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Growing up in old New England houses, we expected things to be a little wonky. Floors always slanted, plaster occasionally cracked, and almost every room had some mysterious fixture that pointed to the house’s past lives. When I moved to California, the first thing that struck me was the newness of it all; I bopped around between cookie cutter apartments and gut renos, never feeling at home. When I finally found my current apartment, a 1920s bungalow, it was the sense of history – and all the wonky details that come with it – that made me finally feel at home.
Charming as it is to live in an old house, it makes shopping for decor difficult. Walls are placed at slightly odd angles, closets open at a slant, and the molding details that first made me fall in love with the place tend to jut out in the least convenient spots. Because of all these quirks, finding a correctly-sized rug has proven to be very difficult. And after many misadventures in ordering rugs online only to find the size to be a total mismatch to my room, or the color IRL to be totally different from the sales photos, I’d all but given up on finding the perfect cozy floor covering for my space.
Enter, Ernesta. I first found them on Instagram and was intrigued by their story. Started in 2022 by the co-founders of Peloton, they fully launched in September and have been the subject of rave reviews since. Their main promise is to deliver completely custom-sized rugs – down to the inch. That alone sounded incredibly promising – why hadn’t custom-sized rugs been available all along?? I was at a point in my rug shopping where the words “9x13” filled me with anxiety, knowing that my space would always fit somewhere between standard sizes. After reaching out to the Ernesta team for a product test, I found the entire Ernesta experience to be engineered to avoid the most common issues I’d encountered with online rug sales – offering plenty of bonuses in addition to the genius idea of custom sizing. Keep reading for my comprehensive, honest review of the Ernesta rug experience.
We like
- Custom sizing to the inch. A game changer.
- Large samples delivered to you to get a sense of your options.
- In depth design consultation available to decide on what style, material, and measurements will best suit your space.
- Sewn-in rug pad option simplifies things.
- Easy white glove delivery to the room you want to install (not just your doorstep).
- High quality materials & beautiful range of designs.
We don't like
- The rug took a few days to settle after being rolled up.
- Slightly longer delivery lead times compared to out of the box standard sized rugs.
Step One: Sample Selection
The first step in the Ernesta process is picking samples. While browsing the 173 styles available on their website, you can click “Add to Sample Box” on any rug and have your selects saved for you on their site. Once you narrow down your selection to 5 colors and styles you’d like to see in person, Ernesta will send you samples for $25 – and $50 off your eventual purchase. Getting these samples was so worth it, and a key part of the rug shopping experience that I’d been missing with other retailers. Getting to see large swatches of my rug choices in the room they would end up in allowed me to get a sense of how the texture would feel underfoot, how the color would change with the light throughout the day, and – very importantly – whether or not the doors in my chosen room could clear the pile of each sample. I was very impressed by the quality of all of my options. The designs tend toward more neutral colors as of now, but Ernesta will be adding more colorful options as they expand. The room I was planning on putting the rug in doubles as a guest room and an office, so I wanted something both cozy and durable. I spent several days looking at the samples but couldn’t decide between the Odessa and Copeland Quinn styles. Time for some expert advice.
Step Two: Measuring & Design Consultation
Ernesta offers in depth consultations to help you pick a style and size for your rug. I spoke with a lovely and knowledgeable member of their team over Zoom who looked over my (badly) hand-drawn blueprint of all the room’s quirkily placed closet doors and built ins. You can also send in pictures of the room if you need help finding a good color match for your existing decor. I’d initially thought of using the rug in only half of the room to delineate between the office area and bed area, but their consultant advised me to use a larger rug to unify the room and make it feel less busy. She also pointed out that I’d need to be able to use my rolling office chair, so any rug with a lot of texture would make rolling bumpy or impossible. Together, we decided on the Copeland Quinn – a beautiful flat weave wool rug with elegantly spaced stripes that give it a cozy, Scandinavian feel. The consultant also helped me re-measure my space and recommended I take advantage of the option to have a built-in rug pad. I placed my order (which would have cost around $2,000 for a roughly 8x10 rug – so, not cheap, but of very high quality) and we were off to the races!
Step Three: Delivery & Install
The design consultant told me that the rug would be delivered in 2-4 weeks, and that the delivery company would give me specific dates and times to choose from closer to the date. Wary of prior disastrous DTC delivery experiences, I was anxious at missing my delivery window or having the product be delayed, but Ernesta’s “white glove” service extended to the delivery as well. A truck dropped my rug off right on schedule, and even placed it in the correct room for me instead of leaving it at my door.
Luxury Quality & Custom Sizing
After a week with my new rug installed, I am so impressed with the quality of my new Ernesta rug. The entire selection and delivery experience was the most luxurious DTC experience I’ve had – especially with such a new brand. And the ability to custom size a rug is a game changer. My room feels pulled together by the correctly sized rug, and having the perfect size means I don’t have to worry about catching a closet door on a corner or having an annoying gap between the rug and wall. The color is perfect with the rest of my decor, and the wool texture is really lovely underfoot, especially with the added rug pad.
While I’m usually suspicious of DTC instagram ads over-promising and under-delivering, Ernesta impressed me at every turn. I look forward to seeing how they expand in the future. For now I’ll be here, writing while luxuriating in the look and feel of my new office rug.
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