Which cow? (Please settle an argument)

[allycat0303]

Hi everyone,

This has been an ongoing battle this weekend. Can the ladies and gentleman here help me decide? These are the pictures with the only options (It's still in progress that's why walls are bare. It's for a single man living in a house. There are only these 3 options. I tried to create a poll...

 

[amc80]

The white one.

 

[allycat0303]

Thanks amc! My only concern about the white one, is that I found the living room to be quite feminine, so he's a bachelor and I thought the black gave the room a little more of a masculine feel....

The shaggy carpet is not popular (it's from costco). He has a lot of stuff from costco. I thought it would be cool to mix it up a bit.

 

[April20]

Ally,

I say black. I think it anchors the space. The cream one is nice, but it will get destroyed. The shaggy one doesnt have enough character in comparison IMO.

 

[PintoBean]

I vote black cow!

 

[allycat0303]

April,

I definitely agree that a shaggy carpet is a bit boring. The room (and it connects to a dinning room with a generic dinning table) is a HUGE space. Both rooms have no character without one of the cows. At least that's how I see it.

Pinto,

Thanks for voting!

 

[Autumnovember]

I voted cream cowhide because the black one, when I first looked at it, was too *BAM!!!!* for me...

 

[mary poppins]

I voted for black cow.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

I spent a good part of my life decorating homes for sale, so this is fun.

Hands down, the black one. It grounds the room and goes well with the high contrast of the chair legs/ upholstery. I'd love to see a bit more black on the wall behind the sofa--maybe artwork with a black frame? Or even a silver frame with black and white artwork or high contrast artwork with black in it.

The gray shag one looks like it could have come from KMart (sorry!) and isn't as fashion forward as the furniture.

The cream one blends into the floor and doesn't have enough contrast compared to the furniture. It kind of falls flat to me.

And to throw more confusion in, I like this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10168287/(it's not as in your face as the black and white cow). I like this one too: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80140756/ (but you'd need some great artwork to balance it out). And this one although it is too feminine has a great contrast of grey and white--so if you could find gray and white with a masculine print it would be great.

I hope this helps.

 

[allycat0303]

MydiamondSparkles,

Good eye! Well the shaggy is from costco....not too far off. The furniture is fashion forward! I'm thinking of maybe putting in a black/silver themed photograph wall vs some black or metal artwork. A woman after my own heart. Thanks!

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

MydiamondSparkles,

Good eye! Well the shaggy is from costco....not too far off. The furniture is fashion forward! I'm thinking of maybe putting in a black/silver themed photograph wall vs some black or metal artwork. A woman after my own heart. Thanks!

When I was editing my post I saw that it was from Costco....lol. I hope you didn't find that comment offensive--I just meant the furniture could have come from a high end store and the rug is so, not high end.

 

[allycat0303]

Mydiamondsparkles,

No offence at all! He's stuck on the costco rug because he is obsessed with costco.The dinning room connecting to this living room (it's a HUGE space), has a dinning set from costco. When we got the rug and put it down, he freaked out over it. So my sister and I bought the cream cow to get rid of the *BAM* effect Autumn referred to. Then we realized that it was the concept of an *irregularly* shaped rug that was throwing him off. He thinks that all rugs need to be square or rectangle. And all furniture must match EXACTLY the same shade of brown (and I really mean EXACTLY). He's that kind of guy. A bit clueless about decorating...

 

[Enerchi]

I have an interior decorating business so I love these kinds of decisions!!!

Black cow - grounds the space, looks masculine, ties in the colours of the chairs/sofa. Black.

I have had a cream/tan/white cow for the past 5 years and have had NOTHING happen to it! We practically LIVE in the family room and it's been spilled on, slept on by 2 dogs, wine/food/taco sauce... it's a cow - its pretty easy to clean up with water! I mean, they do it in the rain, right?

 

[movie zombie]

needs some red and/or orange to give some color to the place........but i like the black and white only because it won't show the wine stains as much. the white lightened up the room but not enough to put up with dirt/stains. shag?! yuck.

 

[decodelighted]

I wish there was a cowhide w/slightly less black & more of a mix between black/white/cream. Of these choices -- shockingly, I'd go with the shaggy. The cowhides also look a bit too small to ground the whole space. Hopefully the shaggy is a little more generously sized?

 

[monarch64]

Shaggy rug, since that is the only option besides dairy cows. He's single, right? If I went to a guy's apartment and there was a dead cow on his floor I don't think I'd be tempted to stay long.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Sorry, no cow for me either.

 

[Gypsy]

Black, hands down.

