Return to Ryder's Room

Its been an awful long time since we've visited Ryder's Room, but with all the attention his little brother has been getting lately, it was about time that we give this room a little spiff.  You may remember that Ry's room was one of the very first rooms we worked on in this crazy project house.  We knew we were going to tear the big dump up, and that it would be a construction zone for quite awhile, so we wanted to create a space where our little guy could find some sanity.  In fact, one of my very first posts was about building the rocket shelf for this room, quickly followed by this post about refinishing all the furniture, something I did while we were still living in The Bungalow so it would be all ready when we moved in. 

So not very long after we moved in, I was able so show you this:

This pic is from the big reveal back in May of 2011. In that post I mentioned that we still needed to find a rug for this room, but that the search was tricky.  I'm sorry to say that nearly 2 years later, my baby's floor was still bare.  I don't want to over exaggerate, I mean really, it's just a rug right? Let's keep this in perspective, it's not like I haven't bathed him since then.  But the honest truth is that his floor is really, really cold.  I've mentioned that these 2 kid rooms were additions to the house, and Ry's is the most unique, as it is only connected to the house at one wall.  That means he has 3 exterior walls, a ceiling with nothing above it and since this space doesn't have a basement, just a small crawl space, a floor with nothing below it. Virtually a cube with 5 exterior walls.  And in a Minnesota winter that means some cold piggies, no matter how high your heat is turned up. 

I've been on the hunt for. ev. er.  Seriously.  We've looked at Home Goods, Ikea, Pier 1, World Market, Overstock, West Elm, CB2, Crate and Barrel, Ballard Designs, Land of Nod... all dozens of times.  I just couldn't find the right combination of soft yet durable, and big size but affordable.  And then, finally last week, this happened.

Overstock had this huge, nearly 8' x11' chevron rug on sale for under $130.  While the black and white was a little too contrasty for me, the light blue and white seemed to be a more muted version.  Actually, the navy got my attention first, I love how the pattern is a little more subtle with the dark colors.

But I worried that this color would be too dark in Ryderman's room with his dark blue walls.  So I did a quick coupon search and found an additional 15% off, making this rug just $115 all in with free shipping.  I've been holding my breath until it got here, and today was finally the day.

Tahhhh- Daaaaaaaa:

Sorry for the dark photos, but it was dark outside by the time I got myself and my munchkins finally home from work.  So I've gotta be honest... I just don't know.  It feels a little too busy to me.

It's also really big, almost too big as it comes really close to the dresser on the other side of the room.  It would be perfect if it was 8x10 and not 8x11.

But then again maybe its just the bit of fun and flare this kid's room needs.  Perhaps I'm just used to this room being "safe?"

Maybe the duvet is too busy?  Originally I loved this Land of Nod robo-duvet, but I have to admit it has been a challenge to design around.

So give it to me straight, because I'm crowd sourcing this decision.  Do you:

-Love the rug and the room.  Keep it all.
-Hate the rug.  Send it back for something more neutral like a soft charcoal gray.
-Love the rug, but not with the duvet. (Or the curtains?) More neutral fabrics will let that baby sing.

For those that don't want to get a cramp from the scrolling, here's the before and after again:

Let the dishing begin!  And thanks in advance for your opinion!

Update: I was able to take some photos in the daylight.  Repositioning the duvet slightly made a big difference in the busy factor too.