Objects of Lust: New Florence Broadhurst Rugs

Thirty two years after a still-unsolved murder brutally ended her flamboyant and controversial life, Florence Broadhurst's dramatic designs are still as heart-stopping as the day she dreamt them up.

Broadhurst's intensely colorful, geometric and nature-inspired patterns are available as indulgent fabrics and luxe wallpapers, and British firm Knots Interiors came out with a line of Broadhurst rugs in 2007. Now, several more of the Australian icon's timeless designs have been reproduced as handknotted wool-and-silk rugs by the U.S.-based, high-end carpet company Woven Accents.

A few of my faves from this new collection:

Honeycomb in cornflour

Floral 300 in scarlet and ivory

Kabuki in olive and brunette

Solar in saffron and navy

Japanese Floral in tangerine

Horses Stampede in noir and steel

Siam in cream and aqua

The rugs are available for order through L.A's Woodson & Rummerfield's. (The cost: Most likely more than many of us can afford. But let's all just indulge in a collective swoon anyway, OK?)

P.S. For more on Broadhurst, pick up a copy of the gorgeous book, Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret & Extraordinary Lives.

Cool Stuff: New Kaui Rug at Urban Outfitters

Oooh -- I like this. (It's surface-dyed, flatweave cotton, which means it'll probably look like crap after about two months of being stepped on. But hey -- what do you want for $68?)

Cool Stuff: Dan Golden Pillows and New Rugs

I got an email from Dan Golden a couple minutes ago letting me know that he's just about to launch a line of pillows based on his hilarious rug collection. (The "Morphine" design is so mine.)

The hand-embroidered, velvet-backed pillows measure a generous 22 by 22 inches and come with a feather insert. They're priced at about $175 each -- not cheap by any stretch, but owning one of these would make me smile every time I looked at it, and that's worth a lot. They'll be available for order starting next week at Eccola in Los Angeles and directly from the designer.

Golden is also rolling out a witty new rug collection next week. Called "The Meds," it's based on imagery from popular prescription medications woven into beautiful abstract patterns. Each design is named for what the pills do: Rise (Viagra), Calm (Paxil), Grow (Propecia), and so on.

The busy designer has a couple of other exciting new projects in the works, too, so stay tuned for news on those.

Thanks, Dan!

Objects of Lust: Dan Golden Rugs

I spotted these rugs from designer Dan Golden on the always-awesome Design Crisis yesterday, and promptly choked on my coffee.

I really don't have anything intelligent to say about them other than, "OMG, how freakin' kick-ass are these?" Above: Morphine

Keep Dogs Off Grass

So Long, Suckahs!

Financially Abundant

Crazy New Shit

The hand-tufted New Zealand wool rugs range in price from $2,880 to $12,960. So yeah -- keep dreamin'.

See the entire collection right here.

Etsy Find of the Day: FilzFelt Floor Mats

Much as I love pattern, I've been shying away from strong pattern on the floor after having had to craigslist one too many nice rugs that simply didn't work with the ever-changing decor in our rooms. (I told you I have design ADD.)

My new strategy is to opt for simplicity in the larger elements in our home, like flooring and furniture, so that I can go wild with color and pattern in easier and less-pricey-to-change things like pillows, artwork, and accessories.

So these simple, earthy felt floormats from Etsy seller FilzFelt (aka Boston designers Kelly Smith and Traci Roloff) are especially appealing. (Plus, you know how I love felt.)

They're made from high-quality German industrial wool felt, come in 6-by-9-foot ($405), 4-by-6-foot ($180), and 2-by-3-foot ($50) sizes, and are available in an array of Pantone-matched hues.

FilzFelt also has a great selection of simple, modern placemats and coasters, pillows, and felt by the yard.

Check out all of Smith and Roloff's Etsy offerings right here -- and see more of their designs here.

Double Take: Pottery Barn and IKEA Rugs

Do my eyes deceive me, or are these two rugs -- the one on the left from Pottery Barn, the one on the right from IKEA -- actually one in the same? (And if so, who's ripping off whom here?)

