On My Mind: Bedroom Rugs and Apartment Pants
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My friends will say I’m always tweaking and tinkering with something — but I have a visceral desire to redecorate my entire apartment. There are paint swatches on the wall, new Ikea Pax doors waiting to be installed, and so many moodboards on Canva it has evolved into a 100-plus-page slideshow. I have grand plans, you see, for my cave of an apartment to feel like a cozy, moody study that’s also elegant, and that requires a bit of work. Like Quarters, but in Queens. I’m trying to make things manageable by going room by room, so I’m starting in the bedroom. The big purchase on the horizon isa rug. It’s an incredibly difficult decision because it impacts the look and feel of the room. I have a gold-brown headboard and thought I wanted to color-block, but now I think I want to do something a little more monochrome. My current front-runner is this low-pile shag from RugsUSA. My main concern with this is that the texture is bouclé-adjacent, which I love less.
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My other front-runner is this one that deputy editor Simone Kitchens loves. The Nordic Knots dupe is is 100 percent wool and comfy underfoot. Another unlikely bonus: She says it’s a little more eggplant-y in person, which is perfect because I’ve been yearning for a purplish rug.
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I’m also into the Nate Berkus collaboration, which has lots of nice-looking understated options and mostly natural materials.
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And then there’s the plain Arrel rug, which has become so ubiquitous, I see one almost every day on Facebook Marketplace.
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Rug Source has more unique-looking options. Finding the right one here can be a bit daunting because there are so many to sift through, but the hunt is well worth it. I will note that the discerning folks of Reddit have pointed that while the rugs are well made and high quality, the colors aren’t always bang-on in person, and it can be difficult to return if you’re not satisfied.
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Last month, I became an AMC A-List member, and it’s the best $27 I’ve ever spent. I saw five movies last month; the subscription almost immediately paid for itself.
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Michael’s has some nice-looking ornaments right now. I got some large velvet-looking bulbs for cheap.
Other things I’m seeing …
I’ve been talking incessantly about these Everybody World pants, which have become so essential to me that when the Mulberry color sold out, I screamed into the void (I texted my wife “noooooooo”). I mostly work from home, so I’m often searching for the perfect kick-around-the-house pant that I can also wear to a quick lunch or for running errands, and these are perfect. Somehow, they’re both waist-cinching and slouchy but so absurdly comfortable. I also want to try the brand’s Apartment pants, which have a tapered, straight leg, and the hoodie, too.
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On the topic of around-the-house clothes, I’ve recently been in the market for a new pair of underwear. I recently decided that wearing one brand of undies in a single color is chic — this comes after years of buying Fruit of the Loom by the pack in various shades. Now that I’m 30, I want to try sticking to one neutral hue from a single brand. I’ve been considering a few options, but after mentioning this quest inmy newsletterand throwing out Oddobody as a possible solve, a friend’s girlfriend said I should get them, even though they’re not super elastic-y — perfect for days where you want to Winnie the Pooh it but don’t want to go full commando.
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I’m a Lands’ End tote truther. I prefer it to the LLBean one because it has built-in pockets, which make it much easier to use. I also love the small size — it’s big enough to fit a couple hardcovers or a pair of shoes but not massive enough to fit my emotional-support laptop, which pushes me not to lug it around everywhere. During Black Friday, I considered doing the tonal navy in medium. I missed the window, but it’s still affordable, so I’ll likely buy it anyway.
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WriterHunter Harrisrecently posted her makeup bag on Instagram Stories, and now I think I need to upgrade my vanity case. I like that this stays open and comes in clear so I can see all the stuff I’ve shoved inside.
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I recently decided I want a wicker hamper and searched high and low for a weave that looked sturdy in a color that skewed warm over ashy and cool. This is the best I’ve found so far.
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