Dining Rug Decision

On occasion, I hate being on a tight budget. Just once, it would be nice to just go buy what I want. Most of the time, though, I love the challenge it presents and the creativity it brings out. Obviously, something has me tied in knots. It's this: making a decision on the dining room rug. Ugh! I stopped and looked at a High Point outlet just up the road and they had a couple of nice options at good prices, but I'm not sure they're what I want. Then, the sweet sales lady informs me they can also order from a huge catalog. Excited, although leery, I immediately cut to the chase and ask if the prices were discounted like the ones there in the store. She said they should be very close. Yippee! I got the catalog and managed to pick out three before little guy informed me time was up. So, I gave her my number and she promised to call with the prices. Two hours later, I'm staring at the sheet of paper I've just scribbled them down on...completely depressed. I knew I was in trouble when she starts with, "You have fantastic taste!" Oh, boy. Two out of three were around $4-6K! Good grief! What happened to the discounts?

So, I hit the rug outlet right across the road this morning. They have some really nice very traditional options at really good prices ($300-$450 for an 8'X11') but that's still a little steep for right now. I can say without hesitation the hubby will veto that until the kids are more responsible (i.e. moved out!). Time to get creative. The main issue is coming up with the style. As much as I love that rug from HDC (Home Decorators Collection), it's just too stylized and if I ever want to change things up I'm out $500-$600.

A)



"Lyrical" from HDC.
Isn't it great, though?

 So, here's two the two other options I've narrowed it down to:

B) Seagrass...my old standby... in a basket weave pattern with a 1" border. I love seagrass's simplicity, texture, casualness and ability to go with ANYTHING. I gotta say, this is probably what I'll go with, just because it goes with ANYTHING and I know from the one in the family room they can hold up to my three boys and a dog.

"Sunbrella Bordered Seagrass Rug" from Ballard Designs

Or ...

C) Just a traditional wool Persian style in VERY muted blues, creams, browns and greens....very versatile. Haven't found the exact one yet I like, but it'll probably be along these lines:

"Gabrielle Persian-Style" from Pottery Barn
shown below in a room as well:

What are your thoughts? Want to take a vote again? Let's do! Send a comment with the letter of your choice. I'm definitely leaning with B, but still not sure yet. There's a considerable price difference between the seagrass and the others ($200-$300) and that could end up making the decision for me, but I'm trying not to let that be the deciding factor. So, what say ye?! A,B, or C?