If it is different you can ask for a discount, but I do really think you have a magazine ready room now!

If it truly is different than the sample then wouldn't the carpet place have to replace it? I would bring the sample from the store home to compare. If it really is different go back to the store with a piece leftover from the installation and talk to your salesperson. Mistakes happen, but you shouldn't have to live with it just because it's already installed. You need to compare the sample with what they installed and take it from there. And I do hope the carpet place wasn't just saying it's the same as the sample to weasel out of having to replace it.

That's quite a compliment, roarah, and I'm flattered, because I live in an ordinary house without any of the beautiful features that make a house special, and which quite a few people on this forum are fortunate enough to possess. The San Diego area housing market can be very challenging for the average person.

elbeeca, we must have posted at the same time because I just now saw your post. Since I was so incredulous the carpet installer showed me the packing of the roll of carpeting and the name was exactly the same as what I had ordered. My best guess is that the sample book is at least a few years old and that the dye lot of my carpet is different and/or the samples have somehow darkened and changed. I don't really have the answer, to tell the truth.

Count me as another who thinks it was a happy accident! I love the subtle hint of pale blue with your creamy white furniture, that blue throw pillow, and the blue in your artwork. It looks intentional, and IMO much better than "greige" would have looked.

It looks terrific!!!

I understand your concern. I, too, just had our entire upstairs, (two big bedrooms and a large tv lounge room), was to wall carpeting replaced and was stunned with the color. It’s very similar to yours in color. I had selected a color called Tea Stain, which appeared to be a muted tannish/grey shade, yet the actual carpet is blue/grey and seems much darker than the sample I selected from. I was trying so hard to find a neutral color and this isn’t at all what I expected.

eastautumn and yayagal, you are so kind. You can't imagine how much everyone's positive comments have helped me overcome this hurdle. It's helped me to see the carpet in a whole new way, as something to embrace instead of something to constantly regret.

4Heidesign, I really feel your pain. With a name like Tea Stain, I would not expect a blue/gray carpet at all; there's an implication of a warm tone and a soft color in that name. Since the color is not similar to the sample, are you planning to contact the carpet vendor or just try to work with what you have as I'm doing?

I think the room looks chic, inviting, and up to date. I love how the shade of the rug works with the tile floor, fireplace, the chairs, and the new accessories.

FWIW very often when I bring a new major element into the home, I feel let down or like "Oh boy what a mistake". It takes a little while to accept the change.

You could probably work something out with the retailer if the sample was off color, but is it worth it to expend the time and maybe feel anxious waiting for resolution?

Ingrid, there isn't much I can add to the advice and support of everyone else except to underscore that your room is beautiful and inviting, and once things settle you will feel much better. Your living room has such a classic air... wherever the eye looks, there is something interesting and lovely to see. I love that!

I also think it looks great-- and I love the rugs that nocsoccermom found (particularly the 3rd one down)-and lastly, think that happy2b's comment about bringing in a new element is very true. Sometimes right away it's a hit, but often it's the newness and difference from what was, that is more jarring and hard to get an overview.

I think it looks great.

You are likely right that the carpet is a different shade than you expected. How does it compare with the sample you put down in the room? f the difference is noticeable you do have the right to do something about it. Your other alternative is to slowly change out the other elements in the room that you feel are fighting with the color. The carpet does look very slate blue to me, but most of my devices don't seem to reproduce color very well as they rarely seem what people describe on gw.

I'm sorry the carpet color was not what you really wanted but your room looks comfortable and traditional, two of my personal favorite decor characteristics. It takes a while to get used to something you didn't expect, so you may end up loving it.

I like it! It's a nice neutral. But, it's your home and if you don't like it, then try to work something out with your source.

from your pictures, i think it looks just fine too! the only thing i don't think it looks the best with is the tile, but i do like it with your furniture.

but, if the carpet store's samples are so old (or whatever) to not accurately represent the carpeting, i do think you have a right to complain and have it changed! tho, if you were only looking at those very small carpet squares, i think they can be as difficult to judge how a color will look in a room as the tiny paint color chips...

Actually, it might be worthwhile to at least escalate the issue with the manufacturer and see where that takes you, if you have the energy to pursue this. You have a limited window of time and once that window closes, you're done. I think you have a good case. Customer satisfaction should be the top goal of the company and the manufacturer. Is it possible for you to check out the sample you selected from and bring it into your home?

Rooms in gray, cream, and...

