooohhhh my goodness a tiny little mouse just ran out from under our bed...
...no joke...
(wasn't kidding about the Rodent Resort)
....he's the size of a walnut...
...I shall name him Buttons.
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