Effective Ways to Work with the Existing Carpet Color in a Pre-Owned Home

With a recent move under our belts, my husband and I began the process of painting, repairing and decorating our new older home. One of the first things I struggled with was the color of the existing carpet. The previous homeowners had chosen a deep shade of burgundy that borders on a grapey-purple. I freaked out for a few days after we moved in, but I have since found some effective ways to tone down the mass of purplish carpet that runs through the great room, the hallway and three bedrooms. That is a lot of purplish carpet and it would be very expensive to replace it so soon after making a major move.

Happy Accidents Happen
Once we had moved our two sage green sofas into the large great room, we noticed that the carpet color actually looked good against the green color in the sofas. So far, so good. I was already feeling a burst of enthusiasm and a glimmer of acceptance toward this new color for my floors.

Color Applied to Color Can Change Things
We went to a nearby flea market in search of a pair of area rugs to help define two specific areas in the room. To my delight, I found two rugs that were perfect for the decor. The first rug was done in a deep burgundy border with large off-white magnolia blossoms scattered around the middle. The second rug was identical except the border color was deep green outlined in the same burgundy color. Once we placed these rugs into the chosen spaces, one in front of the fireplace and one in front of the two sofas, the color of the carpet just faded away into a softer purplish burgundy. I was beginning to think that I just might be able to live with this carpet.

Something Old is New Again
Searching through my stash of curtains, drapes and sheer panels, I found several pairs of eggshell colored sheers with burgundy flowers and green leaves. I hung those sheers across the windows at both ends of the great room. They looked good and I was actually getting excited! I then began a search for some curtains I have had for about 12-15 years. They are deep burgundy in color, tab tops made of sail cloth. These curtains will last forever! I purchased two new drapery rods in black with some decorative finials on the end. The burgundy curtains, with matching tasseled tie-backs, gave the room as much of a finish as a fresh coat of lipstick on a woman's face.

Our great room, grapey-purple carpet and all, is now a very lovely and welcoming room. The carpet color that was, at first glance, so upsetting to me, has become a very nice background color for the room. It was the spring-board for the color choices throughout the entire room.

So, I learned that not everything is as it first appears. Simply by working with the color instead of against it, I found a new appreciation for purple carpeting.
Now, let's see about those three bedrooms . . .

Source:
Personal Experience