I have to tell you that reading your wonderful, supportive comments has made my eyes moisten. I haven't been here very long but you've all been so incredibly kind and, equally important, truly helpful, in your comments. nosoccermom, thank you for your pictures of the rugs, which I meant to mention, and the photos above which show, in a very graphic way, that beige and gray do work together beautifully. The only problem is that I want the room in the second picture for my very own! Well, maybe the fifth one too. I'm not really a blue person, but I have to say the first, third and fourth blue rugs are really beautiful.

It's very true that anything new can be a shock or an initial disappointment, but as time goes on it becomes something you really love. That's happened to me many times and I see I'm not the only one.

I've considered contacting the vendor but I'm not a person who likes confrontation and ongoing stress and upset, and I've decided not to take that route. I might get some money out of it, but the vendor would lose that money, and it's difficult enough to run a business these days, and I don't think it's really their fault. I'm finally happy with the carpet, thanks in large part to all of you here, and that's all that matters.

Yay!

Personally, I love the vintage look rug:

Or lots of color:

Personally, I would probably go with a cream, gray, off white rug and then add some plants and colors in the pillows, and, of course, your art work.

How sad to be disappointed after such a big purchase. If the color is that off, I can't imagine not being allowed to replace it. That said, from my monitor, it looks nice and gives a slight contemporary flare. Keeping a grey from looking blue is a challenge I have learned while trying to create a grey wood stain recently. You may be seeing something I cannot - but it looks quite nice from my vantage point. As does the whole room.

I also like it. It looks very nice with the fireplace and furniture. I think something with beige in it would not have looked as good. I think once you add a pretty rug, it will look spectacular.

I so appreciate your nice comments, nightowl and rockybird. Maybe my "mistake" turned out to be serendipity instead.

nosoccermom, I'm afraid you're going to have a conniption when you see the rug I've chosen; it's far from your refined and elegant taste. I have to say I chose it before I knew the carpet was going to be gray rather than greige. If nothing else I can put back the area rug I already had which is now in the kitchen. It's a Gabbeh tribal rug which had red and turquoise in it and would blend in color-wise.

This is the picture of the rug I ordered which I now think was a mistake, in more ways than one.

This rug below is the one I already had. Looking at the pictures without and then with the area rug, I'm wondering whether it doesn't look better without an area rug at all. I'm so confused. I need advice!

I already have several Oriental rugs with borders and didn't want another one which is why I chose these two. Now I just don't know if I need an area rug at all.....

Ingrid, I too think it's a happy mistake that looks beautiful. I love your attitude to accepting someone else's mistake, a mistake that you can live with but don't have to.

Without seeing the new one in place, it's hard to say which is best. The new one looks like it will look nice, too. The one you already have does look wonderful with your carpet, like you intended them to go together but I also like it without a rug. You could live with it without a rug for a while and when you want a change, put it in place.

I like the area rug that you've placed on top of the carpet. It does look like a greal match with the carpet! The rug you have on order may work well, too. What I like is that it pulls out the colors in your beautiful artwork. I believe that may have seen some earlier posts of yours and thought you had great style in your art. You've shown personality and originality in using it, which is so refreshing!

As others have already so eloquently stated, it looks great! Not what you were expecting, I understand, but I do agree it's a happy "accident" and makes your pretty room look even more chic and inviting.

Elizabeth, I really appreciate your comments about my artwork, which is not something that everyone notices or is particularly interested in. Some of the pieces were done by my husband, which gives them special meaning, but others were just picked up in antique stores, and the abstract watercolor on the mantel and a 19th century French landscape on e-bay, and one is a portrait of my mother. To me life without being surrounded by art and books does not seem fulfilling.

Olychick, you exactly reflect my sentiments, in that I like both ways, with and without the area rug, and I suppose there's no rule that says I can't have it both ways at different times.

I really like the new wall-to-wall, so it's a good "mistake" ... that area rug looks too small to me ... but the colors work.

Well, I like the rug you ordered, but it is quite different.

Honestly, I probably would live without a rug. The room seems more expansive and calm IMO.

nosoccermom, a part of me definitely agrees about not needing an area rug, and the part of me that loves color would like one. When I enlarge these two pictures, I like the one without the area rug because every object stands out individually. This rug will be put in the kitchen to replace the rug that's been there for nine years. When the other rug arrives on Tuesday I'll try it, but fortunately I can send it back without charge. I have a feeling it may not stay with me. It's too bad that area rugs are so in vogue right now, but I may have to be out of fashion.

