Definitely purchase sofa first. There are a lot more factors to consider when purchasing a couch compared to a rug.

Give hubby a kiss and tell him to concentrate on the best sofa for your space and lifestyle. There are many, many rugs that will be a good fit.

Select the sofa, you have to sit on a lot of sofas & try them out before you find the one that suits you & your family. There area plenty of rugs to choose from but selecting the perfect sofa is the top priority. Good luck.

I agree with husband.

A sofa first how would you even know what size rug until the sofa is bought

Both at once.

Choose the rug for colours, take the sofa colour from the rug.

Choose the sofa for size. The rug has to be big enough for all the seating including the sofa, to have its front feet on the rug.

You can build a room design around any furnishing, be it a sofa or a rug. What we haven't heard is what sort of rug does your husband want? Does he already have something in mind? What sort of sofa does he want? While women do tend to have a sense of style that doesn't mean men don't. Talk about the details with him. Whatever you buy, buy it because you both love it.

I agree that not just women have a sense of style. We do not want a Persian Rug. We want to decorate with a traditional, but contemporary style. I have seen a couple that I really like, but of course, we don't agree. We usually have to hire someone to make our decisions for us because our likes are different.

look for both but buy whichever you fall in love with and work around it. keeping a sofa and other seating neutral will help when you decide in a few years you want a change. they whole look of a room can be changed by just changing out cheaper accessaries like pillows and accents. look at completed rooms here on houzz for inspiration and color. you should find you already are leaning toward a certain style and colors

what Creative Visual Concepts, Kevin Strader said is so true. it is never finished when you decorate you will always find something that you like that may work better. it is just a beginning.

Ethan AllenSofa first and that will determine the rug size color and style . Go to www.ethanallen.com

mcbmd3, just telling it like it is. I presented my story in a humorous (at least I hope it was) way but honestly this is exactly what has been happening. They come next week to refinish the floors and then a few days later the couch and chairs get delivered. We're really looking forward to the updated look to our space.

I call it the "domino effect"! You do one thing, and the "other" thing doesn't look good anymore and you do that and on and on. I thought your post was hilarious! Good to breath every once in a while! Thanks.

I would say sofa first - then rug. But why can't you choose one or the other - then go shopping for the other piece. You don't have to buy right away - shop around til you find what you both like - for both pieces.

The problem is rugs are MUCH harder to find in your price range, size and color than sofas. That is the reason. As msteezzy stated, rug first in most cases. Most sofas wind up being beige, gray, dark brown and black. But with a great rug, you can move into better choices for sofa. Doesn't work the other way around if you get what I'm saying! lol

Always rug first.......easier to match a sofa to a rug than the other way around. Harder to find the right rug than sofa.

Well said, bellburgmaggie :)

As I sit, hunched over my keyboard, hunched because I wore my back out moving furniture out of the LR/DR on Sunday I can report that my floors now have one coat of finish on them, with another to be done tomorrow and the last on Thursday. So we're now sleeping in the basement on a mattress since we can't get to our bedroom. At least we have a bathroom down there. Once the floors are done we can start moving everything back into the space (Oops, there goes my back again). Then we can get the couch and chairs delivered.

This room is going to look awesome but . . . . . . . . . . . the next time I mention re-decorating one of our rooms somebody please slap me!

The rug is an accent to the sofa. I say, sofa first.

Rug first. Bought the sofa and chairs two years ago, still trying,as I type this late into the night to find a rug that goes.

camillemcb why don't you post your sofa and chairs here - There are lots of talented people might be able to help you.

rug first - pull a color or two from it for everything else. I also bought some pattern accent chairs that have pretty much made getting a rug impossible. I bought a carpet remnant to have a finished room but I'm always looking for that perfect rug that will go with them but can't! wish I hadn't bought the chairs it would have made things easier.

I wish I had bought the rug first.

heather, I'm with you on finding 2 or 3 things you like and giving husband final choice. also believe that no matter what designers say, most people like viewing TV from a recliner. heres are my 2 new gray flexsteel recliners that are microfiber but look like brushed leather.