Pottery Barn's Pieced Awning Stripe Mat (shown here in blue, though it also comes in black like IKEA's) is 100 percent cotton, and runs $109 for a 5-by-8 and $179 for an 8-by-10.

IKEA's Stockholm Rand Rug (shown here in Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely's dining room) is made from 100 percent wool, and costs $179 for the 5.5-by-(almost)8-foot size and $299 for the 8-by-11.5-foot size.

I can't believe I'm about to write this, but not only is the IKEA version pricier, it sounds like it may actually be the better quality of the two. (God, how often can you say that about an IKEA product versus practically anything else? It's like we're in Bizarro World or something ... )

Anyone seen both of these in person and care to weigh in on their relative appearance and quality?

Cool Stuff: Dash & Albert Rugs

We've been looking for a new rug for the living room, to replace the red-and-camel Caucasian that's there now. (It's beautiful, but I'm bored with it. I'm also phasing out the red in that room and want something that's a bit more modern and versatile and that will work with the constant changes my decorating ADD demands.)

Nick is leaning toward a FLOR rug. But as much as I love the idea of FLOR, the previous one we had in a hallway was like a freakin' pet-hair magnet and I just can't deal with that again. I'm also in the mood for something kind of feminine, fresh, and fun. (This is a new thing for me, as "pink" has never before been a part of my design vocabulary. I dunno -- perhaps it's the spring fever talking.) So yesterday, I meandered on over to the Dash & Albert website and found a lot to love:

Barbados and Franconia

Tortola Ticking and Kiwi Ticking

Palm Beach

Birmingham Citrus and Aquinnah

Aruba Stripe

Bright Flamestitch

Staffordshire Stripe

The rugs are really reasonably priced, ranging from about $30 for a scatter rug to less than $500 for a 9-by-12. Because they're cotton flatweaves as opposed to tufted wool, though, my main concern is how well they'll hold up and stay in place. Anyone out there with Dash & Alberts who can report back on their longevity and mobility -- especially in a home with rampaging kids and pets? If so, please let me know!

Check out more Dash & Albert rugs right here.

Deals of the Day: FLOR and Restoration Hardware

A couple of special deals that I thought you might want to know about:

* FLOR is offering 15 percent off every order of its modular carpet tiles through Friday, November 16. Enter coupon code FF873W at checkout.

* From Thursday, November 15, through Sunday, November 18, Restoration Hardware is having a "Friends and Family" holiday sale (though it's hardly an exclusive group -- I think RH is defining friends and family as "anyone on the mailing list"). Everything the company sells is 20 percent off. Use coupon code HEMFF791 at checkout.

Happy shopping!

Who Knew? The Amazing Shedding Shag

About a year ago, I bought the Quinn Felted Shag Rug from Pottery Barn for our family room. (Our old oriental rug had been through house-training with a new puppy and kitten, and alas, had not survived to tell the tale.)

I had lusted after this rug -- with its incredibly thick, nubby plushness and slightly shagadelic vibe -- for ages, and loved the way it looked in the room and felt underfoot. (Our corgi, Bonnie, regularly throws herself down on it and wriggles all around while emitting yelps of pure joy. Our best guess is that she thinks the rug is another animal, and that they're playing together -- or maybe they're doing something a bit more adult, but I don't want to think about that ... ) I even felt a little smug about snagging the brand-new shag for about half of regular retail, from an eBay seller who lived near a Pottery Barn outlet store.

But let me tell you: This rug has become the absolute bane of my existence. It sheds more than our three housepets combined, and I'm regularly scooping up tumbleweeds of shed shag fibers from around the house. Just vacuuming the rug will fill a brand-new vacuum bag to bursting.

Some internet sleuthing led to a message board where owners of the Quinn and similar felted shags (like the Crate+Barrel Pebbles Shag and West Elm's Cable Shag), as well as trendy-again wool flokati rugs, were ranting about the problem. The consensus seemed to be that the shedding would calm down over time. Sadly, a year down the line, that doesn't seem to be the case with ours. Some nights, I dream of giant spheres of soft white rug fibers blowing across the floor ...

Anyway, consider yourself warned.

(And if anyone has a similar tale to tell -- or, even better, a possible solution to the problem -- please feel free to share it!)