I'm confused... the 5'3" x 7'7" for the long part would put it under the furniture. I just measured and there is only 4' of wood exposed between the bench and the sideboard. Is that what you are picturing?

So the short part of the long one would be a little wider than the width of the one in front of the door.

Looking over at HomeDecorators. This one comes in a good runner size (2.5x8) but not a good door size. I really like it. A little simpler. Can you picture the Trellis run with it? I'm not so sure.

Wendyb, if it were my foyer I would do everything possible to emphasize the length and beauty of,your hallway, probably with two identical runners or one very long one. It should abut the door and extend out into the hallway from the threshold. The "t" arrangement breaks up the area too much. Although I am a huge fan of black doors, I'm not sure I would recommend it for your front door. You have a really airy, open and light foyer that opens into a lower ceilinged, darker room with darker paint. At least, that's how it looks in the photos. I would do everything possible to keep that light and bright feeling in the foyer and work on bringing it into the living area.

Two long rugs would be just the ticket. My MIL has a long hallway with hardwood flooring in a similar color and finish and she used two oriental runners. It looks quite nice.

I agree with KSWL that black would not look good in your beautiful, bright entry. It looks lovely the way it is. I am a big fan of Karastan carpets and they have some patterns available in custom runner lengths.

Here is a link that might be useful: Karastan custom runners

Thanks kswl and hk too... I'm not a big fan of orientals, well at least the traditional styles.

If I go with a long runner (or 2), I don't see how it would be wide enough for people's feet entering the door. Runner widths pretty much go from 22 to 30". But it certainly would be a better look overall, especially 1 long one.

In one of my pics I showed a door mat rug that is just barely wide enough (44") for people's feet to actually land on when entering. Here it is near the furniture to attempt to visualize that width the whole way.

If I went to a carpet store and got a bound rug cut to size, I could get a real custom size of 44"x12', but I think that is probably too much rug for the whole space. Hence the T.

arggggghhhh....

btw, living room is not quite that dark... was a cloudy dreary day when I took that pic. yes foyer is very bright and light.

You could always pick a patterned carpet, typically for wall to wall, and have it cut and bound to any size you want. I am going to do this in my foyer since ready made runners are too wide for my narrow little hallway.

As for the front door....if you still have the green wall in your LR you could paint it that color to tie the spaces together.

A vote for a longer sisal rug -- edged in black ....

Then paint the front door in black to match ....

Here is a link that might be useful: PB -- sisal rug

I agree that painting the door black is not a good idea. I think that is generally reserved for the outside of front doors. You'd have an issue with continuity and the wood trim, among other reasons to not do it.

I love that brown and black rug you found at HomeDecorators and think it would be great. But it doesn't match the trellis carpet because of the color.

Not sure about the width. I think you'd have to see it in person. Here is a pic where the furniture does go over the foyer rug.

The sisal would be a good idea, but a cat is in my future. I don't imagine that would work.

I had an idea. The HomeDecorator runner also comes in a 3'9"x5'8". I could get two of that same size and run them the long way end to end. Because it is lightish, that shouldn't be too overpowering. It will not have to go under furniture. Not too much wood will show in that middle furniture area.

But my light bulb idea is that if I just get one for now sorta as a trial, I can do a few things:

- judge to make sure I like it and how the width looks. I should be able to figure out how 2 would look the long way.

- I could also just use it solo going side to side in front of the door and leave the bowling alley as is.

- And if neither of those options work out, I can use it on the deck. I will be in the market for an outdoor deck rug this season anyhow. I probably would have gone larger on the deck, but this will do.

And if that happens, then I will have to go to a carpet store and get something bound to exact dimensions. Hope that bindings have improved over the years.

If I do decide to do a "T" mix and match eclectic, does the trellis one in Mocha look like a better match? Looks close but not same. Maybe the repetitive nature of their patterns is not so good together? I don't do eclectic well.

Go to home decorators and check out your mannford rug with the black/sand Terrace rug. I don't know how to put them up next to each other here, but I did on my screen and they are fantastic together (IMO, of course). I'll put each up here separately.

Mannford:

Terrace, in black/sand:

Btw, notice also in the photo I put up to show the foyer rug under the furniture that the two rugs are the same colors but different patterns. Just like what we're going for here. I think that is a great way to go, esp. with rugs.

Love it!!!

So do I love the eclectic combo better than other options? I think I do. The black/sand one comes in a good size for by the door horizontal -- which is also practical for dirt hiding. Its a good size for the long way too.

Would you mix the two of them going the long way? I was thinking the long way would be 2 identicals. The T would be a mix.