Your coffee table base adds a lot of interest on the floor in the arrangement you have. I think if you had a more plain coffee table, the rug might seem more necessary for interest, but yours is beautiful without one.

The rug that is in the photo of the room is stunning, I would never take it up. It adds so much to the room.

I really like the rug you have there now!! I totally agree with yayagal.

You're a sweetheart Ingrid, and I love your room!! I'm glad you've come to embrace it!

Oh no, now I have a pro-area rug camp and an anti-area rug camp, and in a way I agree with both sides. I'm going to have to think about this for a while longer. Maybe half the year with it and half of the year without it....

I love the carpet it is a happy mistake in my book. I think the new rug you ordered has the exact colors of the carpet in it and will look good. Just wait until you see it I bet you are going to like it. Post pictures! I really like the way you have the furniture arranged now, I remember that conversation! Your room looks very nice! As soon as you brought in some accessories to go with the carpet it just changed for the better. As you continue to work with things and the rug you will find the perfect solution for you. By the way it looks just fine with no rug too!

raven, you feel that the new red rug with the large patterns that I showed a sample of will go well with the gray carpet? I was afraid it would be too much of a contrast. At any rate I'm so glad you like the way the room as a whole has turned out. I'm sure the accessories will change as time goes on; I can't seem to stop making changes.

Ingrid, I think the accessories can make it look more blue or tone it down. I'd remove all throw pillows and start over with those. That alone could make a big difference.

Ingrid, I haven't read thru all the replies, so if you've already addressed this, I apologize. Did you bring the carpet sample home to see if under your lights, with your walls and furniture? That's the biggest mistake people make (not doing that). The lighting is totally different. People also freak out when the carpet is first unrolled at their house. The fibers are crushed from being rolled. Once the fibers are fluffed/vacuumed, it takes on the right shade (if it's the right carpet <g>) I hope you learn to love it. It's a lovely shade :)

Arapaho, what color throw pillows would you suggest?

Monica, yes I did bring the carpet samples home and dragged them around for several days (and nights) and showed them to friends, who agree that the rug color is quite different. It was labeled correctly as to color, but I also read that after some time the shade may change, as you mentioned, although I know it will never be the color shown on the sample, it's that different. Anyway, everyone here seemed to like the shade and was so supportive that I've totally accepted it, and maybe this is nicer than the more greige shade would have been.

The dark grey silk pillow on the chair in front of

The fp looks perfect!

Nosoccermom, would you mind telling me where you found that last rug, please? That one label led "lots of color"? I adore it! Thanks.

ingrid, I agree, the room looks gorgeous!

Thank you, lisaam and Springroz. When I placed that gray pillow there and it made such a difference I began to hope that I could make other changes that would make that rug work. I'm leaning more and more toward having no area rug. It seems too cluttered, especially since there are other smaller rugs scattered around and a large Oriental rug to the left through the arch in the dining room and another large Aubusson-style rug in the front room, and a rug in the office, and two rugs in the TV room.... I think I like the idea of having these rugs only where the tiles are, which is about half of the house. I think I'm going to celebrate the gray!

At this point, you can go with or without the big rug, the room looks soooo good either way. Now you can do the happy dance. lol

nosoccermom, I love your rug choices especially the last one. Would you please post a link to it?

Looking at your photos, I see that the tile color blends with the pillows you have...I think your room looks serene! The coffee table does stand out and an area rug would take away from that as someone previously mentioned. Sometimes it just takes a few days for our eyes to adjust to a change.

I happen to love blue-ish grey much better than grey;

it's warm and cozy. Your room looks warm, comfortable

and elegant. It makes me want to sit in the chair and

relaz with a cup of tea.

Grey can be very commercial looking in a home. I

think the blue-ish grey looks lovely.

It's always amazing to me how I can discover some new idea or insight about the living room I see every day of my life. Also, new eyes looking at it is a great help. I had never thought about the fact that the bottom of my (rather odd) coffee table is so ornate, and that it gets rather lost with an area rug under it. I also hadn't thought about the tile color blending with some of the pillows!

Our posts crossed, cliff_and_joan, but to me warm, comfortable and elegant is exactly what I'm striving for. Thank you!

@sjbmi:

All rugs are from esalerugs.com

Peach Aqua rug

Aktillery introduced this forum to the website when she posted her DR rug. They should give her a lifetime supply of free rugs :)

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3301749/ideas-for-rugs?n=33