I know pottery barn runs sales for 8 x 10 rugs under $499. sometimes.

Overstock has good prices on rugs too.

Have you checked your local CL? If you are open to a vintage persian made from wool it should wear very well and not show the dirt. Blue can be more difficult to find, but not impossible if you keep looking. Anything in your price range new would have to be a tufted rug (which are prone to shedding) or synthetic (polypropylene). While you can find good deals on Overstock, it can also be tricky as you are picking out the rug based on a picture which is often not very accurate so you need to also read the customer feedback to get a clearer idea of the colors. RugsUSA has better pics, but costs more too. Other places to check for rugs in that price range new are JC Penneys, Home Decorators, Home Depot, Tuesday Morning (if you are lucky) and perhaps Kohls.

Here is a rug I bought recently on Overstock for my bathroom:

It may have more blue than you are looking for, but I just checked and it comes in an 8'3"x11' for $405. See link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Overstock rug

this might be busier that she wants, but it is affordable, made from olefin (bombproof) and comes in an 8x11 for $299, free shipping. Check out the beige and blue patterns. If not right, maybe JC Penney will have something else she likes.

Here is a link that might be useful: jc penney rugs

I've had great luck buying rugs online. Try http://rugstop.com/.
Also if you're not in a hurry to find something the online sample sale websites are a great place. They usually do a rug sale once a week. I paid $440 for a beautiful 9x12 rug 100% wool hand made that usually goes for well over a thousand dollars. Try sites like giltgroup.com or Thefoundery.com. Good luck

Thanks for all the advice. I've found these 2 below that I like and tried to do a little photoshopping. The one on the left is from overstock for $347 and the other one is the PB Malika rug I found on ebay for around $500 shipped.

My mom has some blue willow dishes (from my grandma) that we were thinking of displaying on some built in bookshelves in the room. Then I would also like to use the spa blue color in accents (pillows, some accessories, etc..)

I'm also searching for lamps to be placed on the Ikea hemnes sofa table... any ideas there would also be much appreciated :)

So what are your thoughts? Do you like either of these? Personally, I'm leaning toward the one from overstock but it might be a little louder than my mom wants to do, but taking that risk might also really bring some pop to the room... thanks again for your help!

{{!gwi}}

Definitely the one with the richer shades on the left...

The one on the left.

My friend just bought five of the rugs on the left and, in person, they are GORGEOUS. They actually are a little more muted than the photo. Either one is lovely and your Mom should have the final say I would guess.

Check out Ballard Designs. They have an excellent selection of rugs. I'm including a link to their "neutral" rugs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ballard Designs Neutral Rugs

While either rug could work, from a more practical standpoint, the one on the left I think would hide the dirt much better since you say they live on a farm I think that would be a prime factor. While Overstock doesn't mention the manufacturers of the rugs, I found the ones I ordered made by Safavieh. My experience has been with these rugs at that price point is that they are prone to shedding. The 8x10 I ordered it was a huge problem for several months and I finally put the rug under my bed and it doesn't seem to shed anymore. The smaller runner rug has also shed, though much less and seems to lessen more as time goes by. It is something to definitely think about seriously, though; if you want to take a chance of several months of shedding which looks like you have a dog in the house even if you don't. The fibers would get on my floor and the leather ottoman, on people's clothes if they sat on the floor. You may tell from reviews of your rug if that is a problem or not. When reading reviews, do a search on your rug iso you can check the reviews from different sizes to get as much feedback as you can about the rug prior to purchasing. Ultimately, I ended up replacing the tufted overstock rug in the family room with a more expensive handknotted rug which I purchased also from Overstock. Now that my tufted rugs are done shedding, I'm happy with them but for the first 4-5 mos. I was not. The other option at your mother's price point is to get a snythetic rug which does not shed. Wool, however, is better at repelling dirt and moisture.

Thanks again everyone! I really appreciate all your opinions. We went ahead and ordered the one on the left from overstock. I was at my mom's house this past weekend and once we measured the space, it was apparent the 8x10 was going to be too small so we got the 9x12 (and at $535 shipped you can't really beat that price for that size!).

So I'm crossing my fingers she will like it! I'll try to post pics when it comes in :)

thanks again!

Christy :)

Please do! I am eyeing that rug as well for my master bedroom. I think you made a good choice :)