I think I'll get the black one as a solo trial and then decide whats next.

Actually, no... I think I will go to a carpet store tomorrow and just see what the options are for a custom size wide runner. I do think that is the ideal scenario. The next best scenario is trickier, but these are great pieces to work with.

It's a great combo, isn't it?

So, with the Trellis rug just inside the front door, would you be going with the 2'7"x5' or the 3'9x5'5"? Then, after that decision, how much running room do you have for the Mannford rug or rugs? In the bowling alley, I'd use two of the same rug, the Mannford.

And you'll want a good non-slip grip pad under the rugs.

Wendy, can you put those two side by side in one comment, like you did the others? I don't know how to do that. I'd love to see them side by side. I think your front hall is going to be gorgeous. I love that bench you've got there, and the plant will look great on or by these rugs, perfect in fact.

Oh, you have trellis back in the mix and 3 rugs?!?! .. interesting... More options!! I'll have to study all the sizes. I'm getting a headache now. :-) I still am going to research potential of custom a single wide runner first and then come back to these. Very excited!

I think I have a HomeDecorators promo code around too. I bought a rug a few months ago and think I got a coupon.

Thanks so much for working thru these with me. This was good..

No, no! Just the Mannford and the Terrace from HomeDecorators. I accidentally said "Trellis' when I meant Terrace.

So, one Terrace, just inside the front door, and either one long or two Mannfords in the runway area.

Sorry about that!

whew!

I think I'd get the bigger size in the Terrace so it doesn't look puny next to the more area of the Mannford.

I like a rectangular small rug at the door, black background with possibly picking up the manchester tan color in a leafy pattern, a long sisal banded in black, paint the door black and never look back. The decision is yours. I think you have some good choices. Lovely home.

if i wanted rug on the the floor besides just in front of the front door, i would choose to have a custom runner made... the width and the length that works best for you... almost any carpet/pattern can be made up into a runner...
it will be the most cohesive and practical with kids and dogs.
and, even though you would coordinate the colors and patterns of 2 or more rugs together, it still would look choppy and piecemeal, imo...

patricia, something like this maybe?

I think the runner needs to have more decorative value to justify being there. But I like that it has the sisal look but is not really sisal (cats). Home decorator calls it their Boucle rug.

busybee, I feel that way too. I can't wait to go check it out. One thing that will probably happen though is if I end up spending serious money on a custom runner, I know in the winter I will be covering it up at the door with a winter waterhog type "practical" rug to catch snow and icemelt and shoes. Ah, I can have it both ways!! I can switch it out for the winter with the smaller runner and the tough washable door rug.

Looking at that entry way with a little more concentration, I think what would work, esp. because one wall is longer than the other, would be to have a narrower rectangular Terrace at the door, and then one bigger Mannford that does in fact go underneath the furniture in the body of the "runway" area, goes to the center underneath the console and the bench (but not to the wall), and lengthwise ends just before the end of the SHORTER wall (the wall on the left, looking AT the pic).

So, a Terrace rug the length of the brown rug in your pics but narrower, at the door, then a large mannford. That Mannford rug is so nice, it would look fantastic, IMO.

Hey Wendy, I'm in MA too, Cape Cod. Where r u?

I'm up north... near NH :-( lots of sleet this morning... blech!!!

Snow flurries on the Cape this a.m.

What do you think of the larger, wider one mannford/one Terrace idea? I just love those two rugs together. I think wide coverage with those two rugs would give your entry a lovely elegance.

Yes, I do.. but I have to go measure and look at all the available sizes carefully. The devil is in the details! I never realized consciously that I had one short wall and one long wall. Oh my!! Depending on the sizes, I may not have a choice on exactly where it ends (unless custom).

I was just cleaning up all my browser tabs from intense rug browsing yesterday and I decided to dive into one of the rug links that holly posted earlier. Found Portera that is similar to mannford but with a spec of red to tie in to the orchid! (I think it's similar... will know better after I post them side by side...)

Plus, I just noticed your earlier request for side by side of mannford and Terrace. Here's the three in one eyeful.

ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ ÃÂ

Now that I see them all, I guess Portera is too busy with Terrace, huh?

If anything, I'd swap out the Terrace for the Portera and have the Portera just inside the door with the large Mannford in the runway section. Those two are really perfect together.

I love the Mannford for the larger part of the hallway. Both the Terrace and the Portera go so well with it, so I'd have a tough time making that decision!

But I definitely like the less busy Mannford for the larger area, esp. with a busier carpet at the door.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Mon, Mar 31, 14 at 12:26

Yes, Wendy. I like that combination.