 

[Hera]

I wish there was a cowhide w/slightly less black & more of a mix between black/white/cream. Of these choices -- shockingly, I'd go with the shaggy. The cowhides also look a bit too small to ground the whole space. Hopefully the shaggy is a little more generously sized?

I agree that I would definitely look for something in the middle of the two extremes. I also don't mind the cream rug because I don't love overly attention seeking rugs. I like the fact that it places more attention around the room and into the other pieces of furniture. There's still so many more elements in the room like artwork, pillows and a coffee table.

I could see the black rug working if you were to place a wood table or something with mass over it to diffuse it a little.

Also, the rug wants to be scooted under the sofa a bit more. It looks a little displaced where it sits now.

 

[mogster]

If there was a write-in option, I'd nominate a large, rectangular patterned-rug.

 

[zoebartlett]

Of the three you posted, Ally, I'd vote for the black and white cow rug. Honestly though, I'd probably keep looking (but that's really just because I'm not into that style). The cream rug looks blah to me (and I'd worry about it getting stained and dingy), and the other rug doesn't appeal to me either. One question - will there be a coffee table above the rug?

I love the furniture though, especially the chairs!

ETA: I figured out why I don't like the shag rug. It's hard to really see it on my computer (glare or something) but it sort of looks like the type of rug you'd find in an office. It might not look that way in real life, but that's how it appears to me.

 

[allycat0303]

Thanks for the replies so far! I'm sending him to this thread this afternoon. He's so excited to see what other woman think (He thinks I'm a little crazy

For all of you that asked, there will be HUGE coffee table on top of the rug. The one he ordered is very large. It's black wood BLOCK, with some dark brown high gloss on it...a little hard to explain, but it's very nice, and very substantial. It has not been delivered yet which is why it's not on the picture.

 

[Lovinggems]

Did he choose the furniture? Maybe let him choose the rug. Not feeling the cow rugs, the black and white is too dairy and the cream may get dirty? I have one similar to the Costco one and now wish I got a nice patterned rug.

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

I spent a good part of my life decorating homes for sale, so this is fun.

Hands down, the black one. It grounds the room and goes well with the high contrast of the chair legs/ upholstery. I'd love to see a bit more black on the wall behind the sofa--maybe artwork with a black frame? Or even a silver frame with black and white artwork or high contrast artwork with black in it.

The gray shag one looks like it could have come from KMart (sorry!) and isn't as fashion forward as the furniture.

The cream one blends into the floor and doesn't have enough contrast compared to the furniture. It kind of falls flat to me.

And to throw more confusion in, I like this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10168287/(it's not as in your face as the black and white cow). I like this one too: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80140756/ (but you'd need some great artwork to balance it out). And this one although it is too feminine has a great contrast of grey and white--so if you could find gray and white with a masculine print it would be great.

I hope this helps.

I just realized the last link for the rug I really liked was missing: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10177885/ Although it is too feminine has a great contrast of grey and white--so if you could find gray and white with a masculine print it would be great.

 

[Lovinggems]

A union jack to celebrate the diamond jubilee?
http://www.rugsonline.com.au/rug-detail-union-jack-charcoal-637.html

 

[StacylikesSparkles]

Black and white one...by the way, where did that gorgeous couch come from??

 

[Cluless]

Hi Ally, I also vote black all the way......... but I'm loving this one for some reason http://www.domesticmodern.com/Beige-and-Brown-Cowhide-Rug.aspx Sorry don't mean to add more confusion lol xo

 

[VRBeauty]

Shaggy rug, since that is the only option besides dairy cows. He's single, right? If I went to a guy's apartment and there was a dead cow on his floor I don't think I'd be tempted to stay long.

ditto. Not something I'd want to be barefoot on...

 

[tigian]

Black cow!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Alleycat, I can't believe you posted this! I have been IN LOVE with the idea of a cowhide rug for YEARS, and have actually passed on two really cool ones over time that I have regretted sorely not buying. Well last weekend I went to an outdoor market by me and they had the absolutely most marvelous--and HUGE--hides I've ever seen. I actually bought THREE of them, one with the flatter sleeker hair and two that are different in color and texture but have wavier hair and a big hairy strip down the back. (Geez... that sounds kind of weird and scary, but they are not--I swear!) I intend to put them in a big space and I am gonig to layer them. So I wonder if you can do that for this guy; layer two of them together to cover more area, because I think the one is a bit small, especially with a big coffee table.

ETA: Monnie and VR -- it's funny you mention this becuase as excited as I was to bring my cows home (who have been affectionately named Curly, Moe and Larry!) I did not put them out in my current house because it's on the market (contract accepted on Saturday BTW!) and I didn't want to offend any potential buyers.