Good morning and happy Monday. I hope you weekend was great.

We had some fantastic weather here in Atlanta over the weekend but unfortunately I only had a little time to get out and enjoy it. Saturday I made myself stay in and tackle the stack of magazines that have grown since December. OUT.OF.CONTROL! I got through most of the stack, found lots of inspiration, have a stack of project pages to file away and feel much more relaxed now that all of magazines are out-of-the-way.

In addition to all the magazines I read, I got caught up on my blog reading. So many great blogs and so little time!

One of the things I try to pay particular attention to when I’m going through magazines or reading blogs are the design elements and the accessories that appear over and over. While there are companies that forecast design trends, seeing what items people are actually using in their homes is the best gauge of whether a trend or item is really hot or not. Magazine after magazine and blog after blog I began to see several items show up over and over which is an obvious sign that they are the

‘IT’ Accessories of the Moment!

The Moroccan Shag Rug

I’ve seen this rug in photos and on blogs before but in the last several weeks I’ve seen it show up in so many rooms that designers and bloggers are styling. It’s soft, it’s chic and the classic design mixes well with just about any décor.

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Kristin from Bliss at Home recently added the rug to her gorgeous living room.

You can find the Moroccan Shag Rug at RugsUSA.com and if you hurry you’ll get it on sale too! RugsUSA is one of my favorite sources for rugs and you can read more about why here .

Ikea Black and White Striped Pillow

First it was the rug

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then came the throw

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and then fabric by the yard

and now Ikea has introduced the black and white striped pillow cover. This pillow ( Vargyllen) doesn’t seem to be available on the website yet but I did see it in the store here in Atlanta for around $9.

Just like all the other black and white items that Ikea sells, this one is sure to be a hot commodity and is sure to appear on many blogs in the coming months.

Watercolor Floral Pillows

Flowers are a hallmark of spring so it’s only natural that watercolor floral pillows are so popular now. I love the artistic feel of watercolor designs and pillows are a great way to refresh your look for the season so this is a winning combination.

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If you love this look you can find similar styles at HomeGoods and Etsy has a great selection like the pillow above.

Since spring is officially here and if you’re anything like me you want to refresh your home for the season so my question to you is, will that refresh include any of these IT accessories?

p.s. The four ‘it’ accessories I wrote about last year are still a hot trend too!

It’s become a ritual.

Whenever I go to Ikea I start at the front of the store and snake my way through each of the departments only to find myself in the rug department “petting” the sheepskin rug they sell.

You know the rug, the white fluffy one that makes you want to just snuggle with it like you were a 5-year-old.

I can’t help myself.

I’ve picked up that rug so many times and asked myself the question that runs through my head at least 127 times a day, “what could I do with this?”

I know one, maybe two of those rugs are meant to be in my life so I had to go hunting for some design inspiration to help me figure out how me and this rug could live in harmony together.