Just browsing Houzz and noticed this pic with two different sized but complementary rugs end to end. Of course, nothing like my foyer, but still...

[Traditional Hall[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-hallway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_743~s_2107) by San Francisco Architects & Designers Gast Architects

and here's identical rugs different sizes and orientation.. not exactly a "T" arrangement and much bigger foyer than mine, but interesting to note. nice black door too! Awesome wall color too.

[Traditional Entry[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2107) by East Islip General Contractors James Traynor Custom Homes

And here's a runner made to size to fit the space wide and close to the door for function, like I want to do... I don't care for it at all.. even trying to look past the bold colors and patterns. If I loved the rug, would I love the shape/size? I dunno.

and another example... I can't stop...

[Traditional Entry[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2107) by Excelsior Architects & Designers The Landschute Group

becoming obsessed. okay back to dwts

I rather like the idea of a wider rug on the "runway" section of your front hall. I think it would give the foyer a warmer, more elegant look than a strip of rug. Like this:

And this:

the first one is inspirational even tho scale is a little off. the 2nd one is room size so not me, but I get the drift.

When I go to carpet store (maybe today) to get quote on custom, I will see what they have for 4x6 and 5x8 and maybe I can bring something home to try out for size.

I was looking closely at the rug color descriptions and I am researching that they are both the same background. They are both in the same "collection":

Hi, I am considering Surya Portera PRT-1048 Area Rug and PRT-1049 . Are they both the same background color? I am considering putting them nearby each other in an area. I don't want to trust my monitor that they really are the same background color.

One says Mocha 17-1327 and the other one says Mocha 19-1333. That in itself sounds fishy. The Pantone color swatch for 19-1333 is a totally different color -- a rusty red (which they call Sequoia) which looks like the dot in the center of the repeated pattern in the picture.

I suspect that the colors listed for PRT-1049 are incorrect. Please clarify.

Wendy, the second was just to show you how much nicer (IMO) a larger area rug, with the furniture going over it, looks than a runner in a foyer, esp I think if you're going to have two rugs in a T formation.

But I think you got that, so I'm just clarifying.

I think those two rugs will bring a world of elegance to your foyer.

So I went to the carpet store yesterday to see stuff in person and check out a custom wide runner. I didn't see ANYTHING of interest. The patterened books seemed really dated. Regular wtw carpet would be rather boring. I saw 1 pattern that was so-so and it would be $435 for a 10' x 42". That's about as small a width as I want for functionality in front of the door. and that's more than I want to pay for this project. So that's out of the question. Good. They also had nothing 4x6 to take home for a sample that I could pretend I liked just try out for size.

Also, some of the indoor-outdoor weaves seem too outdoor-ish. It's tough to judge that factor online.

Looking closely at my foyer, there are two distinct areas that, in my mind, the sconces separate. I intentionally kept furniture and accessories to one side of the sconces only (except for coat stand). I think that separation reinforces the need for 2 separate rugs too.

Moving onward...

I had another small doormat type rug in another size in another part of the house that I tried there. It was a perfect size for in front of the door. 2 1/2 x 4 1/2. That's my target size for that rug.

If I'm going with 2 rugs, I think it is important to keep the front doormat rug smallish if doing a larger one in the other area. Unfortunately, none of the 3 candidate rugs have that size.

I found this one online for 2.5 x 4.5, but it doesn't really go with the potential theme. Not too many have this size, but I didn't look too long.

So today I am going to hit Target, Home Depot and Kohls to see if I can find any 4x6 to try out. Not necessarily for keeps (but that would be nice), but at least for size. I don't want to drag a 5x8 back and forth, but I think I will be able to tell by the 4x6 if a 5x8 has a possibility of working. I expect the 4x6 will be big enough to fit the bill. But I don't want to order online unless I know.

The other option is just to get the 3x5 Portera-1049 and be done with it. Or maybe a 4x6 can even work as a larger doormat version turned around.

Stay tuned...

edit: filled in missing pic

This post was edited by wendyb on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 9:08

Wendy, if you have a Tuesday Morning in your area, they are much better than the stores you mentioned for rugs and even TJMaxx is a good start, but I have found Tuesday Morning to be the treasure hunt of all treasure hunts for rugs, or at least mine is. We have good "stuff" in ours, very high end stuff. It may not be today's high end but it is last year's high end that I could not afford until it went to TM.

Hmm... Yes, I think so. I think there is one right next to HomeGoods (which I forgot to mention in my list). I've never been in there. I am excited to try. Thanks!!!

