Just one question for the mailbag today so here goes:

Kristin writes:

Hi Molly,

I am having trouble deciding on a rug for my dining room. I am looking for a
rug that will work with the somewhat open floor plan I have, the rug in the
living room is only a few feet away, but also works with the curtains that I
worked so hard to make. I am thinking grey, but have not been able to find
anything that works.

The dining room is painted Revere Pewter from Benjamin Moore and the curtain fabric is
Dahlia in the Slate colorway from Calico Corners. The dining room is open to the
living room and the kitchen.

The living room is also Revere Pewter and it has the Vinde rug from Ikea along
with a neutral off-white sofa and 2 red leather chairs. Right now, there are 2
pillows on the couch, one is red and one is aqua, although that changes pretty
often. The curtains in the living room are a copper/bronze fabric.

The kitchen has a light blue/aqua backsplash and is painted Blue Bonnet from Benjamin Moore.
The rug in the kitchen is red, it is a hand-me-down from my mom's single days in
the 70s and the tile floor is grey.

At the moment the dining chairs are a neutral taupe color, but I am sure I will
get bored with that soon and want to switch out the fabric. At least on  the
back of the chairs.

Any help that you could give would be greatly appreciated. I looked at several
options, but haven't been able to find anything that I LOVE.

ML:  Thanks for all the detail, Kristin!  It makes my job so much easier.  From looking at your photographs it seems you like strong graphics and blasts of color juxtaposed with softer tones.  My impulse would be to continue that vibe into your dining area.  I liked seeing the black in the living room.  How about bringing it in here as well?  This Opening Night rug from Anthropologie picks up on the colors in your curtains but bumps up the drama considerably:

If the black feels too strong but you still want to add a little oomph to the space, you could try this Artist's Tenet rug.  I like how it picks up on the palette of your curtain fabric but punches it up a bit (and I love the painterly quality and irregular edges):

If these colors are too saturated for you, you could go softer with this Ombre Rug from CB2:

One thing to note - this rug only comes in a 5x8 size.  I don't know the size of your dining room table so make sure to measure and confirm this size will work.  You don't want your table floating on a rug while your chairs drift on and off.  No fun for you or the guests and when the scale is off, it throws off the harmony of the whole room. 

If a 5x8 will work and you are interested in using a more neutral palette but still adding a graphic element, how about this Bloomish Rug?

And if all of these are simply stronger than you are looking for, you can still keep the graphic elements in play in a softer palette.  This Giraffe Rug from Ballard Designs would work:

As would this Safari Rug from West Elm:

Whatever you decide, I would recommend a rug pad to extend the life of your rug since chairs will constantly be pulled back and forth on it.  Hope this helps and please send after pictures when you have them!