No luck today with rugs (6K steps on the pedometer by 2:00), but still progress in a very slow way.

At Target I picked up a 5x8 rug for the deck. I will try it in the foyer for size when I open it up. 4x6 rugs are few and far between, but I did find one to bring home to try for size. Haven't done so yet.

At Lowe's I found a doormat type rug at least for the moment. It's too thin for my taste, but it is cute for the moment anyhow. I think it will take me awhile to settle on a rug. Not crazy about many of the thinner rugs and buying online makes that more of an issue. I need to exhaust local resources more. I think a foyer should have a rug with some substance.

Here's the temporary rug.

Yes, Patricia, it would go well with a sisal with a black border!.

It was still a productive day. I was never crazy about the abstract trees in the foyer. I saw this at HomeGoods that I love. It has all the colors that the living room has.

These blues did not photograph right. THey are not so bright at all.

This is a better shot of the trees. They came with me from my last house, but have not found a good spot at this place. My new picture looks good in at least 3 different spots, but for now its going in the foyer.

Tuesday Morning was interesting. Kinda reminded of a Christmas Tree Shop. I got some nice looking outdoor decor things cheap.

Also I ordered some deck furniture at Home Depot. 2 Chairs and an ottoman. This blue is wrong. It is brighter than that,

a busy day. Pooped.

Well, you know what you could not find, but you will find it. It's out there, just be patient. It looks like you did get some other pretties, however.

Sorry. I do think a pattern and a sisal in the same color scheme, can work. Just keep working on it. Oh, I know your feet are tired. Give them a rest. You have been doing a lot lately.

Okay, here we go... Back at it.

- I tried 4x6 at front door as solo mat... okay, but a little too big IMO. My neighbor likes this size. I don't. This rug is not appealing to me either. just trying it for size.

- a 4x6 looks weird in between the bench and the console. It just reaches the furniture. No wood showing in front of furniture and rug can't reach under furniture. so that's out. I was hoping for this arrangement to keep price down, but that never seems to work for me - LOL!

- a 5x8 in the long part under the furniture is so-so. This one is actually 5'3"x7'6". I think my foyer is too small for this look, but it does have the potential to cozy things up. It's hard to visualize a final product with all these mis-matched patterns. This rug is actually going on the deck.

Also with my new artwork, I think my color scheme has to change too. (Sorry, tribbix, portera et als, don't luv anymore.)

Here is side by side of new color on wall and new 3x5 doormat rug (which claims to actually be 3 1/2 x 5 1/2.). This is in my shopping cart and I feel okay buying it online because it is NOT 100% polypropolene (outdoor). It is 50/50 with acrylic and says "plush pile" so it should be fine in that "too outdoorsy" respect I don't want. The deck rug looks like a deck rug in the wrong part of the house.

ta da...

What do you think? I hope the colors are true to my monitor. If I really love it, I can still look for it in a 5x8, but I really don't feel like paying the price of a non-outdoor 5x8 right now. I have a ton of new landscaping to do at my new place and I'm chomping at the bit to get into it as the weather is improving.

I definitely like the 4X6 in front of the door and the 5X8 in the main part of the hallway. I think it's more homey, warmer, less door-mat-ish.

Oh, I downsized the door rug to 30x50 with the 5x8 in place. While its still there, I'm going to try with the 4x6. I think that will be too much. pic coming up...

yup, the 4x6 with the 5x8 touch. That's not going to work. Or did you mean one OR the other?

4 x 6 looks fine on its own.

I like them BOTH. I think it looks great. I also much prefer the 5x8 being partially under the furniture.

I'd pull the 5x8 back a bit so that there is about 3 inches between the two rugs.

I like that the one by the door doesn't look like a wimpy mud mat.

I think they warm up the foyer and give it a warm, homey, room-like look rather than an aisle look.

i have to disagree with having both the 4x6 and the 5x8 together. Way too much rug-ness for me. 3" apart is not enough wood or separation. the 5x8 has to be partially under the furniture because the foyer is only 6' wide.

So, I ordered the new swirl which should be big enough to hold its own for awhile. I'll keep my eyes out for the perfect 5x8, but at least now I know I am not looking for a runner and the jumbo "doormat" functions well to greet feet.

On to the gardens!!!! Thanks for everybody's input!

Oh, and while I had the 4x6 home for a size sample, I found another spot where that size works great. I'll start a new thread for that selection :-)

Why not try the ivory colour with a border of coca cola? This will be a great imagination - one serene colour contrasting with another dark shade.